While reporting if we use the exact words of the user, then it is called direct speech.
While reporting, if we gave the same meaning without using exact words then it is called indirect speech.
While writing we use inverted commas
We don’t use inverted commas
Here the words are repeated originally
Here speaker words are summarized, modified
Here it is happening at the present moment
It is in past tense
Any form of verbs can be used
Most commonly said and told is used
I'll come to the party by 8 PM
he said that he would come to the party by 8 PM
5. Give some examples for indirect speech.
She said that she liked chocolates
He said that he played basketball
She asked me to be on time
Neha said that her parents were very well.
He said that he played chess every day
She told me that she liked Sachin Tendulkar
She told me that she had been to the USA.
She said that she had finished her task.
he said that he would come to the party by 8 PM
She said that she hadn’t seen Nupur recently.
She asked me to bring her dress the next day
He asked us not to be late.
They told that they were ready for competition
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“Reported speech” might sound fancy, but it isn’t that complicated.
It’s just how you talk about what someone said.
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn the basics in English, beginning with the two types of reported speech: direct (reporting the exact words someone said) and indirect (reporting what someone said without using their exact words ).
Read this post to learn how to report speech, with tips and tricks for each, plenty of examples and a resources section that tells you about real world resources you can use to practice reporting speech.
How to report indirect speech, reporting questions in indirect speech, verb tenses in indirect reported speech, simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, simple future, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous, authentic resources for practicing reported speech, novels and short stories, native english videos, celebrity profiles.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Direct speech refers to the exact words that a person says. You can “report” direct speech in a few different ways.
To see how this works, let’s pretend that I (Elisabeth) told some people that I liked green onions.
Here are some different ways that those people could explain what I said:
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” Elisabeth said.
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” she told me. — In this sentence, we replace my name (Elisabeth) with the pronoun she.
In all of these examples, the part that was said is between quotation marks and is followed by a noun (“she” or “Elisabeth”) and a verb. Each of these verbs (“to say,” “to tell [someone],” “to explain”) are ways to describe someone talking. You can use any verb that refers to speech in this way.
You can also put the noun and verb before what was said.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like spaghetti.”
The example above would be much more likely to be said out loud than the first set of examples.
Here’s a conversation that might happen between two people:
1: Did you ask her if she liked coffee?
2: Yeah, I asked her.
1: What did she say?
2. She said, “Yeah, I like coffee.” ( Direct speech )
Usually, reporting of direct speech is something you see in writing. It doesn’t happen as often when people are talking to each other.
Direct reported speech often happens in the past. However, there are all kinds of stories, including journalism pieces, profiles and fiction, where you might see speech reported in the present as well.
This is sometimes done when the author of the piece wants you to feel that you’re experiencing events in the present moment.
For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn’t a very good swimmer:
Direct speech: “I don’t want to enter the water, ever,” she says. “If everyone’s going in the ocean, I’m like, no.”
Here, the speech is reported as though it’s in the present tense (“she says”) instead of in the past (“she said”).
In writing of all kinds, direct reported speech is often split into two or more parts, as it is above.
Here’s an example from Lewis Carroll’s “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,” where the speech is even more split up:
Direct speech: “I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. “Are you—are you fond—of—of dogs?” The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: “There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you!”
Reporting indirect speech is what happens when you explain what someone said without using their exact words.
Let’s start with an example of direct reported speech like those used above.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like coffee.”
As indirect reported speech, it looks like this:
Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee.
You can see that the subject (“I”) has been changed to “she,” to show who is being spoken about. If I’m reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says “I,” I’d repeat their sentence exactly as they said it. If I’m reporting this person’s speech indirectly to someone else, however, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he” or “they.”
You may also notice that the tense changes here: If “I like coffee” is what she said, this can become “She liked coffee” in indirect speech.
However, you might just as often hear someone say something like, “She said she likes coffee.” Since people’s likes and preferences tend to change over time and not right away, it makes sense to keep them in the present tense.
Indirect speech often uses the word “that” before what was said:
Indirect speech: She said that she liked coffee.
There’s no real difference between “She said she liked coffee” and “She said that she liked coffee.” However, using “that” can help make the different parts of the sentence clearer.
Let’s look at a few other examples:
Indirect speech: I said I was going outside today.
Indirect speech: They told me that they wanted to order pizza.
Indirect speech: He mentioned it was raining.
Indirect speech: She said that her father was coming over for dinner.
You can see an example of reporting indirect speech in the funny video “ Cell Phone Crashing .” In this video, a traveler in an airport sits down next to another traveler talking on his cell phone. The first traveler pretends to be talking to someone on his phone, but he appears to be responding to the second traveler’s conversation, which leads to this exchange:
Woman: “Are you answering what I’m saying?”
Man “No, no… I’m on the phone with somebody, sorry. I don’t mean to be rude.” (Direct speech)
Woman: “What was that?”
Man: “I just said I was on the phone with somebody.” (Indirect speech)
When reporting questions in indirect speech, you can use words like “whether” or “if” with verbs that show questioning, such as “to ask” or “to wonder.”
Direct speech: She asked, “Is that a new restaurant?”
Indirect speech: She asked if that was a new restaurant.
In any case where you’re reporting a question, you can say that someone was “wondering” or “wanted to know” something. Notice that these verbs don’t directly show that someone asked a question. They don’t describe an action that happened at a single point in time. But you can usually assume that someone was wondering or wanted to know what they asked.
Indirect speech: She was wondering if that was a new restaurant.
Indirect speech: She wanted to know whether that was a new restaurant.
It can be tricky to know how to use tenses when reporting indirect speech. Let’s break it down, tense by tense.
Sometimes, indirect speech “ backshifts ,” or moves one tense further back into the past. We already saw this in the example from above:
Direct speech: She said, “I like coffee.”
Indirect speech: She said she liked coffee.
Also as mentioned above, backshifting doesn’t always happen. This might seem confusing, but it isn’t that difficult to understand once you start using reported speech regularly.
What tense you use in indirect reported speech often just depends on when what you’re reporting happened or was true.
Let’s look at some examples of how direct speech in certain tenses commonly changes (or doesn’t) when it’s reported as indirect speech.
To learn about all the English tenses (or for a quick review), check out this post .
Direct speech: I said, “I play video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I played video games (simple past) or I said that I play video games (simple present).
Backshifting into the past or staying in the present here can change the meaning slightly. If you use the first example, it’s unclear whether or not you still play video games; all we know is that you said you played them in the past.
If you use the second example, though, you probably still play video games (unless you were lying for some reason).
However, the difference in meaning is so small, you can use either one and you won’t have a problem.
Direct speech: I said, “I’m playing video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I’m playing video games (present continuous).
In this case, you’d likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.
You could use the second example to repeat or stress what you just said. For example:
Hey, want to go for a walk?
Direct speech: No, I’m playing video games.
But it’s such a nice day!
Indirect speech: I said that I’m playing video games!
Direct speech: Marie said, “I have read that book.”
Indirect speech: Marie said that she had read that book (past perfect) or Marie said that she has read that book (present perfect).
The past perfect is used a lot in writing and other kinds of narration. This is because it helps point out an exact moment in time when something was true.
The past perfect isn’t quite as useful in conversation, where people are usually more interested in what’s true now. So, in a lot of cases, people would use the second example above when speaking.
Direct speech: She said, “I have been watching that show.”
Indirect speech: She said that she had been watching that show (past perfect continuous) or She said that she has been watching that show (present perfect continuous).
These examples are similar to the others above. You could use the first example whether or not this person was still watching the show, but if you used the second example, it’d probably seem like you either knew or guessed that she was still watching it.
Direct speech: You told me, “I charged my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had charged your phone (past perfect) or You told me that you charged your phone (simple past).
Here, most people would probably just use the second example, because it’s simpler, and gets across the same meaning.
Direct speech: You told me, “I was charging my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had been charging your phone (past perfect continuous) or You told me that you were charging your phone (past continuous).
Here, the difference is between whether you had been charging your phone before or were charging your phone at the time. However, a lot of people would still use the second example in either situation.
Direct speech: They explained, “We had bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Indirect speech: They explained that they had bathed the cat on Wednesday. (past perfect)
Once we start reporting the past perfect tenses, we don’t backshift because there are no tenses to backshift to.
So in this case, it’s simple. The tense stays exactly as is. However, many people might simplify even more and use the simple past, saying, “They explained that they bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Direct speech: They said, “The cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time!”
Indirect speech: They said that the cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time. (past perfect continuous)
Again, we don’t shift the tense back here; we leave it like it is. And again, a lot of people would report this speech as, “They said the cat was going outside and getting dirty for a long time.” It’s just a simpler way to say almost the same thing.
Direct speech: I told you, “I will be here no matter what.”
Indirect speech: I told you that I would be here no matter what. (present conditional)
At this point, we don’t just have to think about tenses, but grammatical mood, too. However, the idea is still pretty simple. We use the conditional (with “would”) to show that at the time the words were spoken, the future was uncertain.
In this case, you could also say, “I told you that I will be here no matter what,” but only if you “being here” is still something that you expect to happen in the future.
What matters here is what’s intended. Since this example shows a person reporting their own speech, it’s more likely that they’d want to stress the truth of their own intention, and so they might be more likely to use “will” than “would.”
But if you were reporting someone else’s words, you might be more likely to say something like, “She told me that she would be here no matter what.”
Direct speech: I said, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Indirect speech: I said that I would be waiting for your call. (conditional continuous)
These are similar to the above examples, but apply to a continuous or ongoing action.
Direct speech: She said, “I will have learned a lot about myself.”
Indirect speech: She said that she would have learned a lot about herself (conditional perfect) or She said that she will have learned a lot about herself (future perfect).
In this case, using the conditional (as in the first example) suggests that maybe a certain event didn’t happen, or something didn’t turn out as expected.
However, that might not always be the case, especially if this was a sentence that was written in an article or a work of fiction. The second example, however, suggests that the future that’s being talked about still hasn’t happened yet.
Direct speech: She said, “By next Tuesday, I will have been staying inside every day for the past month.”
Indirect speech: She said that by next Tuesday, she would have been staying inside every day for the past month (perfect continuous conditional) or She said that by next Tuesday, she will have been staying inside every day for the past month (past perfect continuous).
Again, in this case, the first example might suggest that the event didn’t happen. Maybe the person didn’t stay inside until next Tuesday! However, this could also just be a way of explaining that at the time she said this in the past, it was uncertain whether she really would stay inside for as long as she thought.
The second example, on the other hand, would only be used if next Tuesday hadn’t happened yet.
Let’s take a look at where you can find resources for practicing reporting speech in the real world.
One of the most common uses for reported speech is in fiction. You’ll find plenty of reported speech in novels and short stories . Look for books that have long sections of text with dialogue marked by quotation marks (“…”). Once you understand the different kinds of reported speech, you can look for it in your reading and use it in your own writing.
Writing your own stories is a great way to get even better at understanding reported speech.
One of the best ways to practice any aspect of English is to watch native English videos. By watching English speakers use the language, you can understand how reported speech is used in real world situations.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
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Celebrity profiles, which you can find in print magazines and online, can help you find and practice reported speech, too. Celebrity profiles are stories that focus on a famous person. They often include some kind of interview. The writer will usually spend some time describing the person and then mention things that they say; this is when they use reported speech.
Because many of these profiles are written in the present tense, they can help you get used to the basics of reported speech without having to worry too much about different verb tenses.
While the above may seem really complicated, it isn’t that difficult to start using reported speech.
Mastering it may be a little difficult, but the truth is that many, many people who speak English as a first language struggle with it, too!
Reported speech is flexible, and even if you make mistakes, there’s a good chance that no one will notice.
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Direct and indirect speech with rules and examples, download all the grammar lessons in one click $27 $19.
In English, to report someone’s words or their own words, you can use direct or indirect speech. These may include statements, questions, orders, advice…
When moving from direct to indirect style, it is often necessary to change personal pronouns, demonstrative and possessive pronouns according to who says what:
Here are some examples:
She says: “My dad likes onion soup.” | She says that dad likes onion soup. |
Kevin said, ‘I’m tired.’ | Kevin said (that) was tired. |
Have you ever been to Japan? | She asked if I had ever been to Japan. |
Open the door! | He told to open the door. |
Note: That is often implied in indirect speech. It is not mandatory to use it, so it is indicated in brackets in this lesson.
To relate someone’s words to both direct and indirect speech, you need an introductory verb.
The two most frequent are tell and say, but there are many other possible ones like:
Be careful to distinguish SAY from TELL . The two verbs may have the same meaning, but their use is different. With TELL, the interlocutor is quoted: the name or pronoun is placed immediately after tell (tell somebody something).
With SAY, the interlocutor is not necessarily quoted; if he is, he is introduced by the preposition to ( say something to somebody ):
However, tell is used in some expressions without mentioning a contact person:
Note: the wording ‘ He said to me… ‘ is possible but seems clumsy. It is best to use ‘ He told me… ‘.
The shift to indirect speech leads to changes in the tense, depending on whether the verb is in the present tense or in the past tense.
If the introductory verb is in the present tense, the tense (or modal) does not change.
Be careful, if the statements reported are still true now you must not change the tense!
If the introductory verb is in the past, the verb tense changes:
Examples of major changes in time:
Direct speeches | Indirect speeches |
---|---|
He said: “I happy” | He said (that) he happy. |
He said: “I for my phone” | He said (that) he for his phone. |
He said: “I Paris last year” | He said (that) he Paris the previous year. |
He said: ” I in London for a long time “ | He said (that) he in London for a long time. |
He said: “They the kitchen when I “ | He said (that) they the kitchen when he |
He said: “I when the accident “ | He said (that) when the accident |
He said:”I for one hours.” | He said (that) for one hours. |
He said: “I a book when the light “ | He said (that) he a book when the light |
He said: “I the door.” | He said (that) the door. |
He said: “I a plane if I rich” | He said (that) he a plane if he rich. |
The modals could, should, would, might, needn’t, ought to, used to don’t change when used with indirect speech.
Those who change are will → would, can → could, may → might :
Direct speeches | Indirect speeches | |
---|---|---|
will | “They will call you.” | He told her that they would call her. |
would* | “I would help, but I’m sick.” | She said (that) she would help but she was sick. |
can | “I can do it.” | He said he could do it. |
could* | “I could swim when I was four” | She said (that) she could swim when she was four. |
should* | “I should call my mother” | She said (that) she should call her mother. |
may | “May I go out?” | He wanted to know if he might go out. |
must | “She must apply for the job.” | He said that she must/had to apply for the job. |
* do not change
Expressions of time, place and demonstratives change if the context of indirect speech is different from that of direct speech.
She said “I saw him yesterday.” → She said she had seen him the day before.
Direct speeches | Indirect speeches |
---|---|
Time marker | |
today | that day |
now | then |
yesterday | the day before |
… days ago | … days before |
last week | the week before |
next week | the following week |
next year | the following year |
tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
Location marker | |
here | there |
Demonstrative | |
this | that |
these | those |
To relate an order or prohibition to indirect speech, verbs such as tell, order or forbid are used… Be careful, remember to replace Don’t by NOT when it is the main verb of the sentence!
For affirmative sentences, use to + infinitive
For negative sentences use not to + infinitive
If there is an interrogative word like where/who/when/why… in direct speech, we keep it in indirect speech:
If it is a closed-ended question or you have to answer yes/no, you use if or whether :
When the question contains a modal, it is preterite in the reported question:
Some examples of indirect questions:
Expressions of advice such as must, should and ought are usually reported using the verbs advise or urge :
The expression let’s is usually reported using the verb suggest, with gerund or with should:
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We often convey a message or give information about what someone said, thought or felt to somebody else. In order to do this you can use the grammar structure named direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech. Indeed this structure can be a source of confusion for ESL learners because they mix it with active and passive voice . Read the whole article to know about direct and indirect speech rules.
To learn more about direct and indirect speech click here.
Initially we will look at direct and indirect speech, then look at how to convert speech from direct to indirect or vice-versa.
Direct Speech / Quoted Speech Saying or quoting exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech) Here what a person says appears within quotation marks (“…”) a nd should be word for word.
Indirect Speech / Reported Speech Saying or reporting what someone said without quoting his exact words is called indirect speech. Here we don’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and does not have to be word for word.
Reporting Verb The verb in the first part of sentence (i.e. say, said, tell, admit, complain, explain remind, reply think, hope, offer, refuse etc.) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.
How to Change Direct Speech into Indirect Speech?
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting, and adverb of nearness should be put into those of distance.
Note: If something is said and reported at the same time, then the time expression can remain the same.
A) If the reporting verb is in present or future (i.e say, says or will say) then don’t change the tense that you can find within the quotation marks.
B) If reporting verb is in the past tense. the tense of the verbs in the reported speech or indirect speech must be generally changed. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
Tense Change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense. Present Simple › Past simple
Present continuous › Past continuous
Present perfect › Past perfect
Present perfect continuous › Past perfect continuous
Past simple › Past perfect
Past perfect › Past perfect
Past perfect continuous › Past perfect continuous
Modal verb forms also sometimes change: Will › would
Can › could
Must › had to
May › might
Note – There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
If indirect speech the words within quotation marks talk of a universal truth or habitual action or when a sentence is made and reported at the same time and the fact is still true then the tense inside the quotation marks is not changed at all.
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
We have to change the pronouns to keep the same meaning of a sentence.
Note: Sometimes we have to use a noun instead of a pronoun, otherwise the new sentence is confusing consider the examples below:
(If we only make mechanical changes, then the new sentence can have different meaning)
Rule 9. Reported Speech of Interrogative Sentences 1. Remove the quotation marks and question mark in the interrogative sentence. 2. Use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the sentence inside the quotation marks begins with a helping verb (Auxiliary verb). 3. Use the given interrogative word (what, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which, now etc.) if it does not begin with the helping verb. 4. Don‘t use ‘that’ 5. Changing the reporting verb (say, said) into ‘ask, want to know wonder or inquire’ in its correct tense. 6. Omit helping verb like ‘do, does, did’. But don’t omit them when they are with ‘not’.
In yes/no questions we use if or whether in questions. If is more common and whether is more formal.
1. Remove the quotation mark in an Imperative sentence. 2. Use ‘to’ if it is an affirmative sentence. (without don‘t) 3. Use ‘not to’ if the sentence begins without Don‘t. 4. Don‘t use ‘that’ 5. Omit the word ‘please’. Use the word ‘request’ instead of ‘say’. 6. If the direct speech contains a request or a command, the reporting verb (say, said) change to tell, request, order, command etc. in its correct tense. 7. The commands, requests and advice mostly have the same form in English: verb + object + infinitive (advise, ask, beg, forbid, order, persuade, recommend, tell, urge, warn etc.).
Negative: + object + not + infinitive.
Rule 12. Reported Speech of Advice If it contains advice the reporting verb changes into advised.
1. Change the exclamatory sentence into statement or assertive 2. Remove the quotation marks and exclamatory mark. 3. Use the conjunction ‘that’ 4. Omit the interjections such as Oh, O, Alas, how, what, hurrah. 5. Add the word ‘very’ to the adjective or adverb if necessary. 6. If the verb is not given, use ‘Be’ form verb (is, was, are, were, am) in its correct tense according to the subject. 7. Change the reporting verb (say, said) to ‘exclaim joyfully’ 8. Use ‘exclaim’ sorrowfully for sorrowful incidents.
In reported speech, the word that is often used, however it is optional. We recommend you no to use it because in some cases we don’t use ‘That’ in reported speech like: question, command request and order, so its better not to use it.
In direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the quoted words from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what’s going on. Here are the basic rules: A) We use inverted commas (also called quotation marks, quotes or speech marks) to indicate direct speech. Double quotes (“) are preferred in American English, while single quotes (‘) are more common in British English:
B) Every time a new speakers says something, you should start a new paragraph:
C) There should be a comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark at the end of a piece of speech. This is placed inside the closing inverted comma or commas.
D) If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another comma before the second piece (before the inverted comma or commas):
Conclusion: I hope that the points that I have mentioned above about direct and indirect speech may prove beneficial for people learning English. All you need to do is to understand the crucial rules of direct and indirect speech, and don’t mix it with passive and active voice.
Check out Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises With Answers
If you would like to know more about direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech, check out more in the book below.
The use of so, too, either, and neither, the most advanced use of gerund and infinitive, past gerund, 20 comments.
hello! I’m Abdullah and I want to ask a question related to indirect and direct speech.what would be the indirect sentence of this this speech: “I fell fed up” says trevor
Hello dear Abdullah. When the reporting verb (He says)is in simple present tense, then we don’t go one tense back,so the statement won’t be changed in this case and remains the same in reported speech.
Helo ,,pls let me know about one thing…if there is no object in reporting speech and “you” is used in reporting speech ,,in which pronoun v have to change “you”,,???
Tashakkur, bisyar malumati bud 🙂
You are welcome dear Raza.
This article is beneficial…thnkxx
You are welcome.
Very helpful thank you soooo muchhhh
I want a clarification for the following sentence. “Would you post this letter when you go out?”she said. She asked if I would post that letter when I go out . OR She asked if I would post that letter when I went out.
Change the narration. 1.’I must leave at once’ I said,’because i must not be late’ 2 .Tariq said the police could not prove that the man had been murdered .
very helpful understanding direct and indirect speech thank you very soooooo muuuuccccchhhh
You are welcome Mr. Moueez
Thank you . It’s really helpful
Welcome dear.
Useful article thank you.
Hope it is useful and informative.
Tomorrow is my English exam and this page is very helpful
Thank you Rahema. We always try to help people enhance their skills in four models: Listening, Speaking, Reading and writing.
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How to use reported speech.
If you have a sentence in Direct Speech, try to follow our 5 steps to put the sentence into Reported Speech..
Mind the type of sentences when you use Reported Speech. There is more detailed information on the following pages.
If you use Reported Speech there are mostly two main differences.
The introductory sentence in Reported Speech can be in the Present or in the Past .
If the introductory sentences is in the Simple Present, there is no backshift of tenses.
If there is a pronoun in Direct Speech, it has possibly to be changed in Reported Speech, depending on the siutation.
Here I is changed to she .
If there is backshift of tenses in Reported Speech, the tenses are shifted the following way.
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
Simple forms | |
Simple Present | Simple Past |
Simple Past | Past Perfect |
Present Perfect | |
Past Perfect | |
will | would |
Progressive forms | |
am/are/is | was/were |
was/were | had been |
has been | |
had been |
If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it may be changed, depending on the situation.
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
this evening | that evening |
today/this day | that day |
these days | those days |
now | then |
a week ago | a week before |
last weekend | the weekend before / the previous weekend |
next week | the following week |
tomorrow | the next/following day |
here | there |
In some cases backshift of tenses is not necessary, e.g. when statements are still true. Backshift of tenses is never wrong.
when you use general statements.
* The word that is optional, that is the reason why we put it in brackets.
When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said , as in I said , Bill said , or they said . Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past tense, then the tense changes to another past tense; it can almost be seen as moving even further into the past.
Verb tense changes also characterize other situations using indirect speech. Note the changes shown in the chart and see the table below for examples. With indirect speech, the use of that is optional.
Direct Speech | → | Indirect Speech |
---|---|---|
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day, |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day | ||
to school every day?" He said, to school?" | → | to school every day.* He asked me to school. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
The situation changes if instead of the common said another part of the very to say is used. In that case the verb tenses usually remain the same. Some examples of this situation are given below.
Direct Speech | → | Indirect Speech |
---|---|---|
, "I to school every day." | → | (that) he to school every day. |
, "I to school every day." | → | (that) he to school every day. |
, "I t to school every day." | → | (that) he to school every day. |
(that) he to school every day. | ||
, "I to school every day." | → | (that) he to school every day. |
Another situation is the one in which modal constructions are used. If the verb said is used, then the form of the modal, or another modal that has a past meaning is used.
Direct Speech | → | Indirect Speech |
---|---|---|
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | ||
to school every day." | → | to school every day. |
to school every day." | ||
to school every day." | → | go to school every day. |
go to school every day." | → | go to school every day. |
While not all of the possibilities have been listed here, there are enough to provide examples of the main rules governing the use of indirect or reported speech. For other situations, try to extrapolate from the examples here, or better still, refer to a good grammar text or reference book.
Some other verbs that can be used to introduce direct speech are: ask, report, tell, announce, suggest, and inquire. They are not used interchangeably; check a grammar or usage book for further information.
Updated June 14, 2022 by Student Journey Squad ( [email protected] )
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If we want to describe the speech of some other people with other people in our own words, that speech is called a Reported speech or Narration.
In the English language, there are certain ways to express the spoken words between two people.
The speech has two main types, Direct speech , and Indirect speech , respectively.
These two ways of narration of spoken words are also called Direct and Indirect speech, also known as Direct and Indirect narrations.
Direct and indirect speech is majorly used in any conversations, scripts, or any biographies, etc. where one or more than one person converses with each other.
It is also called straight speech or quoted speech, which is spoken or written directly in the text by the speaker, writer, or the first person, who is going to speak with anyone with him.
The spoken statements of the speaker normally come under the inverted commas notation, and a speaker who speaks these sentences may come like “he said/he said that.”
The speaker’s words or statements are mentioned in a single phrase pattern or direct discussion.
An Indirect speech is also called a reported speech, or secondary speech means the speech, which has spoken indirectly.
It is simply an overlook statement that is used to say about the incident that has happened in the past time.
The actual words of the speaker changed into the past tense and the sentence, and hence the reported speech of the direct speech does not come inside the inverted commas.
A person who is going to report the speech or a speech that comes in the first part of the direct speech is called a reporting speech.
Reported speech is a speech that is always in an inverted comma or quotation marks.
It is a second part of the direct speech sentence.
The verb, which is used in a reporting speech to report something in a direct speech, is called a reporting verb.
The verb which comes inside the reported speech is called reported verb, respectively.
As we start writing any direct and indirect conversation, we often use reported verbs like “say, tell, ask, inform, instruct, claim, suggest, enquire, etc.”
These reported verbs, whenever used in direct or indirect speech, change into the past simple form like said, told, asked, informed, instructed, claimed, suggested, enquired, etc.
But the verbs used in a speech between the inverted commas will remain as it is.
Rule 1 : “no inverted commas.”.
The reported speech does not come into inverted commas or quotation in an indirect speech.
Example: Direct: He said, “I have completed my assignments yesterday.”
Indirect: He said that he had completed his assignments the previous day.
Using the conjunction word “that” in-between the reporting speech and reported speech in an indirect speech.
Example:
While writing a direct speech into an indirect speech, we have to change the tense of the reported speech because whatever we are writing in indirect speech has already happened in the past timing.
If the tense of the reporting verb of direct speech is in the past tense, then the tense will change according to these criteria.
Simple present tense will change into simple past tense..
Direct: He said, “They come to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they came to meet him.
Direct: She said, “They are coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they were coming to meet her.
Direct: He said, “They have come to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him.
Direct: She said, “They have been coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her.
Simple past tense will change into the past perfect tense.
Direct: He said, “They came to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him.
Past continuous tense will change into past perfect continuous tense.
Direct: She said, “They were coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her.
Past perfect tense and past perfect continuous tense will remain the same.
Direct: He said, “They had come to meet me.”
Direct: She said, “They had been coming to meet me.”
There are no changes in the future tense sentences; only shall/will may change into would, can change into could.
Indirect: She said that could he come on the next day
Indirect: He said that he would never forgive me.
The pronoun used as an indirect subject speech sometimes needs to be changed accordingly in indirect speech as of the reported verb of the direct speech.
The mentioned time (not the timing) in a direct speech sentence will have to change in indirect speech like now becomes then, tomorrow becomes the next day, yesterday becomes the previous day, today becomes that day, later becomes soon.
Assertive sentences:.
Assertive sentences are simple statements that may be affirmative or negative.
If we are going to convert assertive sentences from direct speech into indirect speech, we have to replace “said” with “told” sometimes.
Here, the subject in direct speech refers to someone in his talk.
Indirect: He told me that she was working on that project.
Indirect: She told me that she was going for a long drive.
Imperative sentences are statements that deliver a command, order, request, appeal, or advice.
It depends on the speaker, how he delivers the message to the other person.
While converting these types of sentences cum statements from direct speech to indirect speech, we have to check the type of sentence, whether it is a command, order, request, or else.
Indirect: The teacher ordered me to sit properly.
Indirect: The Boss commanded an office boy to bring a coffee for him.
Indirect: The teacher requested me to sit properly.
Indirect: The bartender advised me to try that drink.
An interrogative sentence is a sentence which interrogates or ask questions.
Each interrogative sentence ends with an interrogative sign or a question mark sign “?”.
While writing interrogative sentences from direct speech into indirect speech,
Exclamatory sentences are those sentences that show emotions, feelings and ends with an exclamation mark!
If any interjection comes in an exclamation sentence, then the exclamation sign removes in an indirect speech, and an exclamatory sentence gets converted into an assertive sentence.
The replacement of reporting verb “said” with exclaimed with (great wonder, sorrow, joy) exclaimed (joyfully, sorrowfully)
Replace with very or very great , if words like how or what comes at the beginning of the reported speech.
Informal letter format in english, format of formal letter writing in english.
Perfect english grammar.
Reported Statements
Here's how it works:
We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:
We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)
But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:
present simple | I like ice cream | She said (that) she liked ice cream. |
present continuous | I am living in London | She said (that) she was living in London. |
past simple | I bought a car | She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car. |
past continuous | I was walking along the street | She said (that) she had been walking along the street. |
present perfect | I haven't seen Julie | She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie. |
past perfect* | I had taken English lessons before | She said (that) she had taken English lessons before. |
will | I'll see you later | She said (that) she would see me later. |
would* | I would help, but... | She said (that) she would help but... |
can | I can speak perfect English | She said (that) she could speak perfect English. |
could* | I could swim when I was four | She said (that) she could swim when she was four. |
shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later. |
should* | I should call my mother | She said (that) she should call her mother |
might* | I might be late | She said (that) she might be late |
must | I must study at the weekend | She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend |
* doesn't change.
Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.
Reported Questions
So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?
Where is the Post Office, please? | She asked me where the Post Office was. |
What are you doing? | She asked me what I was doing. |
Who was that fantastic man? | She asked me who that fantastic man had been. |
Do you love me? | He asked me if I loved him. |
Have you ever been to Mexico? | She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico. |
Are you living here? | She asked me if I was living here. |
Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests
There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:
Please help me. | She asked me to help her. |
Please don't smoke. | She asked me not to smoke. |
Could you bring my book tonight? | She asked me to bring her book that night. |
Could you pass the milk, please? | She asked me to pass the milk. |
Would you mind coming early tomorrow? | She asked me to come early the next day. |
Reported Orders
Go to bed! | He told the child to go to bed. |
Don't worry! | He told her not to worry. |
Be on time! | He told me to be on time. |
Don't smoke! | He told us not to smoke. |
now | then / at that time |
today | yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June |
yesterday | the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December |
last night | the night before, Thursday night |
last week | the week before / the previous week |
tomorrow | today / the next day / the following day / Friday |
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We are talking about a very important and interesting topic. We are talking about direct and indirect speech in English and what is the correct formula of the usage.
Remember to read How to learn English with audiobooks for FREE
This topic can seem complicated at the beginning, but necessary to learn. Having this topic solved, you improve your English to a new level, so let’s start to deal with it.
In English, there are two ways how we can tell what another person said. Two ways you can say what someone else has said before.
Note : Indirect speech in different textbooks can be called differently: Indirect Speech or Reported Speech . But these two names mean the same.
Indirect Speech = Reported Speech
Direct speech in English is a type of speech when we retell someone’s speech as it was. We don’t change anything.
John says: I’m a good boy.
To tell what John said, we will say:
We say: John said, “I’m a good boy.”
Indirect speech differs from direct speech in that we DO NOT tell exactly what another person said. We are NOT repeating what someone else said. Indirect speech is when we tell the MEANING of what someone else said.
We say: John said he was a good boy.
Pay attention to what this sentence looks like. Earlier, when John said this, the sentence looked like this:
I am a good boy.
But after WE retell John’s words, in the indirect speech, this sentence looks like this:
John said he was a good boy.
The Quotes and the comma that stood after the name John, separating the speaker from his direct speech, disappeared from this sentence.
In indirect speech, we do not use the separating comma and quotation marks. Because now it is WE are retelling the meaning of what the other person (John) said.
In direct speech, the speaker most often speaks in the first person. That is, the speaker speaks from his person.
John will not talk about himself: John is a good boy . John will say it on his behalf: I am a good boy.
But when we retell the words of John (indirect speech), we cannot speak on his behalf. We cannot say “I am a good boy” because those are not our words. This is John a good boy.
Therefore, in indirect speech, we change “I” to the third person.
He says: I hate you but I need your help.
I retell: He said that he hated me but he needed my help.
To translate direct speech into indirect speech, we use certain rules that you should know.
Let’s take a look at these rules and formulas in order.
In direct speech, we use a comma to separate the speaker from what he is saying. Direct speech (what the speaker says) is in quotation marks.
When we translate direct speech into indirect speech, we remove quotes and commas.
Jessica says , “I’m from the future.”
We retell Jessica’s words: She said that she was from the future.
When translating direct speech into indirect speech, we change personal and possessive pronouns to third-person pronouns.
Direct Speech : He says, “ I couldn’t stay” Indirect Speech : He said that he couldn’t stay. Direct Speech : Tom says, “ I am deeply disturbed” Indirect Speech : Tom said that he was deeply disturbed.
Note: If in direct speech the speaker tells his own words, then we do not change personal and possessive pronouns.
Direct Speech: I said, “ I will do that” Indirect Speech: I said that I would do that.
When we translate adverbs from direct speech to indirect, adverbs change their form.
You can see how adverbs look in direct speech and how adverbs look in indirect speech in this table:
But we don’t always change adverbs this way. We change adverbs only if, when translating from direct speech into indirect speech adverbs cannot express the same meaning as in direct speech.
Take a look at an example:
Mom says, “ Tomorrow we will go to Uncle John’s.” Mom said that the next day we would go to Uncle John’s.
In these examples, we have replaced the adverb tomorrow with the next day . Because we retell Mom’s words on another day. We cannot say tomorrow anymore.
Now look at another example:
Mom says, “We went to visit Uncle John yesterday .”
Now imagine that we are retelling this the next day. We have to say:
Mom said that we went to visit Uncle John the day before yesterday .
If we said “ yesterday “, it would change the meaning of what we want to tell.
If in direct speech in the main sentence the predicate is in Past Simple, then in indirect speech we use the agreement rules.
We put the conjunction “ that ” in front of indirect speech.
Note: We may not use the conjunction that after verbs such as:
He said he found it on the island. He thought he was better than me. He knew he could call you anytime.
If in direct speech after the verb to say there is a prepositional object, then in order to translate such a sentence into indirect speech, we change the verb to say to tell . In this case, tell is used without the preposition to .
Incorrect : to tell Correct : tell
This means:
She said to me … changes to She told me that …
Note : Remember that in this case we also change the adverbs of place and time and demonstrative pronouns, if they are in direct speech.
For modals, we use several important rules.
We change modal verbs as well as main verbs when moving from direct to indirect speech.
But we do not change all modal verbs. We leave some verbs in their original form.
Let’s talk about modals in more detail.
If in direct speech the verb must means an obligation or command, then in the subordinate clause in indirect speech must does NOT change and looks like must .
The teacher says, “You must behave well in class.” The teacher said that we must behave well in class.
If in direct speech the verb must expresses the need, then in the subordinate clause in indirect speech we change the verb must to had to .
Mom says, “You must visit the doctor.” Mom said that I had to visit the doctor.
Can and could..
We change the modal verb can in direct speech to could in indirect speech. Could is the past form of the modal verb can .
She says, “I can swim.” She said that she could swim.
We change the modal verb may in direct speech to might in indirect speech. Might is the past form of the modal verb may .
John says, “I may propose to Maria.” John said that he might propose to Maria.
We change the modal verb must in direct speech to had to in indirect speech (if the verb must expresses the need). Had to is the past analog of the modal verb must .
The following verbs move from direct to indirect speech in their original form. They don’t change in any way.
He says, “I could do this.” He said he could do that.
Let’s take a closer look at these verbs:
The modal verb would in direct speech remains in the form would in indirect speech too.
Mom says, “I would bake a cake.” Mom said she would bake a cake.
If we use the modal verb could in direct speech, then we do not change this verb in any way in indirect speech. Because could is a past form already (It’s the past form of the modal verb can ).
John says, “I could learn to swim” John said he could learn to swim.
The modal verb might does not change its form when we translate this verb from direct to indirect speech. Because the modal might is the past form of the modal may .
He says, “I might ask the same question again”. He said that he might ask the same question again.
We do not change should when switching to indirect speech. Because should is considered the past form of the modal verb shall .
He says, “We should see Mr. Gannon” He said that we should see Mr. Gannon.
We do not change the modal verb OUGHT TO when translating this verb into indirect speech.
She says, “You ought to be angry with John” She said that I ought to be angry with John
Let’s talk about the important exceptions to the rules of this lesson.
He said ( that ) he thought you seemed depressed. He said ( that ) there was no need. He said ( that ) he had many friends.
He says, “Gagarin went to space in 1961.” He said that Gagarin went to space in 1961.
The event that we are talking about in this example happened at exactly the specified time and did not happen anymore.
then when translating into indirect speech, we do not change the form of these verbs. These verbs remain in their form.
She says, “We might find some treasure” She said that we might find some treasure.
He says, “I should do it”. He said that he should do it.
then we translate such a sentence into indirect speech without changing the tense to the past:
She says, “I cook deliciously.” She says that she cooks deliciously. He says, “I have a new smartphone.” He says that he has a new smartphone. She will say, “I didn’t know it.” He will say (that) he didn’t know it.
He says, “After winter comes spring.” He said that after winter comes spring. She says, “Lions don’t hunt camels.” She said that lions don’t hunt camels.
then when translating into indirect speech, we do not change the sentence, we do not translate the sentence into the past.
He says, “I had fixed my car.” He said he had fixed his car. He says, “I was skiing .” He said he was skiing . He says, “I had been all alone for a very long time”. He said that he had been all alone for a very long time.
Look at the following rules and nuances to know how to correctly translate interrogative (question) sentences from direct speech to indirect speech:
He asks, “Do you play dominoes?” He asked if I played dominoes. He asked whether I played dominoes.
We remove the auxiliary verb that was used in the interrogative sentence. We put the subject before the predicate as it should be for the direct word order.
He asks, “Where are you going?” He asked where I was going.
She asks, “Where you are?” She wanted to know where you were.
She asks, “What do these letters mean?” She asked what those letters mean.
Special questions (or Wh-questions) are questions that begin with an additional, question word.
In indirect speech, such a question should also begin with a question word.
This question word also serves as conjunction. This word attaches the question part to the main sentence.
In the question part, we use direct word order.
At the same time, we comply with all the rules for the Sequence of tenses.
My dad asks, “What do you plan to do with yourself?” My dad asked what I planned to do with myself.
When translating imperative sentences from direct to indirect speech, we must take into account several nuances:
He said, “ Go now!” He said to go then. She says, “ Carry my bag” She asked to carry her bag.
We use the verb to say when we translate an ordinary sentence into indirect speech. But in imperative sentences, we change the verb to say to a verb that expresses an order or request:
She says , “Carry my bag” She asked to carry her bag.
let’s (let us)
let’s encourage the speaker and the person to do something together.
In indirect speech, we change let’s to to suggest . For example:
She says, “ let’s do that!” She suggested to do that.
She says, “Replace him, John “ She asked John to replace him.
She says , “Read this book” She ordered ( advised, recommend ) me to read that book.
not + infinitive
He says, “Don’t cry.” He said to me not to cry.
For this, we use a noun or a pronoun.
She says, “Speak to him!” She asked me to speak to you.
Most often, we translate the future and the present into the past.
He says, “I have two brothers” He says that he had two brothers She says, “I do this every time” She says that he did that every day. He says, “I write books” He says that he wrote books. She says, “I am reading” She said that she was reading. He says, “I can swim” He said that he could swim. He says, “I will help you” He said that he would help me.
When we translate a sentence written in the past into indirect speech, we can leave it unchanged or we can change the past to the Past Perfect.
He says, “I saw this movie” He said that he saw that movie. He said that he had seen that movie.
What if in direct speech the main verb is already in Past Perfect?
In this case, the verb in Past Perfect remains unchanged. The verb in Past Perfect in direct speech remains in Past Perfect in indirect speech too.
He says, “I had bought I new house” He said that he had bought a new house.
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Recommended reading: Complex Sentence in English.
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40 Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech Sentences
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While using English, we use direct and indirect speeches quite often. If a sentence is expressed exactly as it came out of the mouth of the person who said it, it becomes a direct speech. However Indirect Speech (also called reported speech) refers to transmitting a sentence that someone has said. It is often used in daily language.
For example,
Susan said, “I ate pizza yesterday.”. (Direct Speech)
Mathilda said: “I have to go out.”. (Direct Speech)
Julie asked: “Did the train leave?” (Direct Speech)
1 | It is too late. | |
I said it was too late. | ||
2 | I had taken Spanish lessons before. | |
He said he had taken Spanish lessons before. | ||
3 | Did you do your homework? | |
He asked me if I did (had done) my homework. | ||
4 | Please help me carry this! | |
My mother asked me to help her carry that. | ||
5 | I like ice cream. | |
He said that he liked ice cream. | ||
6 | I’II see you later. | |
He said he would see me later. | ||
7 | I could swim when I was four. | |
He said he could swim when he was four. | ||
8 | I should call my mother. | |
He said he should call her mother. | ||
9 | I might be late. | |
He said he might be late. | ||
10 | He said, “I was teaching earlier.” | |
He said he had been teaching earlier. | ||
11 | Mary said, “I have been writing this essay.” | |
Mary said that he had been writing that essay. | ||
12 | Michael said, “I may go there.’ | |
Michael says that she may go there. | ||
13 | We can´t go the zoo next week. | |
They said they couldn’t go to the zoo next week. | ||
14 | George is said, “I write a letter”. | |
George is said that she wrote a letter. | ||
15 | I said, “He is driving a car” | |
I said that he was driving a car. | ||
16 | I am reading a book, he explained. | |
He explained that he was reading a book. | ||
17 | My father said, “I am cooking dinner.” | |
My father said he was cooking dinner. | ||
18 | My sister said, “I had already eaten.” | |
My sister said she had already eaten. | ||
19 | My boyfriend asked, “Do you like horror films?” | |
Do you like horror films? my boyfriend asked. | ||
20 | I never get up late, my mother said. | |
My mother said that she never got up late. |
21 | She said, “I might come early.” | |
She said she might come early. | ||
22 | I am leaving home now.” | |
He said that he left home then. | ||
23 | Are you living here? | |
He asked me if I was living here. | ||
24 | I’m going to come. | |
She said that she was going to come. | ||
25 | We can communicate smoothly. | |
They said that they could communicate smothly. | ||
26 | I often enjoy myself. | |
Mary will say that that she often enjoys herself. | ||
27 | Everything is going fine. | |
The news says that everything is going fine. | ||
28 | My father was born in 1962. | |
My father told us that he was born in 1962. | ||
29 | She said, “I’ve missed my train.” | |
She said that she’d missed her train. | ||
30 | I’m sorry for the accident. | |
Georger told Samuel (that) he was sorry for the accident. | ||
31 | He said, “I am a football player.” | |
He said that he was a football player. | ||
32 | Michael said, “I will buy a new car.” | |
Michael said that she will buy a new car. | ||
33 | Mark said, “Bill needs a pencil.” | |
Mark said that Bill needed a pencil. | ||
34 | She said, “I went to the shopping center.” | |
She said that she had gone to the shopping center. | ||
35 | I write poems. | |
He says that he writes poems. | ||
36 | She said: “I would buy new house if I were rich”. | |
She said that she would buy new house if she had been rich”. | ||
37 | May I go out? | |
She wanted to know if she might go out. | ||
38 | She is American, she said. | |
She said she was American. | ||
39 | My son, do the exercise.“ | |
Sh told her son to do the exercise. | ||
40 | I don’t know what to do. | |
Samuel added that he didn’t know what to do. |
About the author.
Last Updated: October 19, 2023 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 60,285 times.
Direct and indirect speech, also known collectively as reported speech, refer to the ways in which a person can report what someone else has said to them. To effectively teach reported speech to your students, it’s important that you first explain what these terms mean and how they should be used. Then, you can use various games and activities to help your students understand and accurately use direct and indirect speech.
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Updated: 24 Jun 2024
Practice writing direct and indirect speech using a set of printable Direct Speech Comic Book worksheets.
Editable: Google Slides
Non-Editable: PDF
Pages: 1 Page
Grades: 3 - 7
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This resource is a great way to motivate students to practise recording dialogue. The use of direct (quoted) and indirect (reported) speech is a tricky writing skill and one that requires lots of repetition to perfect.
This set of worksheets is designed for individual use. Students are provided with a page containing six comic frames, each depicting dialogue in speech bubbles. There is a corresponding worksheet for each frame. Students convert the dialogue shown in the comic frame into both a direct-speech version and an indirect-speech version.
In completing the worksheets, students hone their punctuation skills as they place speech marks, commas and full stops in their sentences. There is also the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of ‘saying verbs’ when they re-write the dialogue. Encourage your students to broaden their vocabulary of synonyms for ‘said’ in their writing.
In addition to individual student work time, use this worksheet as a:
Support struggling students by limiting the amount of writing they have to do. They could simply complete either the direct speech version or the indirect speech version rather than doing both. Alternatively, do away with the writing altogether and work orally with the students. Several students could act out the scenarios while one person acts as a narrator.
After completing the worksheets, challenge your fast finishers to choose one of the frames and continue creating their own comic or narrative to match.
The Download button has a dropdown icon, which allows you to choose between the PDF and Google Slides versions of this resource. The Google Slides version has been adapted with preset text boxes for students to type in, just in case you’d like this to be a fully digital learning activity.
Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities related to direct and indirect speech:
Writing out loud: dialogue punctuation worksheet.
Practice using quotation marks in writing with a Punctuating Dialogue worksheet.
Use this worksheet when teaching students the rules for punctuating direct speech.
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WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and on his way to a remote Pacific island on Tuesday where he will plead guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, according to court documents .
The agreement will free Assange and end the yearslong legal battle over the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents said.
Wikileaks posted footage to X of Assange boarding a plane at Stanstead Airport near London at 5 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) on Monday.
A letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie said Assange would appear in court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.-controlled territory north of Guam, at 9 a.m. local time Wednesday (7 p.m. ET Tuesday) to plead guilty.
A plane believed to be carrying Assange landed early Tuesday in the Thai capital Bangkok to refuel. He will later arrive for what could be a final court hearing after spending five years in a British jail.
The islands are 3,400 miles north of Australia, Assange's country of citizenship, where the Justice Department expects he will return following the proceedings.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that "the case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia."
Assange's mother, Christine Assange, said in a statement widely reported by Australian media: "I am grateful that my son’s ordeal is finally coming to an end. This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy."
His wife, Stella Assange, is currently in Australia with the couple's two children, aged 5 and 7, waiting for his arrival, she told BBC Radio 4. "He will be a free man once it is signed off by a judge," she said, adding that she wasn't sure the deal would happen until the last 24 hours.
She said she was "elated."
Stella Assange, a lawyer, also told the Reuters news agency that she would seek a pardon on her husband's behalf. She said that accepting a guilty plea on an espionage charge created a "very serious concern" for journalists across the world.
U.S. charges against Assange stem from one of the largest publications of classified information in American history, which took place during President Barack Obama's first term.
Starting in late 2009, according to the government, Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning , a military intelligence analyst, to use his WikiLeaks website to disclose tens of thousands of activity reports about the war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of reports about the war in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of State Department cables and assessment briefs of detainees at the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Court documents revealing Assange's plea deal were filed Monday evening in U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Assange was expected to appear in that court and to be sentenced to 62 months, with credit for time served in British prison, meaning he would be free to return to Australia, where he was born.
“This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Monday evening.
Assange has been held in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in east London for five years, and he previously spent seven years in self-exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London — where he reportedly fathered two children — until his asylum was withdrawn and he was forcibly carried out of the embassy and arrested in April 2019.
A superseding indictment was returned more than five years ago, in May 2019, and a second superseding indictment was returned in June 2020 .
Assange has been fighting extradition for more than a decade: first in connection with a sex crimes case in Sweden that was eventually dropped, then in connection with the case against him in the United States.
In March, the High Court in London gave him permission for a full hearing on his appeal as he sought assurances that he could rely upon the First Amendment at a trial in the U.S. In May, two judges on the High Court said he could have a full hearing on whether he would be discriminated against in the U.S. because he is a foreign national. A hearing on the issue of Assange's free speech rights had been scheduled for July 9-10 .
WikiLeaks also published hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee that upended the 2016 presidential race. Russian intelligence officers were subsequently indicted in connection with the hacking in 2018 in a case brought by then-special counsel Robert Mueller.
At a joint news conference with then-President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin days later, Trump contradicted the indictment and the intelligence community, saying Putin was " extremely strong and powerful in his denial " that Russians interfered in the 2016 election to help him win.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison, but Obama commuted her sentence in the final days of his presidency in 2017. Manning was subsequently held in contempt of court for nearly a year after she refused to answer questions for a grand jury; she was then released after an attempted suicide .
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org . You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Michael Kosnar and Ryan J. Reilly reported from Washington, and Patrick Smith from London.
Michael Kosnar is a Justice Department producer for the NBC News Washington Bureau.
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
COMMENTS
Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech. Change of Pronouns. Change of Tenses. Change of Time and Place References. Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech. Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks. Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker. Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb. Step 4: Change the Pronouns.
Direct speech: Sheila said, "I am meeting my brother tomorrow.". Indirect speech: Sheila said that she was meeting her brother the following day. Here are a few examples of other typical time expressions and how they change: Direct Speech. Indirect Speech. Yesterday. The day before. Now.
Here are the steps involved in converting direct speech to indirect speech: Remove the quotation marks. Use a reporting verb to introduce the indirect speech. Change the tense of the verb in the quote if necessary. Change the pronouns if necessary. Use the appropriate conjunction if necessary.
Change of Time & Place for Direct and Indirect Speech Examples. Direct: He said to me, " This is my house.". Indirect: He told me that that was his house. Direct: She said to him, " These are golden flowers.". Indirect: She told him that those were golden flowers. Direct: He said, "I have done it today .".
Direct: "I will help you," she promised. Reported: She promised that she would help me. Direct: "You should study harder," he advised. Reported: He advised that I should study harder. Direct: "I didn't take your book," he denied. Reported: He denied taking my book. Direct: "Let's go to the cinema," she suggested.
2. Examples of Indirect Speech. Basic Examples. Here's a simple conversion: Direct: John said, "I am going to the store.". Indirect: John said that he was going to the store. Complex Examples. For a more complex sentence: Direct: "I can't believe it," she whispered, "but I saw a unicorn in the garden.".
A direct speech can be transformed into an indirect speech and vice versa using a suitable reporting verb and a linker depending on the sentence. Let's have an example first. Tina said to me, "Are you busy now?" [direct speech] Tina asked me whether I was busy then. [indirect speech] Direct Speech. Speaker. Reporting verb. Direct speech ...
So the key difference between direct and indirect speech is that with direct speech the exact words are quoted but in indirect speech it is your own words . Direct speech is fairly simple to use and understand as it involves just repeating what was said. There is not much to get confused about with the grammar, apart from getting say (s)/said ...
Cha nges in pronoun s. The changes in pronouns in indirect speech depends on the subject and the object of the reporting verb. Rule 1: The first person of reported speech changes based on the subject of the reporting verb. Example: She said, "I watched a movie" can be converted into She said that she had watched a movie.Hence, the first person in the direct speech "I" has become "she ...
INDIRECT SPEECH. Reported or indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', 'ask', and we may use the word 'that' to introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used. She said, "I saw him." (direct speech) = She said that she had ...
Step 1: Write down the reporting verb that is used to determine the Indirect Speech's tense. Step 2: Change the position and time to reflect the speaker's actual location and time. Step 3: For both the object and the subject, use the correct pronoun. Step 4: Make sure the sentence has the correct structure and word order.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, "I like coffee.". As indirect reported speech, it looks like this: Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee. You can see that the subject ("I") has been changed to "she," to show who is being spoken about. If I'm reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says "I," I'd ...
Note: That is often implied in indirect speech. It is not mandatory to use it, so it is indicated in brackets in this lesson. Introductory verbs. To relate someone's words to both direct and indirect speech, you need an introductory verb. The two most frequent are tell and say, but there are many other possible ones like: ask reply warn answer
Teacher said if we concentrate we would learn about direct and indirect speech. Rule 8. Reported Speech of Time-Clauses. Ali: "When I was staying in Quetta I met my best friend.". He said that when he was staying in Quetta he met his best friend. Rule 9.
Direct speech: Aslam said, "Do not beat him". Indirect speech: Aslam ordered to not beat him. The direct verb is changed according to indirect speech in case order the speaker gives a direct command. Then said will be changed into ordered For example: Direct Speech: The father said to me, "Sit down.".
5. Conversion of expressions of time and place. If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it may be changed, depending on the situation. Direct Speech → Peter, "I worked in the garden yesterday .". Reported Speech → Peter said (that) he had worked in the garden the day before. Direct Speech.
Now consider the different grammatical aspects of both. Reporting Speech: The first part of the direct speech is called reporting speech (she says). Reported Speech: The second part of the sentence, which is enclosed in inverted commas or quotation marks, is called reported speech (I am a little bit nervous). Reporting Verb: The verb of the reporting speech is called the reporting verb (says).
When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past ...
Zoya said, "I want to go there."; Reported verb: The verb which comes inside the reported speech is called reported verb, respectively. Zoya said, "I want to go there."; As we start writing any direct and indirect conversation, we often use reported verbs like "say, tell, ask, inform, instruct, claim, suggest, enquire, etc.". These reported verbs, whenever used in direct or ...
Watch my reported speech video: Here's how it works: We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence: Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
In direct speech, the speaker most often speaks in the first person. That is, the speaker speaks from his person. John will not talk about himself: John is a good boy. John will say it on his behalf: I am a good boy. But when we retell the words of John (indirect speech), we cannot speak on his behalf.
Direct And Indirect Speech Examples. While using English, we use direct and indirect speeches quite often. If a sentence is expressed exactly as it came out of the mouth of the person who said it, it becomes a direct speech. ... Direct: I write poems. Indirect: He says that he writes poems. 36: Direct: She said: "I would buy new house if I ...
2. Ask your students to report on each other's answers to your questions. First, ask one student a question. Once they answer, ask another student to report what the first student said using direct speech. Then, ask a third student to report what the first student said using indirect speech.
The use of direct (quoted) and indirect (reported) speech is a tricky writing skill and one that requires lots of repetition to perfect. This set of worksheets is designed for individual use. Students are provided with a page containing six comic frames, each depicting dialogue in speech bubbles.
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The WikiLeaks founder has been held in a British prison for the last five years and fought extradition to the U.S. He is expected to return to Australia.
Louisiana public schools are now required to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the requirement into law Wednesday.
Hezbollah leaders have previously come under Western sanctions for smuggling through the airport. Despite sanctions, staff at the airport claim Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah's second in command and the ...