Direct and indirect speech
There are many occasions in which we need to describe an event or action that
happened, and very often that includes repeating what someone said. Such
occasions can include a social situation as well as in a work email or
presentation. In order to describe what people said there are two different types
of speech – direct speech and indirect speech (or reported speech).
Read on to find out more about these forms and improve your English
storytelling skills.
Direct Speech
When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct speech.
We use direct speech when we simply repeat what someone says, putting the phrase
between speech marks:
Paul came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”
It is very common to see direct speech used in books or in a newspaper article. For
example:
The local MP said, “We plan to make this city a safer place for everyone.”
As you can see, with direct speech it is common to use the verb ‘to say’ (‘said’ in the
past). But you can also find other verbs used to indicate direct speech such as ‘ask’,
‘reply’, and ‘shout’. For example:
When Mrs Diaz opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Lee?”
She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.”
The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t finished that report yet!”
Indirect Speech
When we want to report what someone said without speech marks and without
necessarily using exactly the same words, we can use indirect speech (also called
reported speech). For example:
Direct speech: “We’re quite cold in here.”
Indirect speech: They say (that) they’re cold.
When we report what someone says in the present simple, as in the above sentence,
we normally don’t change the tense, we simply change the subject. However, when
we report things in the past, we usually change the tense by moving it one step back.
For example, in the following sentence the present simple becomes the past simple in
indirect speech:
Direct speech: “I have a new car.”
Indirect speech: He said he had a new car.
All the other tenses follow a similar change in indirect speech. Here is an example for
all the main tenses:
All the other tenses follow a similar change in indirect speech. Here is an example for
all the main tenses:
The same rule of moving the tenses one step back also applies to modal verbs. For
example:
Using ‘say’ or ‘tell’
As an alternative to using ‘say’ we can also use ‘tell’ (‘told’ in the past) in reported
speech, but in this case you need to add the object pronoun. For example:
He told me he was going to call Alan.
They told her they would arrive a little late.
You told us you’d already finished the order.
Changing Time Expressions
Sometimes it’s necessary to change the time expressions when you report speech,
especially when you are speaking about the past and the time reference no longer
applies. For example:
Direct speech: “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”
Indirect speech: She said she was seeing her brother the following day.
Here are some other examples:
Direct speech: “I had a headache yesterday.”
Indirect speech: You said you’d had a headache the day before yesterday.
Direct speech: “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”
Indirect speech: He said it’d been raining since that afternoon.
Direct speech: “I haven’t seen them since last week.”
Indirect speech: She said she hadn’t seen them since the previous week.
Reporting Questions
When you report a question you need to change the interrogative form into an
affirmative sentence, putting the verb tense one step back, as with normal reported
speech.
There are two types of questions that we can report – questions that have a yes/no
response, and questions that begin with a question word like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ etc.
When we report a yes/no question, we use ‘if’. For example:
Direct speech: “Do they live here?”
Indirect speech: You asked me if they lived here.
As you can see, in the reported version of the question, ‘do’ is eliminated because it is
no longer a question, and the verb ‘live’ becomes ‘lived’.
For questions starting with question words like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘who’, etc., we
report the question using the question word but change the interrogative form to the
affirmative form. For example:
Direct speech: “Where do they live?”
Indirect speech: You asked me where they lived.
Direct speech: “When are you leaving?”
Indirect speech: He asked us when we were leaving.
Direct speech: “How will they get here?”
Indirect speech: She asked me how they would get here.
When we report a question we normally use the verb ‘ask’. As with the verb ‘to tell’,
the verb ‘to ask’ is normally followed by an object pronoun, though it is possible to omit
it.
Reporting Orders and Requests
When you give someone an order, you use the imperative form, which means using
just the verb without a subject. For example:
“Call me back later.”
“Have a seat.”
“Don’t do that!”
To report an order we use ‘tell’ and the infinitive of the verb. For example:
You told me to call you back later.
He told me to have a seat.
She told us not to do that.
When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For
example:
“Could you call me back later?”
“Will you have a seat?”
“Can you not do that please?”
To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For
example:
You asked me to call you back later.
He asked me to have a seat.
She asked us not to do that.
Now you’ve seen how we use direct and indirect speech, practice using them
yourself. An excellent and easy way to see how they are used is by reading a short
story in English or a news article online, because stories and articles contain many
examples of reported speech.
All the other tenses follow a similar change in indirect speech. Here is an example for
all the main tenses:
The same rule of moving the tenses one step back also applies to modal verbs. For
example:
Using ‘say’ or ‘tell’
As an alternative to using ‘say’ we can also use ‘tell’ (‘told’ in the past) in reported
speech, but in this case you need to add the object pronoun. For example:
He told me he was going to call Alan.
They told her they would arrive a little late.
You told us you’d already finished the order.
Changing Time Expressions
Sometimes it’s necessary to change the time expressions when you report speech,
especially when you are speaking about the past and the time reference no longer
applies. For example:
Direct speech: “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”
Indirect speech: She said she was seeing her brother the following day.
Here are some other examples:
Direct speech: “I had a headache yesterday.”
Indirect speech: You said you’d had a headache the day before yesterday.
Direct speech: “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”
Indirect speech: He said it’d been raining since that afternoon.
Direct speech: “I haven’t seen them since last week.”
Indirect speech: She said she hadn’t seen them since the previous week.
Reporting Questions
When you report a question you need to change the interrogative form into an
affirmative sentence, putting the verb tense one step back, as with normal reported
speech.
There are two types of questions that we can report – questions that have a yes/no
response, and questions that begin with a question word like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ etc.
When we report a yes/no question, we use ‘if’. For example:
Direct speech: “Do they live here?”
Indirect speech: You asked me if they lived here.
As you can see, in the reported version of the question, ‘do’ is eliminated because it is
no longer a question, and the verb ‘live’ becomes ‘lived’.
For questions starting with question words like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘who’, etc., we
report the question using the question word but change the interrogative form to the
affirmative form. For example:
Direct speech: “Where do they live?”
Indirect speech: You asked me where they lived.
Direct speech: “When are you leaving?”
Indirect speech: He asked us when we were leaving.
Direct speech: “How will they get here?”
Indirect speech: She asked me how they would get here.
When we report a question we normally use the verb ‘ask’. As with the verb ‘to tell’,
the verb ‘to ask’ is normally followed by an object pronoun, though it is possible to omit
it.
Reporting Orders and Requests
When you give someone an order, you use the imperative form, which means using
just the verb without a subject. For example:
“Call me back later.”
“Have a seat.”
“Don’t do that!”
To report an order we use ‘tell’ and the infinitive of the verb. For example:
You told me to call you back later.
He told me to have a seat.
She told us not to do that.
When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For
example:
“Could you call me back later?”
“Will you have a seat?”
“Can you not do that please?”
To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For
example:
You asked me to call you back later.
He asked me to have a seat.
She asked us not to do that.
Now you’ve seen how we use direct and indirect speech, practice using them
yourself. An excellent and easy way to see how they are used is by reading a short
story in English or a news article online, because stories and articles contain many
examples of reported speech.
Exercises:
Pilihlah reported speech untuk setiap direct speech di bawah ini.
1. “Did they eat out together yesterday?”
a. He asked me if they had eaten out together the day before.
b. He asked me if they had eaten out together yesterday.
c. He asked me if they has eaten out together the day before.
2. “Don’t turn off the light now.”
a. He told me didn’t turn off the light at that time.
b. He told me not to turn off the light at that time.
c. He told me don’t turn off the light at that time.
3. “What’s your passion?”
a. She wanted to know what is my passion.
b. She wanted to know what my passion was.
c. She wanted to know what was my passion.
4. “I begin to understand the concept of biodiversity.”
a. He said that he began to understand the concept of Biodiversity.
b. He wanted to know if he began to understand the concept of Biodiversity.
c. He asked me that he began to understand the concept of Biodiversity.
5. “Your friend has just left.”
a. He told me that my friend has just left.
b. He told me that your friend had just left.
c. He told me that my friend had just left.
6. “Can I borrow your pencil for a moment?”
a. She asked me whether she can borrow my pencil for a moment.
b. She asked me whether she could borrow my pencil for a moment.
c. She asked me if she can borrow my pencil for a moment.
7. “Why are you staring at my feet?”
a. He asked her why was she staring at his feet.
b. He asked her why she is staring at his feet.
c. He asked her why she was staring at his feet.
8. “The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.”
a. He asked if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
b. He said that the sun rose in the east and set in the west.
c. He said that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
9. “I’m going to meet my penpal for the first time tomorrow.”
a. She said she was going to meet her penpal for the first time the next day.
b. She said she was going to meet my penpal for the first time tomorrow.
c. She said she was going to meet her penpal for the first time tomorrow.
10.“We have been here for a week.”
a. They said they had been there for a week.
b. They said they had been here for a week.
c. They said we had been there for a week.
