TOPIC 30. DIRECT SPEECH AND INDIRECT SPEECH.

INTRODUCTION: I will start telling you about the justification of this topic. According to our current legislation based 2. REPORTING VERBS
on LOMLOE from 2020, the teaching of a foreign language must be based on the communicative approach and The most frequent verb in direct speech is say in its past form said, especially in spoken language. He said,
communication must be the essential part of a language learning process, in this way the methodology used for the ‘Why don’t you come to the party?’
teaching of a foreign language must be based on this communicative approach to make our students not only knowing When we talk about indirect speech the most used verbs are say and tell, also in their forms said and told.
about language but knowing how to use it. Teaching grammar to our students is essential to the correct language She said that she was coming. They told me that they were flying to London.
learning process, for this reason this topic is important. Once the justification is done, we are ready to start... The third most used verb is “ask”, almost exclusively in indirect speech rather than in direct speech: My
brother asked me if I had passed my exams.
1. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
Direct speech and indirect speech refer to the way we report what someone said basically in the past but also in the 2.1 SAY AND TELL
present or in the future. Whereas direct speech shows the actual words said by a person, here what a person says The main difference and one that causes learners to feel insecure about the rule is the uses of say and tell.
appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word, indirect speech is a recreation of the person’s Both verbs are transitive but the main difference is that say does not need a pronoun as its object, whereas
words are therefore subject to certain changes (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to tell needs to have a pronoun or a noun. He said he’d be there for me. She told me she was going to study a lot.
enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word by word. If we need to use a pronoun with say, we need the particle to. He said to me he’d be here at four.
When reporting speech, the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking These two words present one of the most difficult problems for the students. They are similar in meaning,
about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore but in terms of form they are different. Say has the meaning of ‘to express in words’: Say a poem. Say what
usually have to be in the past too. Direct and indirect speech are two main ways of reporting people’s, thoughts, beliefs, to mean. The more usual meaning of tell are: to narrate: He’s good at telling jokes; to inform: Can you tell me
etc. how to get to ...; to explain: She told me how to make a pudding; to order: I told him to go away; to recount:
1.1.DIRECT SPEECH Tell me all you know; to reveal: Tell us some of your secrets. Say is used to report statements in direct and
The reported clause represents or attempts to recreate the exact words someone used, as they occurred at the moment indirect speech: She said: ‘I’m hot.’ She said she was hot. Tell is used with indirect speech, for statements and
of speaking, with the same pronouns, tenses, clause types, etc. which the original speaker used. It is separated by commands; with commands it is followed by ‘to + infinitive’: She told me that it was cold. He told Peter to
punctuation from the reporting clause, usually by means of commas and speech marks. leave the room at once. With say it is not necessary to supply an indirect object, but if an indirect object is
CLAUSE REPORTING -REPORTED: Tom said, “I’ll go to the park tomorrow” given, ‘to’ must be used: She said (to me) that she was cold. Tell is always followed by a direct and an indirect
object; when the latter has final position it is preceded by ‘to’: She told me a story. She told a story to the
CLAUSE REPORTED – REPORTING: ‘Where can I find him?’ she asked. children. Idiomatically, these verbs are also use in different ways: Say: You must go there because I say so.
1.2. INDIRECT SPEECH Suppose I were to lend him, say, six pounds. The concert takes place in a fortnight’s time, that is to say, on April
Indirect speech is the act of speech where the speaker is referring to the words that someone else said but not 21st. Tell: To tell a story, a lie, a secret, what happened, the time, the difference, one’s fortune, ... He may pass
necessarily in their actual form, also known as indirect reports or reported speech. In this case, the reported clause may his examination; you never can tell. An old woman told my fortune. I tell you, I’m sick of the whole business.
be a that-clause (reporting a statement), a wh-clause (reporting a wh-question or exclamation), a clause with if or
whether (reporting a polar question) or an infinitive clause (reporting a directive). 2.2 OTHER VERBS
• Reporting statements: She told me that she couldn’t come to the park. The police informed us that we The communicative functions performed by utterances are called speech acts, which are often indicated by
had to leave the house immediately. the choice of reporting verbs. Reporting verbs generally follow a pattern depending on whether we use them
• Reporting wh-questions and exclamations: Marta asked what had happened. Jessy remarked what a for a certain occasion which implies an opinion from the speaker. Jim urged them to relax.
wonderful flight she had had to London. Instead of saying say or tell, we prefer to use a more complex verb. The reporting verb may represent the
• Reporting polar (yes-no) and alternative questions: My father asked me if I had made my bed. She asked reported clause as performing a specific speech act. The following list shows verbs which are most frequently
him whether he was happy with her. used to introduce indirect reports:
Add Assert Confirm Inform Offer Reveal
• Reporting directives: I told you to give me that book. The police ordered us to stop at once.
Admit Beg Continue Interrupt Order State
When reported speech is used, we have to take into account the fact that some changes in the direct speech occur,
Advise Claim Deny Intervene Plead Suggest
including pronouns, tenses and clause types.
Agree Comment Disclose Maintain Point out Threaten
Announce Complain Explain Note Protest Urge
1.3 OTHER WAYS OF REPORTING
Argue confess hint observe repeat warn
We may also find the case of reporting the content of what someone said by using nouns to report such as argument,
comment, complaint, observation or remark or adjectives such as certain, sure, grateful.
3. PUNCTUATION
The reported clause after a reporting noun is usually a that-clause which acts as the complement of the noun. We do
• In direct speech
not usually omit that after reporting nouns: Sylvia didn’t like his comment that they were spending too much time. My
There are a number of conventions for written direct speech: It may be enclosed in single (‘ ’) or double («
biggest complaint was that there was no air conditioning in the rooms. For years, nobody listened to the
») inverted commas. ‘I want you to come with me’, she said. «Let’s come with me», he said.
warnings that global temperatures were rising. We can also use some reporting nouns (for example claim, offer,
promise, suggestion and threat) with a to-infinitive: She made a promise to visit him at least once a month. Nobody took A comma is used right after the closing speech marks, also if the reporting clause comes first. On the other
seriously her threat to sell the business. hand, the speech mark closes after the full stop. Rita said, ‘I really didn’t mean to do any harm’. We use a colon
We often use adjectives with reporting nouns to describe particular qualities of what someone said: instead of the comma, especially in quotations. Gordon Brown said today: ‘How well our children do at school
Her sudden announcement that she was getting divorced came at 5 pm yesterday. His feeble excuse that he had missed is vital of course to the well-being of this nation”.
the train convinced nobody. • In Indirect speech
Indirect reports of questions have no question marks. They asked him why he was still here.
When the reporting clause is in end position, a comma is added to separate the clauses: He’d love me for ever
and ever, he said.
 4. THE POSITION OF THE REPORTING CLAUSE 5.4 PERSONAL PRONOUNS
A reported speech sentence consists of a reporting clause and one or more reported clauses we can find the latter before or The changes we perform in indirect speech regarding pronouns depend on whether the person reporting
after the reported clause. In direct speech, the reporting clause most usually comes first in the sentence. She said, ‘we’ve is the same as the person who spoke in the direct sentence. Therefore, we will need to change the
been invited to a wedding we don’t want to go to’. The reporting clause usually comes after the reported clause in literary pronouns only in certain occasions.
fiction. In this case, we may also find subject-verb inversion. ‘I need your help’, said my mother. Finally, we may also find Direct speech Indirect speech
the reporting clause in the middle of the sentence, in a way that it interrupts the reported clause. This is also typically ‘I’m staying in Austria’ she said. She said she was staying in Austria.
found in fictional styles: ‘I once saw John’, said Mr Kan, ‘and I’ll never forget it as long as I live’ In informal spoken language, ‘You can stay at my house if you prefer’, I said to I told her she could stay at my house if she
it might also be possible to find the reporting clause after the reported clause: she’s not going to that date with that friend her. preferred.
of mine, she said.
5. TIME AND PLACE REFERENCES 6. REPORT
5.1 DEICTIC EXPRESSIONS 6.1 REPORT OF STATEMENTS
We understand by deictic expressions those ways of addressing to time (today, ago), place (here, this town) and persons We can report statements by using any of the verbs mentioned and a reporting clause. It is usual to omit
(I, you) at the exact moment of speaking. The reference for these deictic expressions is always the moment and the place that in the reported clause. She said (that) she was leaving the following day. They threatened (that) they’d
when and where the speaker is located. Therefore, we are going to find changes in these expressions when we change from call the police. When we are reporting using a noun-form of a reporting verb, the complement includes
direct to indirect reports. Here are some of the changes: that. Did you hear about the suggestion that we should call them back?
Yesterday the day before 6.2 REPORTS OF POLAR AND ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS
Today that day When a yes-no question or an alternative question is reported indirectly, if or whether is used with a
Tomorrow the next/following day declarative clause structure. Are you going to throw a special party for the occasion? She said. BECOMES
Next week the following week She asked if/whether I was going to throw a special party for the occasion. However, we prefer to use
Now then whether if it is followed by or not: We haven’t been told whether or not we’re accepted.
Here there But if or not comes at the end of the sentence, either if or whether can be used: They asked if/whether the
This/these that/those match had finished or not.
5.2 TENSE BACKSHIFT 6.3 REPORTS OF WH- QUESTIONS
When we change a sentence from direct to indirect speech, there is usually a change of tense in the indirect sentence, which When a wh-question is reported indirectly, the word order is normally declarative rather than
is called ‘backshift’. «I want to go home», said Jennifer. Mary said that she wanted to go home. interrogative. We use the same wh-pronoun or how and its family a in the direct question. Everybody
However, when something is reported that is a general truth, still relevant or still true at the moment of reporting or as yet wondered, ‘What will be the final result?’ BECOMES Everybody wondered what the final result would be.
unfulfilled, there is often no tense change: «Girls’ exam results are generally better than boys’», the head teacher admitted. ‘How was the flight?’ she asked. BECOMES She asked me how the flight had been.
The head teacher admitted that girls ‘exam results are generally better than boys’. 7. VOICE IN THE REPORTING CLAUSE
Here is a table which shows what tense changes take place: Most of the times we find that reporting speech is expressed in the active voice. Nevertheless, the passive
Present simple Past simple voice can also occur and it is, as a matter of fact, quite frequent, especially indirect reports with ask and
‘I’m about 150 kilometres from London’. He said (that) he was about 150 kilometres from London. tell. I was asked if the price of housing would continue to increase.
Present continuous Past continuous The passive voice can include a number of tenses, the same that can also be used in reporting speech. In
‘The girl’s singing’. He said (that) the girl was singing. this sense, passive voice corresponds to just another category within the expression.
Past simple Past perfect It is less frequent to find examples of passive voice in the reporting clause in direct speech, but it does
‘There was a terrible storm’. He said (that) there’d been a terrible storm. occur in complement clauses of reporting nouns: One question teachers often get asked is, ‘What do I need
Present perfect Past perfect to pass the course?’
‘I haven’t seen the film’. He said (that) he hadn’t seen the film. 8. FREE DIRECT AND FREE INDIRECT SPEECH AND THOUGHT
Past perfect Past perfect Literary style often omits the reporting clause, when it is clear who is speaking and in what order. This is
‘I had done it before’. He said (that) he had done it before. known as free direct speech. This type of style also permits indirect speech reporting, or the indirect
Am going to Was going to reporting of inner speech or thoughts, with no explicit reporting verb, which is known a free indirect
‘I’m going to pass the exam’. She said (that) she was going to pass the exam. speech. Jane got up. She looked determined. She would go to London after all.
5.3 BACKSHIFT AND MODAL VERBS
Must: Must usually changes to had to, especially when reference is made to an accomplished past event. Except when the CONCLUSION: Direct speech an indirect speech are two sides of the same coin in the treatment we give
event is still unaccomplished. to what people say and how we report about what people say. Direct speech represents the real world in
Shall: Shall with first person subject changes to would in reports of statements, but changes to should when questions are the voice of a speaker. It defines the words as someone actually said them. In this sense, direct speech is
reported. more objective than indirect speech. In indirect speech, on the other hand, the speaker recreates what
Can: Can changes to could. someone said. Regarding the teaching of reported speech, it is always a good idea to provide students with
Other modal verbs: Could, might, should, would, ought to and used to do not change. real situations which contextualise their learning process and which emphasises their abilities to acquire
Here is a list with backshift in modal verbs: the knowledge in a natural personalised way.
Will/shall Would/should
‘I’ll spend two hours studying’ He said (that) he’d spend two hours studying. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
‘Shall I do it?’ He asked if he should do it. • Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press.
Can ‘I can see Peter clearly’. Could She said (that) she could see Peter clearly. Cambridge. 2006.
May ‘I may win’. Might He said (that) he might win. • Carter, R., Hughes, R. and McCarthy, M. Exploring Grammar in Context Upper Intermmediate
Might ‘I might win’. Might she said (that) she might win. and Advanced. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 2000.
must Had to/must • www.britannica.com
‘I must get my hair cut’. She said (that) she had to get her hair cut.
‘You must finish by the 9th of March’. She said (that) I must finish by the 9th of March.
• The Oxford English Dictionary