DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
Introduction
There
two ways to convey/ report a message of a person, or the words spoken by a
person to other person or what someone says or thinks.
1. Direct
speech
2. Indirect
speech
For example, your friend whose name
is John tells you in school, “I will give you a pen”. You come to home and you
want to tell your brother what your friend told you. There are two ways to tell
him.
Example:
Direct speech:
John said, “I will give you a pen”.
Indirect
Speech: John said that he would give me a pen.
In
direct speech, the original words of person are narrated (no change is made)
and are enclosed in quotation mark. While in indirect speech, some changes are
made in original words of the person because these words have been uttered in
past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may also be changed
accordingly. In indirect speech the statement of the person is not enclosed in
quotation marks, the word “that” may be used before the statement to show that
it is indirect speech. Indirect speech
is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second
part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.
There are three types of sentence in
direct and indirect speech:
1.
STATEMENT: When you report what someone said in the past, you usually shift
back a verb tense from the tense the speaker used. On the other words, the verb
first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,)
before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb or
statement.
simple present
------>
simple past
past -----> past perfect
present perfect
------>
past perfect
will -----> would
can -----> could
Quotation Statement/ Reported speech
“I am hungry.” She stated that she was hungry.
“I saw them leave.” Pat said he had seen them leave.
“I can’t remember you name.” Lisa said she couldn’t remember my
name.
“The exam will be next
week.” Dr. Jones said the exam will be next week.
“I want to see that movie.” Kim said
that she wants to see that movie.
Other examples:
1. He
said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
2. He
said that he worked in a factory.
(Indirect speech)
3. They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
4. They
said that they were going to cinema.
(Indirect speech)
2.
COMMANDS can be reported two ways:
1. a noun clause with a modal (usually should)
2. an infinitive
Examples:
“Call me when you get home.”
She said that we should call her when we get home.
She said to call her when we get home.
“Plan ahead.”
My father told me that I should plan ahead.
My father told me to plan ahead.
Requests for action or permission can be reported two ways:
1. a noun clause
with if
2. an infinitive
Quotation Reported
Speech
For action:
“Will you carry the box for me?” She asked me if I would carry the box for
her.
She
asked me to carry the box for her.
Permission:
“Can I make an appointment?” The student asked if he could make an appointment.
The
student asked to make an appointment.
3.
QUESTIONS: The word order in a reported question is the same as in a
statement. The subject comes before the verb.
Question: Are you ready?
Statement: I am ready.
Question in reported speech: She wanted to know if I was ready.
Punctuation: If the sentence is a statement, end it with a period
(.) even if it contains a reported question.
Statement containing a reported question: She asked me what I
thought of the new movie.
Question containing a reported question: Did she ask what you
thought of the new movie?
YES/NO QUESTIONS
To change a yes/no
question to a noun clause in reported speech, introduce the noun clause with if
or whether. Whether or not may also be used.
Examples:
Quotation Reported
Speech
“Did you turn
off the coffee pot?” I
asked Amy if she had turned off the coffee pot.
“Is supper
ready?” Eli
wanted to know whether supper was ready.
“Will you be at
the party?” Paul
asked me whether or not I would be at the party.
“Should I tell
her the news?” Jack wanted to know if he should
tell Maria the
news.
Jack
wondered whether he should tell Maria
the
news or not.
Jack
asked whether he should tell Maria the
news.