DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

Direct Speech : refers to reproducing another person’s exact words or saying exactly what someone has said (sometimes called quoted speech). We use quotation marks (“_____________”) and it should be word for word.

example : Rolla said, "I'm hungry !" or "I'm hungry !," Rolla said.

Indirect Speech : refers to reproducing the idea of another person’s words that doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word. Indirect speech is sometimes called reported speech. The tense usually changes when reporting speech. This is because we are usually talking about a time in the past and obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past. The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

example : "I'm going to the market", mom said ----- Mom said she was going to the market.

TENSE CHANGE :

* When reporting speech the tense usually changes, because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past. Note : the reporting verbs that are usually used to report imperative sentence are : Tell, other command, ask, warn, remind.

* Present Simple to Past Tense

Vita said "I eat fried rice" ----- Vita said that she ate fried rice.

* Past Simple to Past Perfect

Mother said "I went to market yesterday" ----- Mother said (that) she had gone to market the day before.

* Future simple to Past Future

Dave said " I will buy an i-pod next week" ----- Dave said (that he would buy an i-pod the week after.

* Present Continuous to Past Continuous

Gama said "I'm playing football" ----- Gama said he was playing football.

* Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous

She said "I was teaching earlier" ----- She said he had been teaching earlier.

When report what someone said, don't usually repeat their exact words, use our words, we can use reporting words such as tell say as follow by "that clause".

example : My mother said that she got up at 4 o'clock.

In time expression and pronouns

* Direct Speech                * Indirect Speech

   Now                                   Then

   Today / tonight                  That day / that night

   Yesterday                          The day before / the previous day

   Tomorrow                          The next / following day

   Last week                          The previous week

   Next week                         The following week / the week after

   Ago                                    Before

   This / these                        That / those

   Here                                  There

   Pronouns                           They change according to the context

Modal verb forms also sometimes change

Direct Speech  ------  Indirect Speech

        will           ------          would

        can           ------          could

        must        ------           had to

        shall         ------          should

        may          ------          might

Note : There are no change to could, would, should, might, and ought too.

example : "I might go to the cinema", he said ----- He said he might go to the cinema.