Direct speech, also known as quoted speech, or reported speech, is simply the quotation of the exact words that someone has said or written. Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, indirect discourse, or indirect statement, however, refers to when we change someone's original statement into another form while keeping its general meaning intact.
Grammar
Reported speech (statements)
Study the following.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| 'I love the Toy Story films,' she said. | She said she loved the Toy Story films. |
| 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. | He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. |
| 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. | He said he'd phone me the next day. |
| She asked, "What do you want?" | She asked (me) what I wanted. |
| He said to me, "Do you live near here?" | He asked me if/whether I lived near there. |
| "Don't be late," I said to Joe. | I told Joe not to be late. |
| She said, "Don't the children like ice-cream?" | She was surprised that the children didn't like ice-cream. |
In indirect
speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (e.g. worked) than
the tense originally used (e.g. work). This is called 'backshift'. We may also
need to change other words that were used, for example pronouns.
Change the following into indirect speech.
a. She said, "While I was having dinner, the phone rang."
→ She said
that while she had been having dinner, the phone
had rung."
b. My friend said, "Where are they staying?"
→ My friend
asked where they were staying.
c. Jamila said, "I travel a lot in my job."
→ Jamila
said that she travelled a lot in her job.
d. She said to me, "We lived in China for five years."
→ She told
me that they had lived in China for five years.
e. He said to me, "Do you like ice-cream?"
→ He asked
me if I liked ice-cream.
f. They said, "Hurray! We've won the match."
→ They
exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
g. He said, "I'd tried
everything without success, but this new medicine is great."
→ He said
that he'd tried everything without success, but that new medicine was great.
h. Sony said, "I go to the gym next to your house."
→ Sony said
that she went to the gym next to my house.
i. He said, "Be quiet after 10
o'clock."
→ He told me
to be quite after 10 o'clock.
j. He said, "I don't want to go to the party unless he invites
me."
→ He said
that he didn't want to go to the party unless he
invited him.
k. He said to me, "I will see you tomorrow if you meet me."
→ He told me
that he would see me the next day if I met him.
l. She said, "If I were you, I
would give up the work."
→ She suggested
to give up the work.