Every day, people relay messages from one person to another. Whether it is to prove a point, describe an event, or disclose an opinion, we use the freedom of speech to share information. There are generally two ways of reporting a spoken idea: direct and indirect speech. This article shall explain and compare these two types of speech. Some examples are also provided to give you a more in-depth understanding.
Both direct and indirect speech are methods to narrate the words spoken by a specific person. The difference between them lies in how they are constructed and in the purpose of using them.
In a direct speech, the actual words of the speaker are quoted explicitly. It is often used to relay something being said in the present tense. It can also be used to recall the exact words of the speaker when retelling a previous conversation. You can recognize a direct speech instantly because it has a text enclosed in a set of quotation marks. That text or idea is known as the reported speech.
Examples:
As you can see, direct speech can be presented in different tenses: past, present, or future. It depends on when the actual words were spoken and when the reporter is retelling them. Also, reporting verbs (say, ask, answer, etc.) are not necessarily placed before the quoted text. You can also place them after it.
This type of speech is often used in writing novels or telling a story. This is because it gives the text a more actual and realistic effect.
Indirect speech is usually used to relay what was being said by the speaker without directly quoting the original words. In this case, the tense of the sentence is typically changed. Reporting verbs, such as say, tell, ask, and others, are used as an introduction. The words of the original speaker will not be enclosed inside the quotation marks. Instead, the word “that” is used to connect the reporting verb to the reported text.
Examples:
The above sentences are actually converted from the previous examples of direct speech. Aside from eliminating the quotation marks, correct pronouns are also used. Additionally, the reporting verbs are now all found before the reported speech. The reporting verb is then followed with “that.”
Now, let us specify the rules in converting direct speech to indirect speech. Here are the steps on how to do so:
The quotation marks are the primary indication of a direct speech. Therefore, it is crucial to take them out if you are forming an indirect one.
You have to retain the tense of the reporting verb to allow consistency of reports. Instead of placing a comma to separate the reporting clause from the reported one, the word “that” is added. However, if the reported speech is a yes-no question, you use “if” instead of “that.” If the question starts with who, what, when, where, etc., no additional words are needed. Instead, you have to rearrange the sentence into a declarative form.
If the reporting verb is in the past tense, you should change the tense of the verb inside the reported speech into its past tense. This is not necessary if the reporting verb is in the present or future tense.
Of course, you have to consider the correlation between the report and the idea on the quoted text. Sometimes, a change in tense is not needed even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
For the first example, the quoted text is still about to happen. So, you don’t need to change the tense of the sentence inside the quotation. For the second example, watching TV series is implied as a habitual action. Therefore, you still have to retain the present tense of the verb.
You should also change the pronoun based on who the speaker, doer, and receiver of the action is.
Appropriate changing of pronouns is done to avoid misunderstanding the whole text. If pronouns are not changed, it might confuse the reader or the listener as to who is saying or doing the action.
The change in pronouns gives rise to changes in the plurality of the verb used. That being said, you have to consider and follow correct subject-verb agreement at all times.
Direct and Indirect Speech
Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Continuous Tense into Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense (The tense remains unchanged)
Future Simple Tense (e.g. will ) into “ would “
Future Progressive Tense (e.g. will be ) into “ would be “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have ) into “ would have “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have been ) into “ would have been “
Direct and Indirect Speech
Can into Could
Could (The verb remains unchanged)
Have to into Had to
Must into Must/Had to
May into Might
Might (The verb remains unchanged)
Should (The verb remains unchanged)
