Direct & Indirect Speech

In English grammar, there are two ways to report what someone has said: indirect speech and direct speech. Direct speech is when the exact words a person spoke are quoted in a sentence. Indirect speech is when the speaker’s words are reported in a different form. There are rules for converting direct speech into indirect speech, and vice versa. In this blog post, we will discuss these rules for direct and indirect speech and give examples of both direct and indirect speech. Stay tuned!

Direct and indirect speech definition:

When we report what someone has said, we can either use direct speech or indirect speech.

Direct speech duplicates, or excerpts, the exact words were spoken. It is placed inside quotation marks and there is no difference in these words. For example: “I’m going out,” she said.

Indirect speech reports on what someone has said and it is not placed inside quotation marks. The words are changed slightly to reflect the fact that we are no longer hearing the actual words that were spoken. For example, She said (that) she was going out.

Examples of direct and indirect speech

Here are some examples of Direct and Indirect speech:

Direct speech examples:

“I am going to the store,” said John.

John said, “I am going to the store.”

Riya said, “I am happy.”

Indirect speech examples:

John said that he was going to the store.

Riya said that she was happy.

Now, let’s take a look at the rules for direct and indirect speech.

Rules for direct and indirect speech:

The rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech with examples are as follows:

– If the direct speech is in the present tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He says, “I am a doctor.”

becomes

He says that he is a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the past tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He said, “I was a doctor.”

becomes

He said that he had been a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the future tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He will say, “I shall be a doctor.”

becomes

He will say that he will be a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the present perfect tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He has said, “I have been a doctor.”

becomes

He has said that he has been a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the past perfect tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He had said, “I had been a doctor.”

becomes

He had said that he had been a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the future perfect tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He will have said, “I shall have been a doctor.”

becomes

He will have said that he will have been a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the present continuous tense, change it into indirect speech according to the rules of the sequence of tenses. For example,

He is saying, “I am being a doctor.”

becomes

He is saying that he is being a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the past continuous tense, change it into indirect speech according to rules of sequence of tenses. For example,

He was saying, “I was being a doctor.”

becomes

He was saying that he was being a doctor.

– If the direct speech is in the future continuous tense, change it into indirect speech according to rules of sequence of tenses. For example,

He will be saying, “I shall be being a doctor.”

becomes

He will be saying that he will be being a doctor.

Conclusion

Direct and indirect speech are basically the scripting of the exact words of the speaker within quotation marks and reporting those words respectively from the narrator’s point of view. They are used for various purpose on a daily basis. One should be aware of teh rules and their uses so that any mistake in terms of writing or using speech is avoided.