Direct and Indirect Speech | A complete guide to the English language

Direct and Indirect Speech | An overview

There are numerous times when we need to recount a recent incident or action, and this frequently entails repeating what someone said. A social scenario, as well as a business email or presentation, are examples of such moments. There are two sorts of speech used to characterize what someone said: Direct and Indirect speech.

Therefore, it is important to comprehend the differences between direct and indirect speech rules. We’ll begin by defining each one. It’s worth noting that indirect communication is sometimes referred to as reported speech. Let us look at the definition and direct speech and indirect speech examples.

Definition of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech 

One approach for describing what someone said is to use direct speech. When the words are delivered precisely as the speaker spoke them, it is referred to as direct speech. In other words, the words are quoted exactly as they are. 

When presenting the direct speech, the words are usually placed in quote marks, with a comma following say(s) / said if used to convey the speech. A comma should be put before say(s) / said if it is placed after the quote. 

Examples of Direct Speech

Common example- 

Joey came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”

Verbs such as ‘ask, “reply,’ and shout’ are also used to express direct communication. Here are three examples explaining the same.

When Mrs Geller opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Ross?” She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.” The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t finished that report yet!”

Other examples of Direct Speech-

Rachel said, “Don’t take the break without asking me.” Monika says, “I will help you with your work.” “We are prepared to revise the law if we can”, the judge said. The principal said, “You must wear the proper uniform.”

Indirect Speech 

Also known as reported speech, indirect speech is a type of communication in a non-direct manner. Indirect discourse or indirect narrative are other terms for it. 

Indirect speaking is when you report what someone else stated in your own words without affecting the meaning. We can use indirect speech to convey what someone said without using speech marks or using the exact words. 

We use report verbs to present an indirect speech. Here are a few examples- 

say(s)/said (that) told me (that)

You may leave the words in brackets in any sentence, spoken or written. You can refer to these sentences to understand better.

What did he say? He said I should get a makeover

Other examples of Indirect speech

• She said (that) she would definitely win it.
• Phoebe told me (that) I had to come back in the evening.
• The committee said (that) they will try and clear the garbage.
• He told me (that) he was feeling anxious. 

The main distinction between direct and indirect speech is that direct speech is the repetition of the exact words spoken by someone else, but in indirect speech, you use your own words to describe something that someone else sopke.

Direct speech is easy to use and comprehend since it just repeats what has already been spoken. Apart from getting the say(s)/said right, there isn’t much to be confused about with the grammar. Here’s an example of the same.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“We’re quite hot in here.	They say (that) they’re hot.

We usually don’t alter the tense when reporting what someone says in the present simple, like in the preceding line. Instead, we change the subject. However, when reporting on the past, we normally shift the tense by taking a step backwards. In indirect speech, the present simple becomes the past simple in the following sentence.  

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“I have a new bike.”	He said he had a new bike.

All of the other tenses in indirect speech follow a similar pattern. For each of the main tenses, here is an example-

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He said, “ I live in the city center.” (Present simple)	He said he lived in the city center.
She said, “I’m going out.” (Present continuous)	She said she was going out.
I said, “ I’ve been studying a lot.” (Present perfect continuous)	I said that I had been studying a lot.
He said “I’ve finished.” (Present perfect)	He said he had finished.
She said, “I arrived before you.” (Past simple)	She said she had arrived before you.
He said, “I had already left.” (Past perfect)	He said he had already left.
She said, “I will be there at 3 pm.” (Future simple)	She said she would be there at 3 pm.

Modal verbs follow the same rule of moving the tenses back one step. Here are some examples of the same.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He said, “I can dance.”	He said he could dance.
She said, ”Shall we go?”	She asked if we should go.
He said, “I may sleep there.”	He said he might sleep there.

Using the words ‘say’ and ‘tell’

In reported speech, we can also use ‘tell’ (‘told’ in the past) instead of say,’ but you must include the object pronoun in this situation. Consider the following examples-

• He told me he was going to call Rachel.
• They told him they would arrive a little late.
• You told us you’d already finished the dinner.

Changing the time expressions

It’s also possible that you’ll need to adjust time-related phrases. However, this will depend on the context and when you’re reporting the speech. 

You must presume that the speech is being reported in the future. So, expressions like ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’ make sense in the context of the reported speech. 

When reporting a speech, it’s often essential to adjust the time phrases, especially if you’re talking about the past and the time reference no longer applies. Here are some other examples:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
She said, “We need your assistance now.”	She said they needed my assistance then.
“I had a headache yesterday.”	You said you’d had a headache the day before.
She said, “He will bring the book tomorrow.”	She said that she would bring the book the next day.

Changing Pronouns

Indirect speech also requires changing the pronouns from what they were in direct speech, as well as adjusting the initial pronoun to reflect the person who made the statement.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“I want to meet you later”.	She said she wanted to meet me later.
“You have to come back in the afternoon”	Moika told me I had to come back in the afternoon.
“We like it a lot”	They said they liked it a lot.
“I have been walking with my husband”	She said she had been walking with her husband.

Key takeaways

• The English language contains a lot of important topics that you need to practice to clear any competitive exam with flying colors.
• Direct and Indirect Speech is one of such important topics that should master.
• Now, don’t dread the learning. Refer to the above mentioned examples and practice this topic. Reading a short tale story in English or a news article online, which both offer numerous examples of reported speech, is a wonderful and simple approach to observe how they are applied.

That’s all we have for you in this blog! If you have any questions/suggestions, feel free to reach out to us or drop a comment below!

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FAQs

Q1. How do you teach kids the difference between direct and indirect speech?

Answer- First, have one of your pupils read a simple statement to you. Then, have the student relay the information to you using direct speech first, then indirect speech.

Q2. Where do we use Direct speech?

Answer- Direct speech is used in creative writing, story writing, narration, informal communication, etc. In some instances, it is used in formal writing too.

Q3. How do you change Direct speech to Indirect speech?

Answer- Remove the inverted commas and change the first-person statement inside the inverted commas to the second-person statement without changing the tense.