Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct

When we report the same words spoken by a speaker, that is said to be in Direct speech.

Indirect

When we report the speaker's words by changing according to present condition, that is said to be in Indirect speech.

Example:

• "The cat is well." said the vet.(direct speech)
  The vet told me that the cat was well.(Indirect speech)

It is important to note that direct speech is always placed within inverted commas (" "). This punctuation mark is called quotation marks or speech marks.

Reporting Verbs

Read these sentences:

Direct speech: "The story is interesting." said Mira.
Indirect speech:Mira said that the story was interesting.
Direct speech: "The story is interesting." said Mira to David.
Indirect speech: Mira told David that the story was interesting.
In reported speech or indirect speech, when we mwntion the person or persons to whom the words are spoken, we use the reporting verbs said or told.

Direct to Indirect Speech

Change of tense

When changing from direct speech to indirect speech, we usually change the verb in the direct speech from the present tense to the past tense, unless the sentence expresses something that happens everyday or is a universal truth.

Look at these examples:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
"I am bandaging the dog's paw." said the vet.	The vet said that he was bandaging the dog's paw.
"I took my cat to the vet." said the girl.	The girl said that she had taken her cat to the vet.
"I have a nasty cold." said my grandmother.	My grandmother said that she had a nasty cold.
"I look after animals." says the vet.	The vet says that he looks after animals. (Tense does not change as the vet talks about an everyday action.)
"Mt Everest is the highest peak in the world." said our teacher.	Our teacher said that Mt Everest is the highest peak in the world. (Tense does not change as the teacher says a universal truth.)

Look at this chart to understand the changes of tenses :

	Direct Speech		Indirect Speech
From	Simple present tense	to	Simple past tense
From	Simple past tense	to	Past Perfect
From	Past perfect	to	No change
From	Present continuous	to	Past continuous
From	Present perfect	to	Past perfect

Direct to Indirect Speech

Change of pronouns and possessive adjectives

Pronouns and possessive adjectives also change when we change a sentence from direct to reported speech or indirect speech. They change according to the person and gender of the speaker and the listener.

Look at these sentences :

• "You are doing your work well." said the teacher to me.
  The teacher told me that I was doing my work well.
• "Lend me your book." said Peter to Ria.
  Peter told Ria to lend him her book.
• "Your cake is ready." said the baker to Mrs. Brown.
  The baker told Mrs. Brown that her cake was ready.

Grab the points

• Pronouns and possessive adjectives of the first person are changed into the pronouns and possessive adjectives of the same person and gender as that of the subject of the reporting verb.
• Pronouns and possessive adjectives of the second person are changed into the pronouns and possessive adjectives of the same person and gender as that of the object of the reporting verb.

Direct to Indirect Speech

Change in time and space

Words expressing nearness in time and space in direct speech are generally changed to words expressing distance, as in these sentences in indirect speech.

• "The teacher gave me this book today." said Rajat.
  Rajat said that the teacher had given him that book that day.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
now	then
here	there
today	that day
this	that
these	those
yesterday	the day before/the previous day
tomorrow	the day after/the following day
just now	just then