DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH COURS

 

We use direct speech when we repeat someone's words and indirect speech when we use our own words to report what someone says. We use verbs of reporting such as say, tell, ask, answer... We may report the words of a speaker in two ways:

-          We may quote his actual words. This is called Direct Speech.

-          We may report what he said without quoting his exact words. This is called Indirect (or Reported) Speech.

 

Direct. Rama said. “I am very busy now.”

Indirect. Rama said that he was very busy then.

 

It will be noticed that in Direct Speech, we use inverted commas to mark off the exact words of the speaker. In Indirect Speech we do not. It will be further noticed that in changing the above Direct Speech into Indirect certain changes have been made. Thus:

-          We have used the conjunction that before the Indirect statement.(The “that” is often omitted especially in spoken English)

-          The pronoun “I” is changed to “he”. (The Pronoun is changed in Person.)

-          The verb “am” is changed to “was”. (Present Tense is changed to Past.)

-          The adverb “now” is changed to “then”.

 

Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect

When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all Present tenses of the Direct are changed into the corresponding Past Tenses. Thus:

 

a-      A simple present becomes a simple past.

Direct. -- He said, “I am unwell.”

Indirect. -- He said (that) he was unwell.

 

b-      A present continuous becomes a past continuous.

Direct. -- He said, “My master is writing letters.”

Indirect. -- He said (that) his master was writing letters.

 

c-      A present perfect becomes a past perfect.

Direct. -- He said, “I have passed the examination.”

Indirect. -- He said (that) he had passed the examination.

 

Note: The “shall” of the Future Tense is changed into “should”. The “will” of the Future Tense is changed into “would” or “should”.

 

d-     The simple past in the Direct becomes the past perfect in the Indirect.

Direct. -- He said, “The horse died in the night.”

Indirect. -- He said that the horse had died in the night.

 

e-      The tenses may not change if the statement is still relevant or if it is a universal truth. We can often choose whether to keep the original tenses or change them.

Direct. – “I know her address,” said Gopi.

Indirect. -- Gopi said he knows/knew her address.

Direct. -- The teacher said, “The earth goes round the sun.”

Indirect. -- The teacher said the earth goes/went round the sun.

Direct. – “German is easy to learn”, she said.

Indirect. -- She said German is/was easy to learn.

 

The past tense is often used when it is uncertain, if the statement is true or when we are reporting objectively.

 

f-       The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed, where necessary, so that their relations with the reporter and his hearer, rather than with the original speaker, are indicated.

Direct. -- He said to me, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- He said he didn't believe me.

Direct. -- She said to him, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- She said she didn't believe him.

Direct. -- I said to him, “I don’t believe you.”

Indirect. -- I said I didn't believe him.

Direct. -- I said to you, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- I said I didn't believe you.

 

g-      Words expressing nearness in time or place are generally changed into words expressing distance.

now -- becomes -- then

here -- becomes -- there

ago -- becomes -- before

thus -- becomes -- so

today -- becomes -- that day

tomorrow -- becomes -- the next day

yesterday -- becomes -- the day before

last night -- becomes -- the night before

Direct. -- He says, “I am glad to be here this evening.”

Indirect. -- He says that he was glad to be there that evening.

The changes do not occur if the speech is reported during the same period or at the same place ; e.g.,

Direct. -- He said, “I am glad to be here this evening.”

Indirect. -- He said that he was glad to be here that evening.

Similarly, this and these are changed to that and those unless the thing pointed out is near at hand at the time of reporting the speech.

 

h-      In reporting questions, the Indirect Speech is introduced by some such verbs as asked, inquired…

When the question is not introduced by an interrogative word, the reporting verb is followed by whether or if.

Direct. -- He said to me, “What are you doing?”

Indirect. -- He asked me what I was doing.

Direct. -- “Where do you live?” asked the stranger.

Indirect. -- The stranger enquired where I lived.

Direct. -- The policeman said to us, “Where are you going ?”

Indirect. -- The policeman enquired where we were going.

Direct. -- He said, “Will you listen to such a man?”

Indirect. -- He asked them whether they would listen to such a man.

[Or] Would they, he asked, listen to such a man ?

Direct. – “Do you suppose you know better than your own father?” jeered his angry mother.

Indirect. -- His angry mother jeered and asked whether he supposed that he knew better than his own father.

 

i-        Commands and Requests

In reporting commands and requests, the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb expressing command or request, and the imperative mood is changed into the Infinitive.

Direct. -- Rama said to Arjun, “Go away.”

Indirect. -- Rama ordered Arjun to go away.

Direct. -- He said to him, “Please wait here till I return.”

Indirect. -- He requested him to wait there till he returned.

Direct. -- “Call the first witness,” said the judge.

Indirect. -- The judge commanded them to call the first witness.

Direct. -- He shouted, “Let me go.”

Indirect. -- He shouted to them to let him go.

Direct. -- He said, “Be quiet and listen to my words.”

Indirect. -- He urged them to be quiet and listen to his words.

 

j-        Exclamations and Wishes

In reporting exclamations and wishes the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb expressing exclamation or wish.

Direct. -- He said, “Alas! I am undone.”

Indirect. -- He exclaimed sadly that he was undone.

Direct. -- Alice said, “How clever I am!”

Indirect. -- Alice exclaimed that she was very clever.

Direct. -- He said, “Bravo! You have done well.”

Indirect. -- He applauded him, saying that he had done well.

Direct. -- “So help me, Heaven!” he cried, “I will never steal again.”

Indirect. -- He called upon Heaven to witness his resolve never to steal again.

 

k-      Verbs of reporting

Accept, confess, guarantee, pray, snap, add, confirm, hear, predict, state, admit, consider, imagine, promise, suggest, advise, continue, inform, propose, suppose, agree, cry, inquire, read, swear, answer, decide, insist, reassure, tell, apologize, declare, instruct, recommend, thank, argue, demand, invite, record, think, ask, deny, know, refuse, threaten, assure, doubt, learn, remark, understand, beg, enquire, mention, remind, urge, believe, expect, murmur, repeat, want to, know, blame, explain, mutter, reply, warn, call, feel, notify, report, whisper, claim, forbid, object, request, wonder, command, forecast, observe, say, write, comment, groan, offer, scream, complain, growl, order, shout, conclude, grumble, point out, smile…

We use talk and speak to mention who was speaking or for how long.

Angela was talking to Neil. The President spoke for an hour.

But we do not use talk or speak as verbs of reporting.

The President said that he was confident of success.

 

-          A few verbs of reporting always have an indirect object.

No one told me you were leaving.

We informed everyone that the time had been changed.

These verbs are tell, inform, remind, notify, persuade, convince and reassure.

Some verbs of reporting take an indirect object and a to-infinitive.

The police ordered the men to lie down.

i-                    Tell, say and ask

We normally use an indirect object after tell but not after say.

Celia told me she's fed up. NOT Celia told she's fed up.

Andy told me all the latest news.

Celia said she's fed up. NOT Celia said me she's fed up

Dave never says anything. He's very quiet.

 

-          We can use ask with or without an indirect object.

I asked (Celia) if there was anything wrong.

-          We can use a that-clause or a wh-clause.

Celia told me (that) she's fed up/said (that) she's fed up.

Celia told me what's wrong.

-          Say + wh-clause is more common in negatives or questions, where the information is not actually reported.

Celia didn't tell me/didn't say what was wrong.

Did your brother tell you/say where he was going?

-          We can use tell + indirect object + about.

Debbie told us about her new boy-friend.

With talk about there is no indirect object.

Debbie talked about her new boy-friend.

We use say with about only if the information is not actually reported.

What did she tell you/say about her new boy-friend?

No one has told us anything/said anything about the arrangements.

 

 

j- Adverbials of time

Here are some typical changes from direct to indirect speech. But remember that the changes are not automatic; they depend on the situation.

 

Direct speech	Indirect speech
now	then/at that time/immediately
today	yesterday/that day/on Tuesday etc
yesterday	the day before/the previous day/on Monday etc
tomorrow	the next day/the following day/on Wednesday etc
this week	last week/ that week
last year	the year before/the previous year/in 1990 etc
next month	the month after/the following month/in August etc
an hour ago	an hour before/an hour earlier/at two o 'clock etc

 

When we are talking about something other than time, this/that usually changes to the or it.

'This steak is nice.' Dan said the steak was nice.

'I like that.' Paula saw a coat. She said she liked it.

 

k-      A verb of reporting can be in a present tense.

The forecast says it's going to rain.

Karen tells me she knows the way.

I've heard they might close this place down.

Here the present tense suggests that the words were spoken only a short time ago and are still relevant.

- After a present-tense verb of reporting, we do not change the tense in indirect speech.

'I'm hungry.' Robert says he's hungry.

- After a present-tense verb of reporting, the past tense means past time.

The singer says he took drugs when he was younger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rules for changing Indirect Speech into Direct

 

We use direct speech when we report someone's words by repeating them. 'I'll go and heat some milk,' said Agnes.

 

a-      If the reporting verb is in the Present Tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change. For example, we may rewrite the above examples, putting the reporting verb in the Present Tense, thus:

Indirect: He says he is unwell.

Direct: He says: “I am unwell”

Indirect: He says he has passed the examination.

Direct: He says “I have passed my examination”

 

b-      Exclamations and wishes

The conversion of Indirect into Direct generally presents no special difficulties, as the following examples will show:

Indirect. -- He inquired whether his name was not Ahmed.

Direct. -- He said to him, “Is not your name Ahmed?”

Indirect. -- As the stranger entered the town, he was met by a policeman, who asked him if he was a traveller. He replied carelessly that it would appear so.

Direct. -- As the stranger entered the town, he was met by a policeman, who asked, “Are you a traveller?” “So it would appear,” he answered carelessly.

Indirect. -- She asked how she, a girl, who could not ride or use sword or lance, could be of any help. Rather would she stay at home and spin beside her dear mother.

Direct. -- She said, “How can I, a girl, who cannot ride or use sword or lance, be of any help? Rather would I stay at home and spin beside my dear mother?”

 

 

c-      We use a comma after said, admitted… and before direct speech, but not before indirect speech.

Fiona said, 'It's getting late.'

Fiona said it was getting late.

Sometimes the main clause is at the end, as a kind of afterthought. There is a comma after the indirect speech.

His team were beaten by a better side, Gould admitted.

There will be no trains on Christmas Day, British Rail announced yesterday.

We cannot use that when the indirect speech comes first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We do not need to change a past-tense verb when it refers to a complete action.

Nicola told me she passed/she'd passed her driving test.

 

We do not change a past-tense verb when it means something unreal.

'I wish I had a dog.' My sister says she wishes she had a dog.

'It's time we went.' The girls thought it was time they went.

'If I knew, I'd tell you.' Amy said that if she knew, she'd tell us.

 

There are changes to some modal verbs.

'You'll get wet.' I told them they would get wet.

'I can drive.' I said I could drive.

'It may snow.' They thought it might snow.

The changes are will would, can could and may might. But these do not

change: would, could, should, might, ought to, had better, used to.

'A walk would be nice.' We thought a walk would be nice.

 

-          Sometimes we use different patterns to report sentences with modal verbs

'Would you like to come for tea?' They invited me for tea.

-          Shall for the future changes to would. In rather formal English it can change to should in the first person.

'I shall complain.' He said he would complain.

I said I would/I should complain.

 

-          Shall with other meanings changes to should.

'What shall I do?' She asked what she should do.

-          Must expressing necessity can change to had to.

'I must go now.' Sarah said she must go/had to go.

-          But when must expresses certainty, it does not usually change.

I thought there must be some mistake.

-          When must refers to the future, it can change to would, have to.

'I must go soon.' Sarah said she would have to go soon.

 

To report yes/no questions we use if or whether.

Is there a waiting-room? Dan was asking if/whether there's a waiting-

Have you bought your ticket? Mandy wants to know if Steve has bought his

We can use or not to emphasize the need for a yes/no reply.

They want to know if/whether it's safe or not.

They want to know whether or not it's safe.

 

When the question word is the subject, the word order does not change.

Who left this bag here? Sophie wanted to know who left the bag there.

 

We can use a wh-clause or if/whether after say, tell etc when we are talking about the answer to a question.

Did Helen say when she would be calling?

I've found out what time the flight gets in.

 

We can use an indirect question to ask for information after an expression such as Could you tell me..?

Could you tell me where the post office is, please?

In an indirect question, the tense can change from present to past in the same way as in a statement.

What do you want? The man asked what we wanted.

Who are you waiting for? Alex wondered who I was waiting for.

Will there be a band? They asked if there would be a band.

 

Reporting orders, requests, offers etc

1 Orders and requests

a We can use tell/ask + object + to-infinitive.

'Please wait outside.' The teacher told us to wait outside.

'I want you to relax.' She's always telling me to relax.

'Could you help us?' We asked James to help us.

'Would you mind not smoking?' Our hostess asked Alan not to smoke.

We can also use these verbs: order, command, instruct; forbid; request, beg, urge.

NOTE

a For more details about this pattern, • 122(2a).

b The main clause can be passive.

We were told to wait outside.

c We can use this pattern with say in informal English.

The teacher said to wait outside.

A We can use ask without an indirect object. Compare these patterns.

'May I sit down?' Peter asked to sit down.

'Please sit down.' Peter asked me to sit down.

e We can use a pattern with ask for and a passive to-infinitive.

The villagers are asking for a pedestrian crossing to be installed.

f We use ask for + noun phrase when someone asks to have something.

I asked (the porter) for my key.

g To report a request for permission we use ask if/whether.

'Do you mind if I smoke?' Alan asked if he could smoke.

b We can also report the sentences like this.

My psychiatrist is always telling me she wants me to relax.

Our hostess asked Alan if he would mind not smoking.

c To express an order, we can also use must, have to or be to.

The teacher said we had to wait/we were to wait outside.

My psychiatrist is always telling me I must relax/I'm to relax.

NOTE

After most verbs of reporting, we can use a clause with should. • 242(2)

The police ordered that the gates should be closed.

2 Offers, warnings, apologies etc

We can report these kinds of sentences with say or ask, or we can use offer, warn,

apologize etc.

'I can lend you some money.' Sue offered to lend me some money.

Sue said she could lend me some money.

Here are some patterns we can use.

a A single clause

'I'm sorry.'

'Thank you very much.'

'I really must have a break.'

'Be careful. The path is slippery.'

b Verb + to-infinitive

'I'm not going to walk all that way.'

Also: agree, offer, promise, threaten

c Verb + object + to-infinitive

'You really ought to get some help.'

"Would you like to stay at our

house?'

Also: recommend, remind, warn

The man apologized.

I thanked the driver.

Jeff insisted on a break.

He warned us about the path.

Gary refused to walk.

Mark advised us to get some help.

Your friends have invited me to stay at

their house.

d Verb + gerund

'Why don't we share the cost?'

'I'm afraid I've lost the photo.'

Someone suggested sharing the cost.

Lorna admitted losing the photo.

e Verb + preposition + gerund

'I'm sorry I messed up the Roland apologized for messing up the

arrangements.' arrangements.

Also: complain about, confess to, insist on, object to

f Verb + object + preposition + gerund

'It was your fault. You didn't tell

us.'

They blamed James for not telling

them.

g Verb + that-clause

Jeff insisted (that) we had a break.

Lorna admitted (that) she had lost the photo.

Also: agree, complain, confess, object, promise, suggest, threaten, warn

NOTE

After agree, insist, promise and suggest we can use a clause with should. • 242(2)

Jeff insisted that we should have a break.

h Verb + object + that-clause

He warned us that the path was slippery.

Also: advise, promise, remind

PAGE 355 270 Reporting orders, requests, offers etc

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Relative clauses

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