Direct and reported speech
Direct speech repeats the exact words: Ravi said, "I am tired today." The spoken words sit inside quotation marks.
Reported speech (indirect speech) tells the message in our own sentence, without quotation marks: Ravi said that he was tired that day.
The part with the verb of saying (said, told, asked) is the reporting clause. The spoken part is the reported clause. The connecting word (that, if, whether, where) is a connective.
Statements: four changes
- Connective: use that (it can be left out in speech).
- Pronouns: change to fit the reporter. "I" โ he/she, "my" โ his/her, "we" โ they.
- Tense backshift: if the reporting verb is past (said), move the verb one step back.
- Time and place words change.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| am / is / are | was / were |
| plays (simple present) | played |
| is playing | was playing |
| has played | had played |
| played | had played |
| will / can / may / must | would / could / might / had to |
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| today, tonight | that day, that night |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| yesterday | the day before |
| now | then |
| here, this | there, that |
| ago | before |
No backshift is needed when the reporting verb is present (He says that he is tired) or when the fact is always true (She said the Earth moves round the Sun).
Questions and commands
Questions: use asked and turn the question into a statement order (no do/does, no question mark). With a question word, keep it as the connective: "Where do you live?" โ She asked where I lived. For yes/no questions use if or whether: "Are you tired?" โ She asked if I was tired.
Commands and requests: use told, asked, ordered, requested + person + to + verb: "Open your book." โ The teacher told Ravi to open his book. Negative: "Don't run." โ He told us not to run.
Other reporting verbs carry meaning too: advised, warned, promised, suggested, admitted.
Free indirect speech and modality
Free indirect speech is a way stories blend a character's thoughts with the narrator's voice, with no said that: Ravi looked at the clock. He was so tired! Why did the day have to be so long? The tense and pronouns are those of reported speech, but the exclamation and the question keep the feel of direct speech.
Modality (can, must, may, should, would) changes in the report: can โ could, must โ had to, will โ would. Verbs such as should, would, could, might stay as they are.
Writing dialogue: English uses quotation marks. French and Ukrainian texts usually use guillemets (ยซโฆยป) or a dash at the start of each speaker's line, but the idea of direct and reported speech is the same.
Key formulas and definitions
- Statement: said + (that) + clause, tense one step back
- Yes/no question: asked + if/whether + subject + verb (statement order)
- Wh-question: asked + question word + subject + verb
- Command: told/asked + person + (not) to + verb
- Time words: today โ that day, tomorrow โ the next day, yesterday โ the day before, now โ then, here โ there
Worked examples
1. Report: Meena said, "I like mangoes."
Meena said that she liked mangoes.
2. Report: He said, "We are playing cricket."
He said that they were playing cricket.
3. Report: Ravi said, "I will call you tomorrow."
Ravi said that he would call me the next day.
4. Report: She asked, "Have you finished your homework?"
She asked if I had finished my homework.
5. Report: The teacher said, "Don't talk in class."
The teacher told us not to talk in class.
6. Report: "The Earth goes round the Sun," the teacher said.
The teacher said that the Earth goes round the Sun. (A universal truth, so the tense does not move back.)
Common mistakes
- Keeping the question word order: say "She asked where I lived", not "She asked where did I live".
- Forgetting to change the pronoun and the time word.
- Using a question mark after a reported question.
- Using "said to" for commands in indirect speech: use told, asked or ordered.