Direct and Indirect Speech

    Direct Speech       

    refers to reproducing another person’s exact words or saying exactly what someone has said (sometimes called quoted speech).

We use quotation marks (“______________”) and it should be word for word.

For example:

mom said, “It’s nice”. Or  “It’s nice,” mom said.

    Indirect speech                     

    refers to reproducing the idea of another person’s words that doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word.

         Indirect speech

is sometimes called reported speech.

The tense usually changes when reporting speech. This is because we are usually talking about a time in the past and obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past.

  The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

▪         Note: The reporting verbs that are usually used to report imperative sentences are:             Tell, order, command, ask, warn, remind

▪         Don’t forget to mention the indirect object. Father warned me not to drive fast.