Direct and Indirect Speech: Rules and Examples

Direct and Indirect Speech

Introduction

Direct speech and indirect speech are two ways of reporting what someone has said. Direct speech is a word-for-word repetition of what someone has actually said, while indirect speech is a paraphrased version of what someone has said. Both forms of reporting speech have their own rules and uses.

Rules for Changing Direct Speech to Indirect Speech

To change direct speech into indirect speech, there are a few rules to follow:

1. Change the first person pronouns (I, me, my) to their indirect equivalents (me, myself, my).
2. Change the second person pronouns (you, you, your) to their indirect equivalents (you, yourself, your).
3. Change the third person pronouns (he, she, it) to their indirect equivalents (him, her, it).
4. Change the verb tense to the past tense.
5. Change the negation form to its reported form.
6. Add the reporting clause.

Reported Speech

Reported speech is when someone reports what someone else has said, either in the past or in the present. It is used to tell a story or to give someone information about what someone else said. Reported speech is also used in formal or academic writing.

Changing Tenses in Indirect Speech

When changing tenses in indirect speech, the tense of the verb in the reporting clause must match the tense of the verb in the reported speech. For example, if the reported speech is in the present tense, the tense of the verb in the reporting clause must also be present.

Punctuation in Reported Speech

When reporting speech, the punctuation should reflect the structure of the sentence. If the reported speech is a question, the question mark should be placed after the reporting clause. If the reported speech is a statement, the period should be placed after the reported speech.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech: "I'm going to the store." Indirect Speech: "He said that he was going to the store."

Direct Speech: "What time is the meeting?" Indirect Speech: "She asked me when the meeting was."

Direct Speech: "The game is boring." Indirect Speech: "He commented on how boring the game was."

In this example, the direct speech is "I'm going to the store." To change it to indirect speech, we must change the first person pronoun "I" to its indirect equivalent "he," change the verb tense to the past tense "went," and add a reporting clause "He said that." The indirect speech is then "He said that he went to the store."

In this example, the direct speech is "What time is the meeting?" To change it to indirect speech, we must change the second person pronoun "you" to its indirect equivalent "me," change the verb tense to the past tense "asked," and add a reporting clause "She asked me." The indirect speech is then "She asked me when the meeting was."

In this example, the direct speech is "The game is boring." To change it to indirect speech, we must change the third person pronoun "the" to its indirect equivalent "it," change the verb tense to the past tense "was," and add a reporting clause "He commented on." The indirect speech is then "He commented on how boring the game was."