Questions and Answers
What happens to second person pronouns when changing from direct to indirect speech?
They change to third person
When reporting past events, what tense should the verb in indirect speech be changed to?
Past tense
In indirect speech, what happens to original affirmative verbs?
They become negative
When changing from direct to indirect speech, where is the punctuation placed?
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What is the pronoun change for first person pronouns when reporting speech?
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What happens to original negative verbs in indirect speech?
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When using direct speech, what is the main difference between direct and indirect speech?
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Which of the following is true about reporting statements in English?
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In transforming the statement 'I am going to school' from direct to indirect speech, which of the following would be the correct reported form?
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What is the rule for maintaining question word order when reporting questions?
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When reporting a command in English, what remains unchanged?
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In indirect speech, how do subject pronouns change compared to direct speech?
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Study Notes
Direct Speech and Indirect Speech
In English, direct speech is used when quoting someone's exact wording directly, while indirect speech, also known as reported speech or reported dialogue, is used when describing what was said without using their exact words. Both forms have specific rules to follow when reporting statements, asking questions, giving commands, and making changes in pronouns and tenses.
Rules for Reporting Statements
For reporting statements, the verb form usually remains unchanged, and the subject pronoun does not change. However, the object pronoun may change depending on whether it refers to the speaker or listener. For example:
Direct Speech: "I am going to the store." Indirect Speech: "He said he is going to the store."
Rules for Reporting Questions
To report questions, the original question word order must be maintained. If the original question ends with a wh-word (who, what, when, where, why, or how), the same wh-word should be used to report the question. For example:
Direct Speech: "What are you doing?" Indirect Speech: "She asked what I was doing."
Rules for Reporting Commands
To report commands, the verb form remains unchanged while the subject pronouns can change depending on whether the command was given to the speaker or the listener. For example:
Direct Speech: "Give me the book." Indirect Speech: "He told me to give him the book."
Changing Pronouns and Tenses
Pronoun Changes
When reporting speech, pronouns should change according to the relationship between the speaker and the person being quoted. First person pronouns stay the same (I), while second person pronouns change to: he, she, it (He told me to do it.).
Tense Changes
The tense of the verb should change according to the time between the original statement and the reporting of it. For example:
Direct Speech: "I am going to the store." Indirect Speech: "He said he was going to the store."
The tense changes to past when reporting past events.
Verb Form Changes
Original affirmative verbs become negative in indirect speech, while original negative verbs become affirmative. For example:
Direct Speech: "I didn't finish the book." Indirect Speech: "She said I didn't finish the book."
Punctuation Changes
In direct speech, punctuation is placed inside the quotation marks. In indirect speech, punctuation is placed outside the quotation marks. The period goes after the closing quotation mark. For example:
Direct Speech: "She asked me if I finished the book." Indirect Speech: "She told me that she had finished her work."
