Grammar | Direct Indirect Speech | Reported speech

DIRECT AND INDIRECT (OR REPORTED) SPEECH

Reported speech

DEFINITION:

By two ways of relating what a person has said: indirect and direct.

 In direct speech you repeat the original speaker’s exact words as the following example : 

_ Direct Speech: She said, “She have lost her phone”.

Remarks causes of repeated are placed between inverted comma, and  a commas is placed in instant before the remark. 

Direct speech is found in conversations in plays, in books and quotations.

Indirect speech you give the exact meaning of a speech or a remark, no including necessarily using the speaker’s exact words:

_ Indirect Speech: She said (that) she had lost her phone.

Here without a comma after say in indirect speech. It s can usually be omitted after say and tell + object. Yet it should be kept after other verbs: object, explain, complain, point out, and protest etc. 

Indirect speech. Usually, when communication is reported verbally, though direct speech is often to give a more dramatic effect.

When you turn direct speech into indirect, some of changes usually important. 

PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES: CHANGES NECESSARY.

A. First and second Possessive Adjectives and personal Pronouns normally change to the third person, except while the speaker is reporting his own words. " her; mine = his, hers; we = they, I = he, she; me = him, her; my = his.....).

He said, “he’s my son”. He said that He was his son.

“I’m ill”, He said. He said that He was ill.

B. These / This. This function time expressions usually becomes that.

He said, “He's coming this week”. 

He said that he was coming that week.

That and this used as adjectives usually change to the.

She said, “I bought this/ these necklace/ s for my mother”.

She said that she had bought the necklace/ The necklaces for her mother.

This, these used as pronouns can become it, them/ they.

She came back with two books and said, “I found these beside the sister's bed”. 

She said she had found them beside the sister's bed.

She said, “We will discuss this tomorrow”. She said that they would discuss it (the matter the next day.

EXPRESSIONS OF TIME AND PLACE IN INDIRECT SPEECH

A. Adverbial Phrases and Adverb of time change as Following :

DIRECT SPEECH             ⇨           INDIRECT SPEECH

today                                  ⇨       that day

yesterday                             ⇨         the day before

the day before yesterday       ⇨      two days before

tomorrow                          ⇨          the next day/the following day

the day after tomorrow        ⇨       in two day’s time

next week/year etc.          ⇨          the following week/year etc.

last week/year etc.           ⇨          the previous week/year etc.

a year etc.                   ⇨               ago a year before/the previous year

"We saw her the day before yesterday”, They said / They  said They'd seen her two days 

before.

“I’ll make it tomorrow”, he promised. / He promised that he would make it the next day.

She said, “My grandma died a year ago”. /She said that her grandma had died a year 

before/the previous year.

B. When the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not necessary :

At dinner this evening They said, “We'll be very busy tonight”. / At dinner this 

evening they said that they would be very busy today.

C. Here can become there but when it is clear what that place is meant :

At the case They  said, “we'll be here again tomorrow”. / They said that they’d be there 

again the next day.

Sometimes here has to be replaced by some phrases:

He said, “You can sit here, Zak”. / She told Zak that he could sit beside her.