7.5: Direct and Indirect Speech

Introduction

Direct speech is repeating the exact words that someone spoke or wrote. When using direct speech, a writer must use quotation marks to show that he/she is quoting exactly what another person said. Direct speech is rarely used by native speakers.

We can also report someone's words using a that clause. We call this reported speech (or indirect speech). Reported speech is almost always used by native speakers of English.

When we change direct speech to reported speech, we often use a past form of a verb. Usually, we also "move" the verb form back in time. We call this "backshifting." When using reported speech, the subjects sentences, possessive adjectives, times, and locations often change from those used in direct speech. 

For more information on this topic, watch this video: Reported Speech (Noun Clauses in Indirect Speech)

Common Error

A common error when using reported speech is adding the phrase “according to.” Look at the examples.

1. According to Claude Steele, stereotype threat affects students’ performance.

2. According to Claude Steele states stereotype threat affects students’ performance. (incorrect)

3. Claude Steele states that stereotype threat affects students’ performance.

When using “according to,” write a comma after the phrase. Then write a complete sentence. It is incorrect to use “according to” and reported speech in the same sentence.

Verb Tense in Direct and Reported Speech

	Direct Speech	Reported Speech	Change
1.	The student said, “I study hard.”	He said (that) he studied hard.	simple present to simple past
2.	The student **says, “I study hard.”	He says (that) he studies hard.	no verb tense change
3.	He said, “I am studying hard.”	He said (that) he was studying hard.	present progressive to past progressive
4.	He said, “I will study hard.	He said (that) he would study hard.	simple future will to would
5.	He said, “I am going to study hard.”	He said (that) he was going to study hard.	future “be going to” to “was/were going to”
6.	He **says, “I am going to study hard.”	He says (that) he is going to study hard.	no verb tense change
7.	He said, “I can study hard.”	He said (that) he could study hard.	can to could
8.	He said, “I have studied hard.	He said (that) he had studied hard.	present perfect to past perfect
9.	He **says, “I have studied hard.”	He says (that) he has studied hard.	no verb tense change
10.	He said, “I studied hard.”	He said (that) he had studied hard.	simple past to past perfect
11.	He told them, “Do your homework.”	He told them to do their homework.	imperative to infinitive
12.	He asked, “Do you want a job?”	He asked if I wanted a job.	yes or no question to if or whether or not (for alternatives)

Table 17 Verb Tense in Direct and Reported Speech

Note: The word “that” is optional in the reported speech sentences. In fact, native speakers usually do not say the “that.” Common verbs used for reporting words are as follows: say, tell, ask, inquire, respond, answer, reply, state, comment, report, complain, announce, explain, remark, note. In reported speech, these verbs are almost always used in the past tense.

**When the reporting verb (for example, say) is in the simple present, present perfect, or simple future, the reported speech does not change tense from the direct speech. When the reporting verb is in a tense that expresses a current truth, this usually indicates immediate reporting, so the indirect speech is in the simple present.

Deciding Not to Backshift

Sometimes we decide not to backshift the verb in the noun clause. We may choose to do this because:

• The state or event is still true

Example:

Direct Speech: Sheila asked, "When does the semester begin?"

Reported Speech: Sheila said that the semester begins on January 20th.

• We report something that someone just said

Example:

Direct Speech: My husband asked, "Where are the children?"

Reported Speech: My husband wanted to know where the children are.

Exercise 3-Verb Changes in Reported Speech with Backshifting

Select the appropriate verb tense for the reported speech when backshifting is used.

1. Alex said, “I will be home in August.”

Reported speech: Alex said he ___________ be home in August.

a. will

b. would

c. is going to be

2. My sister asked, “Will your son be home in August”?

Reported speech: My sister asked if my son ___________ be home in August.

a. will

b. would

c. is going to be

3. I said to my neighbor, “I love to work in my garden.”

Reported speech: I said to my neighbor that I ___________ to work in my garden.

a. love

b. loved

c. am loving

4. The woman said to her wife, “We have to fix the broken window.”

Reported speech: The woman said to her wife that they ___________ to fix the broken window.

a. have

b. has

c. had

5. “Boys make a lot of noise,” said the tired mother.

Reported speech: The tired mother said that boys ___________ a lot of noise.

a. make

b. made

c. have made

6. The boy said to his grandmother, “I love you.”

Reported speech: The boy said to his grandmother that he ___________ her.

a. loves

b. loved

c. has loved

7. The policeman asked the driver, “Do you have a driver’s license”?

Reported speech: The policeman asked the driver if she ___________ a driver’s license.

a. has

b. have

c. had

8. The teacher told the students, “Bring your books to class tomorrow.”

Reported speech: The teacher told the students to ___________ their books to class the next day.

a. bring

b. brought

c. bringing

9. The man said, “The boys are playing soccer.”

Reported speech: The man said that the boys ___________ soccer.

a. are playing

b. were playing

c. played

10. The woman said to her friend, “A plane just flew by at a very low altitude.”

Reported speech: The woman said to her friend that a plane ___________ by at a very low altitude.

a. just flew

b. has just flown

c. had just flown

11. “The teacher said, “You will be successful.”

Reported speech: The teacher said that I ___________ be successful.

a. will

b. would

c. must

Think About It: Which of the questions in Exercise 3 can be written without backshifting? What verb form would you use?

Other Changes from Direct to Reported Speech

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
I	he/she
you	I/we/she/he/they (depends who the speaker is referring to)
my	his/her
our	their
your	my/our
here	there
now	then
this/these	that/those
today	[that day] or today (if it is still the same day.)
tomorrow	the next day, the following day
yesterday	the day before

Table 18 Other Changes from Direct to Reported Speech

Exercise 4-Changing Pronouns, Times, and Places in Reported Speech

Select the best pronoun, time, or place to complete the reported speech.

1. The man told the restaurant manager, “Please make sure these plates are clean.”

Reported Speech: The man told the restaurant manager to make sure ______ plates were clean.

a. these

b. this

c. those

2. My mom responded to me, “I’ll see you later on tonight.”

Reported Speech: My mom responded to me that ______ would see ______ later that night.

a. I; you

b. she; you

c. she; me

3. I inquired of the mechanic, “How much will it cost to repair my car”?

Reported Speech: I inquired of the mechanic how much it would cost to repair ______ car.

a. my

b. your

c. his

4. The teacher responded to his student’s question by saying, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know the answer.”

Reported Speech: The teacher responded to his student’s question by saying that ______ was sorry, but ______ didn’t know the answer.

a. I

b. she

c. he

5. The worker told his boss, “I can’t come to work tomorrow because I have a doctor’s appointment.”

Reported Speech: The worker told her boss that she couldn’t come to work ______ because she had a doctor’s appointment.

a. tomorrow

b. the next day

c. yesterday

6. Ahmed said, “I will pay the bill now.”

Reported Speech: Ahmed said that he would pay the bill ______.

a. now

b. yesterday

c. then

7. Fatima asked, “Can I park here?”

Reported Speech: Fatima asked if she could park ______.

a. here

b. anywhere

c. there

Speech Patterns

Direct Speech Pattern

Subject	Reporting Verb	Direct Statement
He	said,	“The cake is beautiful.”
He	asked,	“Do you have a pencil I can borrow?”
He	ordered,	“Stop talking!”.

Table 19 Direct Speech Pattern

Indirect Speech Patterns

Subject	Reporting Verb	Noun/ Pronoun	Relative Pronoun/ Conjunction	Indirect Speech
He	said	∅	that	the cake was beautiful.
He	asked	(me)	if	I had a pencil he could borrow.
He	ordered	them	∅	to stop talking.

Table 20 Indirect Speech Patterns

Exercise 5-That or If

Complete the sentences with that or if.

1. The boys asked me, “Do you like classical music”?

Reported speech: The boys asked me _______ I liked classical music.

a. that

b. if

2. The teacher said, “You will not have an exam Friday.”

Reported speech: The teacher said _______ we would not have an exam Friday.

a. that

b. if

3. When the woman saw the price on the coat, she remarked to her friend, “I think you are crazy if you buy that coat at that price.”

Reported speech: When the woman saw the price on the coat, she remarked to her friend _______ she thought her friend was crazy if she bought that coat at that price.

a. that

b. if

4. My classmate asked me, “Will you study in the library after class?”

Reported speech: My classmate asked me _______ I would study in the library after class.

a. that

b. if

5. The mail carrier said, “I haven’t delivered any mail to that house in over a week.”

Reported speech: The mail carrier said _______ he hadn’t delivered any mail to that house in over a week.

a. that

b. if

6. The president commented to her staff, “This job is going to give me gray hair!”

Reported speech: The president commented to her staff _______ that job was going to give her gray hair!

a. that

b. if

7. The student asked the teacher, “Do we have to type our essay?”

Reported speech: The student asked the teacher _______ we had to type our essay.

a. that

b. if

Said versus Told

The reporting verbs said and told are similar; however, tell is followed by a direct object, but say is not. Look at the examples.

1. Pedro said, “Turn off the lights.” (Pedro said to turn off the lights.)

2. Pedro told Danielle, “Turn off the lights.” (Pedro told Danielle to turn off the lights.)

Notice how the second example has “Danielle” after the reporting verb. This is a direct object and necessary. Said can have an indirect object added. This is another possibility although not common: “Pedro said to Danielle, ‘Turn off the lights.’”

For more information on this topic, watch this video: Using ‘Say’ and ‘Tell’ with Noun Clauses

Exercise 6-Said or Told

Complete the sentences with said or told.

1. The teacher ______ the students that noun clauses are difficult.

a. said

b. told

2. The students ______ that they needed a break.

a. said

b. told

3. The tutor ______ them that she could help at the Learning Center.

a. said

b. told

4. My son ______ his friend that he wanted to play superheroes.

a. said

b. told

5. His friend ______ that he wanted to be Iron Man.

a. said

b. told

6. Hadi ______ that Mariam wanted to be Spider-Man for Halloween.

a. said

b. told

7. Barbara ______ her daughter not to be late.

a. said

b. told

8. Her daughter ______ that she would be home before dark.

a. said

b. told

9. Billy ______ Piper to behave.

a. said

b. told

10. Piper didn’t ______ anything because he is a dog.

a. say

b. tell

Exercise 7-Direct to Indirect Speech

Change the sentences from direct to indirect speech. Pay close attention to the verb tenses, pronouns, times, and places.

Example:

Direct Speech: I told my two sons, “I have traveled around the world two times.”
Reported speech: I told my two sons that I had traveled around the world two times.

1. Direct speech: Jehona asked, “Can you write in Arabic?”

Indirect speech:

2. Direct speech: Kaori said, “This is the best ice cream!”

Indirect speech:

3. Direct speech: Gulmira said, “I may be late.”

Indirect speech:

4. Direct speech: Hui said, “I need to study for the test tomorrow.”

Indirect speech:

5. Direct speech: Lina said, “Copy my notes from yesterday.”

Indirect speech:

6. Direct speech: Dimitri asked me, “Can you help me understand English grammar?!”

Indirect speech:

“Grammar Presentation-Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech” is derived from “ESL Grammar: The Way You Like It” Book 5 by Don Bissonnette licensed under CC BY-NC.