Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech can be a source of confusion for English learners. Let's first define the terms, then look at how to talk about what someone said, and how to convert speech from direct to indirect or vice-versa.
You can answer the question What did he say? in two ways:
  • by repeating the words spoken (direct speech)
  • by reporting the words spoken (indirect or reported speech).

Direct Speech

Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we place the words spoken between quotation marks (" ") and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that's being said NOW (for example a telephone conversation), or telling someone later about a previous conversation.
Examples
  • She says, "What time will you be home?"
  • She said, "What time will you be home?" and I said, "I don't know! "
  • "There's a fly in my soup!" screamed Simone.
  • John said, "There's an elephant outside the window."

Indirect Speech

Reported or indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', 'ask', and we may use the word 'that' to introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used.
She said, "I saw him." (direct speech) = She said that she had seen him. (indirect speech)
'That' may be omitted:
She told him that she was happy. = She told him she was happy.
'Say' and 'tell'
Use 'say' when there is no indirect object:
He said that he was tired.
Always use 'tell' when you say who was being spoken to (i.e. with an indirect object):
He told me that he was tired.
'Talk' and 'speak'
Use these verbs to describe the action of communicating:
He talked to us.
She was speaking on the telephone.
Use these verbs with 'about' to refer to what was said:
He talked (to us) about his parents.

on Friday, 24 June 2016 | A comment?

Tense Changes When Using Reported Speech

Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech:
She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired.
Phrase in Direct Speech Equivalent in Reported Speech
Simple present Simple past
"I always drink coffee", she said She said that she always drank coffee.
Present continuous Past continuous
"I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a book
Simple past Past perfect
"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.
Present perfect Past perfect
"I have been to Spain", he told me. He told me that he had been to Spain.
Past perfect Past perfect
"I had just turned out the light," he explained. He explained that he had just turned out the light.
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
They complained, "We have been waiting for hours". They complained that they had been waiting for hours.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
"We were living in Paris", they told me. They told me that they had been living in Paris.
Future Present conditional
"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.
Future continuous Conditional continuous
She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". She said that she would be using the car next Friday.
You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true, e.g.
  • He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
  • We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.

These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to:
  • We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
  • She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the party.

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Speech

Use the references in this section to learn how to quote people directly (direct speech) or how to rephrase what people say (indirect or reported speech).
Reporting speech in English

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Verbs

Selecting the correct verb tense and conjugating verbs correctly is tricky in English. Click on the verb tense to read more about how to form this tense and how it is used, or select a time to see the full list of tenses and references on that time.
Present Tenses in English Examples
Simple present tense They walk home.
Present continuous tense They are walking home.
Past Tenses in English  
Simple past tense Peter lived in China in 1965.
Past continuous tense I was reading when she arrived.
Perfect Tenses in English  
Present perfect tense I have lived here since 1987.
Present perfect continuous I have been living here for years.
Past perfect We had been to see her several times before she visited us.
Past perfect continuous He had been watching her for some time when she turned and smiled.
Future perfect We will have arrived in the States by the time you get this letter.
Future perfect continuous By the end of your course, you will have been studying for five years.
Future Tenses in English  
Simple future tense They will go to Italy next week.
Future continuous tense I will be travelling by train.
Conditional Tenses in English  
Zero conditional If ice gets hot it melts.
Type 1 conditional If he is late I will be angry.
Type 2 conditional If he was in Australia he would be getting up now.
Type 3 conditional She would have visited me if she had had time.
Mixed conditional I would be playing tennis if I hadn't broken my arm.
The -ing forms in English  
Gerund I like swimming.
Present participle She goes running every morning.
Infinitives  
Passive voice  

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