1. Yes-no question
2. Wh-question
Verbs of Reported speech (if the reporting verb is in past tense) (list 2) Direct speech → Indirect speech Am / is / are → was / were Was / were → had been Has / have → had Had → had had Shall / will → would Can → could May → might Must, should → must, should Verb1 → verb2 Verb2 → had + verb3
Change of time and place expressions in past tense (list 3) now → then ago → before today → that day yesterday → the previous day tomorrow → the next day last night → the previous night here → there this → that these → those
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Direct speech is a representation of the actual words someone said. A direct speech report usually has a reporting verb in the past simple. The most common reporting verb is said . The reporting clause may come first or second.
reporting clause first | reported clause | reporting clause second |
, | ||
, | ||
. | ||
. |
The reporting clause may sometimes come in the middle of the reported clause, especially in literary styles:
“No,” she said , “I’ve never seen it before.”
‘Was it,’ he asked , ‘the first time you had spoken to Mrs Dalton?’
We can use adverbs with the reporting verb to describe the way someone said something. This is more common when the reporting clause comes second:
“I will not accept it!” he said angrily .
‘Can I speak to the doctor?’ she asked rather nervously .
Reported speech: punctuation
Reported speech: reporting and reported clauses
In narratives, especially novels and short stories, when the reporting clause comes second, we often invert the subject (s) and reporting verb (v):
“Things have always been the same in this village,” [V] said [S] the old man .
‘Hold on! I’m coming!’ [V] cried [S] Maurice .
Informal narratives.
In informal conversation, we sometimes use the present simple in the reporting clause. This makes the direct speech more vivid and dramatic:
So then this guy says , “I’ve got something for you. Come over here.” And he picked up a box and he says , “Open that.”
We can make the direct speech even more vivid and dramatic by using the present continuous. This is very informal:
And he’s looking at me and he ’s asking , “Who are you?” and I said, “I’m your nephew” and he ’s mumbling , “I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
In very informal conversation, people sometimes use says as a reporting verb for all persons ( I, you, she, he, we, they ):
She says , ‘What’s going on here?’ and I says , ‘Nothing. There’s nothing happening – everything’s okay.’
Many speakers consider the above examples to be incorrect. This applies especially to the use of says with all persons.
We also use the present simple in newspaper headlines. This makes the reported words more dramatic:
‘I WON’T RESIGN,’ SAYS MINISTER
Say or tell ?
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kick something into the long grass
to delay dealing with something, especially because you want people to forget about it
Like a bull in a china shop: talking about people who are clumsy
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Direct and Indirect speech are ways of narrating the speech of someone to some other person following certain rules. This article covers its types, rules, examples and some exercises on the same.
Table of Contents
Direct and Indirect Speech: In English Grammar, direct and Indirect speech are used in instances when we wish to repeat or convey a speech or statement of some other person. Both direct and indirect speech describes what a third person said or conveyed in the past. Indirect speech is more commonly employed unless it’s a direct quotation, which is consistently enclosed in double quotation marks. Whereas indirect speech is used when you want to convey someone’s statement using your own precise words. It’s worth highlighting that indirect speech is consistently expressed using verbs like “said,” “told,” or “asked.”
There are two types of reported speech in English grammar, they are Direct and Indirect speech. Both speech conveys the speech or statement which was told by some other person. To explain any event, action or scenario we generally convey the sentences quoted by someone in the form of direct and indirect speech. In order to clearly differentiate and make people understand easily, we have detailed the two types of reported speech with examples and exercises below.
Direct speech is the mode of expression that directly presents the words spoken or quoted by a third person. Generally, direct speech is written inside quotation marks (“”). The quotation is used to differentiate the speech of the third person that has happened in the past. Thus direct speech conveys statements or conversations of someone in the past tense but quoted inside the quotation marks in the present or future tense.
Indirect Speech is used when we convey what someone said in our own words without repeating the actual text of that person. Instead of using quotation marks, the conjunction word, ‘that’ is used. Thus speaker’s words and sentences are reframed into our own words in Indirect speech. Some examples of indirect speech are:
There are certain rules and regulations followed while converting a simple direct speech into indirect speech. Certain factors such as Verbs, Tenses, Modals, time, place, and pronouns are also considered while changing. The following are the rules applied when you convert direct speech to indirect speech in English grammar.
Rule-1 : Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion – Reporting Verb
The reporting verb is an important factor to note when changing a direct to an indirect sentence. When the reporting verb is past tense, then the verb inside the quotation is also changed to past when changing a sentence from direct to indirect speech. Examples:
An exception is for cases like a universal truth, the tenses remain the same.
If the reporting verb is in present/future tense, then the tense remains the same as in direct speech.
Rule 2: Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Tenses
If the sentences inside quotes in direct speech are present tense, it is changed to past tense when changed to indirect speech. The rule in the following table is applied while changing tenses from direct speech to reported speech.
Present Simple Tense do /does V1 | Past Simple Tense did + V1 V2 |
Present Progressive Tense is/am/are + V4 | Past Progressive Tense was /were + V4 |
Present Perfect Tense has /have + V3 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
Present Perfect Progressive has been /have been + V4 | Past Perfect Progressive had been + V4 |
Past Simple Tense did + V1 V2 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
Past Perfect Tense had/have + V3 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
Past Perfect Progressive had been/have been + V4 | Past Perfect Progressive had been + V4 |
Future Simple Tense will + V1 | would + V1 |
Future Progressive Tense will be + V4 | would be + V4 |
Future Perfect Tense will have + V3 | would have + V3 |
Future Perfect Progressive will have been + V4 | would have been + V4 |
Examples of change in Tenses
Ram said, “I do my work.” | Ram said that he did his work. |
They said, “We are going now.” | They said that they were going then. |
Sara said, ” I have done my work.” | Sara said that she had done her work. |
Rohit said, “I have been doing my work.” | Rohit said that he had been doing his work. |
Ram said, “I did my work” | Ram said that he had done his work. |
They said,”We have done our work” | They said that they had done their work. |
They said, “We have been doing our work.” | They said that they had been doing their work. |
Ram Said, ” I had been doing my work.” | Ram said that he had been doing his work. |
Sara said, “I will do my work.” | Sara said that she would do her work. |
They said, “We will be going out.” | They said that they would be going out. |
They said, “We will have done this work.” | They said that they would have done that work. |
Ram said, “I will have been doing this work” | Ram said that he would have been doing that work. |
Rule 4: Direct to Indirect speech Conversion Interrogative sentences
If a sentence starts with a question word like what, when, and why in direct speech, the question word itself acts as the joining class.
Rule 5: Direct to Indirect Speech Conversion Change in Modals
Modal verbs are those verbs that are preceded by another verb, which is the main verb. Can, May, and Must are some examples of Modals. Modals that won’t change are Could, would, should, ought to, might. While changing direct to indirect speech, the Modals change as below:
Rule 6: Direct to Indirect speech conversion – pronoun
The first person in Direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech
The second person of Direct speech changes as per the object of the indirect speech.
If the third person is mentioned in the Direct speech, it does not change in reported speech.
Rule 7: Direct to indirect speech conversion – Request, Command, Wish and Exclamation.
The imperative words in direct speech change into Infinitives in indirect speech.
Exclamation
Rule 8: Direct to indirect speech conversion – punctuations
In Direct speech, the words spoken must start with(“) and ends with(.) inside the double inverted commas. All symbols such as question marks, full stops or exclamatory marks should be placed inside the quotes.
Rule 9: Direct to indirect speech conversion – Change of time
While converting direct speech to Indirect speech, there are certain words to be noted that cannot be used as such in indirect speech. These words get modified into new words which are enlisted below:
The following rules should be followed while converting an indirect speech to direct speech:
The following are some exercises that students can practice while preparing for their revision tests or board exams.
Q.1. Find out the correct indirect speech for the given sentence.
She said,’ I have cooked this meal.’
Answer (2) She said that she had cooked that meal.
Q.2. Choose the correct sentence.
Sanjay said, ‘What a beautiful painting it is’.
Answer (4) Sanjay exclaimed with wonder that the painting was very beautiful.
Q.3. The correct indirect speech for She asked, “What is the cost of these books?”
Answer (1) She enquired what was the cost of those books.
Q.4. The man said, ‘Oh God! I missed the train today.’
Answer (4) The man exclaimed with sorrow that he missed the train that day.
Q.5. Rahul said, “Can you call me back later?”
Answer (5) Rahul asked me if I could call him back later.
Q.6. Mom said to me, “May God Bless you”.
Answer (6) Mom wished that God might bless me.
Learning direct and indirect speech is crucial for several reasons:
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Q1. what are direct and indirect speech in english.
Ans. Direct speech is a speech that describes what a third person has conveyed or quoted in a direct manner. Generally, direct speech is written inside quotation marks ("").Indirect Speech is used when we convey what someone said in our own words without repeating the actual text of that person.
Ans. The conjunctions are used in Indirect speech. The speaker's words and sentences are reframed into our own words in Indirect speech using conjuctions as connecting words.
Ans. Modal verbs are those verbs that are preceded by another verb, which is the main verb. Can, May, and Must are some examples of Modals. While converting direct to indirect speech Can becomes could, May becomes Might, Will becomes Would. Modals that won’t change are Could, would, should, ought to, might.
Ans: Some examples of direct speech have been discussed here: 1. John said, "I will go to the store." 2. Mary asked, "Are you coming to the party?" 3. "It's a beautiful day," remarked Sarah. 4. He shouted, "Watch out for the car!"
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Important exams.
Direct and Indirect Speech
Every day, people relay messages from one person to another. Whether it is to prove a point, describe an event, or disclose an opinion, we use the freedom of speech to share information. There are generally two ways of reporting a spoken idea: direct and indirect speech. This article shall explain and compare these two types of speech. Some examples are also provided to give you a more in-depth understanding.
Both direct and indirect speech are methods to narrate the words spoken by a specific person. The difference between them lies in how they are constructed and in the purpose of using them.
In a direct speech , the actual words of the speaker are quoted explicitly. It is often used to relay something being said in the present tense. It can also be used to recall the exact words of the speaker when retelling a previous conversation. You can recognize a direct speech instantly because it has a text enclosed in a set of quotation marks. That text or idea is known as the reported speech .
As you can see, direct speech can be presented in different tenses: past, present, or future. It depends on when the actual words were spoken and when the reporter is retelling them. Also, reporting verbs (say, ask, answer, etc.) are not necessarily placed before the quoted text. You can also place them after it.
This type of speech is often used in writing novels or telling a story. This is because it gives the text a more actual and realistic effect.
Indirect speech is usually used to relay what was being said by the speaker without directly quoting the original words. In this case, the tense of the sentence is typically changed. Reporting verbs, such as say, tell, ask, and others, are used as an introduction. The words of the original speaker will not be enclosed inside the quotation marks. Instead, the word “that” is used to connect the reporting verb to the reported text.
The above sentences are actually converted from the previous examples of direct speech. Aside from eliminating the quotation marks, correct pronouns are also used. Additionally, the reporting verbs are now all found before the reported speech. The reporting verb is then followed with “that.”
Now, let us specify the rules in converting direct speech to indirect speech. Here are the steps on how to do so:
The quotation marks are the primary indication of a direct speech. Therefore, it is crucial to take them out if you are forming an indirect one.
You have to retain the tense of the reporting verb to allow consistency of reports. Instead of placing a comma to separate the reporting clause from the reported one, the word “that” is added. However, if the reported speech is a yes-no question, you use “if” instead of “that.” If the question starts with who, what, when, where, etc., no additional words are needed. Instead, you have to rearrange the sentence into a declarative form.
If the reporting verb is in the past tense, you should change the tense of the verb inside the reported speech into its past tense. This is not necessary if the reporting verb is in the present or future tense.
Of course, you have to consider the correlation between the report and the idea on the quoted text. Sometimes, a change in tense is not needed even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
For the first example, the quoted text is still about to happen. So, you don’t need to change the tense of the sentence inside the quotation. For the second example, watching TV series is implied as a habitual action. Therefore, you still have to retain the present tense of the verb.
You should also change the pronoun based on who the speaker, doer, and receiver of the action is.
Appropriate changing of pronouns is done to avoid misunderstanding the whole text. If pronouns are not changed, it might confuse the reader or the listener as to who is saying or doing the action.
The change in pronouns gives rise to changes in the plurality of the verb used. That being said, you have to consider and follow correct subject-verb agreement at all times.
Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
For example:
Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Continuous Tense into Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense ( The tense remains unchanged )
Future Simple Tense (e.g. will ) into “ would “
Future Progressive Tense (e.g. will be ) into “ would be “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have ) into “ would have “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have been ) into “ would have been “
Can into Could
Could ( The verb remains unchanged)
Have to into Had to
Must into Must/Had to
May into Might
Might (The verb remains unchanged)
Should (The verb remains unchanged)
Home of English Grammar
There are two main ways of reporting people’s words, thoughts, beliefs etc.
Direct speech
We can give the exact words that were said. This kind of reporting is called direct speech.
She said, ‘What do you want?’ Peter said, ‘It is not my fault.’ Jane said, ‘Are you coming with me?’ He said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ Monica says, ‘You look beautiful.’ Mother said, ‘Stop talking.’
Indirect speech
We can report a speaker’s thoughts and words in our own words, using conjunctions and changing pronouns, tenses and other words where necessary. This kind of reporting is called indirect speech.
She asked what I wanted. Peter said that it was not his fault. Jane asked me if was going with her? He said that he didn’t want to talk to me. Monica says that I look beautiful. Mother asked her children to stop talking.
Basic rules for indirect speech
In indirect speech, words spoken by one person is reported in another place at a different time by a different person. Because of this, there are many grammatical differences between direct and indirect speech. It is not necessary to learn complicated rules about indirect speech in English, because most of the changes are natural and logical.
Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms
ThoughtCo / Vin Ganapathy
Direct speech is a report of the exact words used by a speaker or writer. Contrast with indirect speech . Also called direct discourse .
Direct speech is usually placed inside quotation marks and accompanied by a reporting verb , signal phrase , or quotative frame.
"While direct speech purports to give a verbatim rendition of the words that were spoken, indirect speech is more variable in claiming to represent a faithful report of the content or content and form of the words that were spoken. It is important to note, however, that the question of whether and how faithful a given speech report actually is, is of a quite different order. Both direct and indirect speech are stylistic devices for conveying messages. The former is used as if the words being used were those of another, which are therefore pivoted to a deictic center different from the speech situation of the report. Indirect speech, in contrast, has its deictic center in the report situation and is variable with respect to the extent that faithfulness to the linguistic form of what was said is being claimed." (Florian Coulmas, "Reported Speech: Some General Issues." Direct and Indirect Speech , ed. by F. Coulmas. Walter de Gruyter, 1986)
When a speaking event is reported via direct speech forms, it is possible to include many features that dramatize the way in which an utterance was produced. The quotative frame can also include verbs that indicate the speaker's manner of expression (e.g. cry, exclaim, gasp ), voice quality (e.g. mutter, scream, whisper ), and type of emotion (e.g. giggle, laugh, sob ). It can also include adverbs (e.g. angrily, brightly, cautiously, hoarsely, quickly, slowly ) and descriptions of the reported speaker's style and tone of voice, as illustrated in [5].
[5a] "I have some good news," she whispered in a mischievous way. [5b] "What is it?" he snapped immediately. [5c] "Can't you guess?" she giggled. [5d] "Oh, no! Don't tell me you're pregnant" he wailed, with a whining nasal sound in his voice.
The literary style of the examples in [5] is associated with an older tradition. In contemporary novels, there is often no indication, other than separate lines, of which character is speaking, as the direct speech forms are presented like a dramatic script, one after the other. (George Yule, Explaining English Grammar . Oxford University Press, 1998)
An interesting new way of signaling direct speech has developed among younger English speakers and is spreading from the United States to Britain. This occurs entirely in spoken conversation, rather than in writing.
- . . . Though the construction is new [in 1994] and not yet standard, its meaning is very clear. It seems to be used more often to report thoughts rather than actual speech. (James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide . Cambridge University Press, 1994)
Even in the days of audio and video recording, there can be surprising differences in direct quotations attributed to the same source. A simple comparison of the same speech event covered in different newspapers can illustrate the problem. When his country was not invited to a meeting of the Commonwealth of Nations in 2003, the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, said the following in a televised speech, according to The New York Times :
"If our sovereignty is what we have to lose to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth," Mr. Mugabe was quoted as saying on Friday, "we will say goodbye to the Commonwealth. And perhaps the time has now come to say so." (Wines 2003)
And the following according to an Associated Press story in the Philadelphia Inquirer .
"If our sovereignty is to be real, then we will say goodbye to the Commonwealth, [sic; second quotation mark missing] Mugabe said in remarks broadcast on state television. "Perhaps the time has come to say so." (Shaw 2003)
Did Mugabe produce both versions of these comments? If he gave only one, which published version is accurate? Do the versions have different sources? Are the differences in the exact wording significant or not? (Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Style: The Uses of Language in Persuasion . Oxford University Press, 2011)
Reported 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last Updated: October 19, 2023 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 62,259 times.
Direct and indirect speech, also known collectively as reported speech, refer to the ways in which a person can report what someone else has said to them. To effectively teach reported speech to your students, it’s important that you first explain what these terms mean and how they should be used. Then, you can use various games and activities to help your students understand and accurately use direct and indirect speech.
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Mainly, there are two types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech. In this lesson, we will focus on the first type: how to use direct speech.
In direct speech (also called quotes ), we repeat the exact words someone said. We place the direct reported speech between quotation marks (also called speech marks or inverted commas ).
Usually, a direct speech uses a reporting verb in the past simple tense. The most common reporting verbs are:
Reporting verbs can appear before the actual spoken words, after them, or inside the reported sentence.
' Say ' and ' tell ' are two of the most common reporting verbs in direct speech, but 'say' is more common. When we use 'say,' we do not mention the addressee of the reported sentence, however, if we do want to mention them, we use the preposition to .
"I'll see you at the party," Mia said.
"See you later," Mia said to me. (Do not say: "See you later," Mia said me .)
However, when we use 'tell' in direct reported speech, we must mention the person being spoken to. ' Tell ' is a verb that needs a direct and indirect object . For example:
"Come over here," Liam told Elijah. (Do not say: "Come over here," Liam told .)
Also, if we want to report a question, we use 'say', not tell.
"Are you OK?" Amelia said. (Do not say: "Are you OK?" Amelia told me .)
If we want to report wishes, greetings, congratulations , etc. we use 'say,' not 'tell.'
"Happy birthday!" Benjamin said. (Do not say: "Happy birthday!" Benjamin told Oliver .)
Speech reports have two parts:
The reporting clause contains a reporting verb such as 'say', 'tell', 'ask', 'reply', etc., usually in the past simple tense, and the reported clause contains the actual words the speaker said. The reporting clause may come first or second.
Lucas said, "I have a date with Tiffany tonight."
"Give that back to me!" Noah demanded.
Sometimes, in formal or literary texts, the reporting clause comes in the middle of the reported clause.
"Was it," Ethan asked, "the last time you had seen Mr. Jackson?"
"Yes," Isabella said, "it was the last time."
using direct speech to quote someone
If we want to describe how someone said something, we can use adverbs with the reporting verb.
"I will accept it!" Julian said happily .
"May I speak to him?" she asked somewhat angrily .
In the process of telling a story, especially in novels, when the reporting clause comes second , we often invert the subject and reporting verb. For example:
"My government will invest in the Stock Market," said the queen .
"Hey! Wait for me!" cried Sawyer .
Sometimes in informal contexts, we use the present simple tense in the reporting clause. For example:
So then this guy says, "I have a gun. Give me all your money."
In very informal contexts, we can also use the present continuous tense in the reporting clause to make our statement sound dramatic. For example:
And this guy's staring at me and asking, "Didn't you hear me?"
In direct speech, a comma is usually placed between the reporting clause and the reported clause. The exact words of the speaker are placed in quotation marks , either single ('…') or double ("…"). If the reported clause comes first , the comma is placed inside the quotation marks. Pay attention to the examples:
"I cannot sing very well," George said.
Nora said, 'I don’t want to marry you.'
If the reported clause is a question or exclamation , we use a question mark or exclamation mark , instead of a comma. For example:
'Are you sure about this?' Penelope asked.
"I don't care!" Gavin shouted.
Sometimes when the reporting clause comes first , we use a colon (:) between the reporting clause and the reported clause. For example:
Ivan replied: 'I don't think it's possible.'
The reported clause always begins with a capital letter , unless the reporting verb comes in the middle of the sentence.
'Why did you say that?' Hannah asked.
'I will see you there,' Skyler said, ' u nless something comes up.'
Direct speech repeats, or quotes the exact words that were spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we place the spoken words between quotation marks (" ") and we are not allowed to change the words or the tense of the sentence. We may be reporting something that is being said now (for example a conversation between two people in separate rooms repeated by a friend), or telling someone later about a previous conversation.
Here are some important verbs that are used to report something directly.
say/tell | ask |
demand | cry |
answer | add |
In English grammar , the term ‘speech’ refers to the process of communicating or expressing one’s thoughts. It is an exchange of ideas or even a conversation. There are two ways in which you can report speech – direct speech and indirect speech . Direct speech is used to report or rather repeat the words spoken by the speaker or writer in the way it is told by the speaker, whereas indirect speech is the way in which you convey what someone said to another person, not necessarily using the exact words of the speaker.
In this article, you will learn the meaning and definition of direct speech. Also, go through the rules to be followed when using the direct speech and the examples given to understand how to use them accurately.
Definition of direct speech.
Examples of direct speech, test your understanding of direct speech, frequently asked questions on direct speech in english, what is direct speech.
Direct speech is a word-to-word repetition of what the speaker or writer has conveyed. In other words, it is a way in which you can report the exact words of the speaker. Direct speech can be used to convey something that is being said in the present or to tell someone about something that is to happen at a later point of time. Let us now take a look at how various dictionaries define direct speech to further understand what it is.
According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, direct speech is defined as “a speaker’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “when you use direct speech, you repeat what someone has said using exactly the words they used.” The Collins Dictionary defines direct speech as “speech which is reported by using the exact words that the speaker used” and according to the Macmillan Dictionary, direct speech is defined as “the exact words that someone has said.”
Like every other grammar topic, there are rules to be followed when using direct speech. Let us look at each one of them to know how direct speech can be used accurately and effectively.
Name of the speaker says/said, “Exact words of the speaker.” |
---|
You can become an expert in using direct speech if you practise well. Here are some ways you can do it.
Now that you know the rules to be followed, take a look at the following examples to have a better idea of how it is done.
Rearrange the following sentences to form direct speech and punctuate them appropriately.
1. vishal / my / is / in / brother / participating / race / said / the / running
2. asked / i / devi / like / maths / problems / solving / free time/ your / in / do / you
3. friends / said / wearing / we / my / are / red / for / dresses / wedding / the / reception
4. responded / teacher / nobody / when / have / completed / the / you / project / many / of / how / asked / the
5. reach / says / tonight / bangalore / he / will / i
6. guest / the / danced / children / the / chief / said / beautifully
7. mom / Finn’s / they / all / said / singing / favourite / are / songs / his
8. Bellas / susan / are / the / said / live / performing / world / the / acapella / at / raiser / curtain
9. love / father / said / i / my / you
10. sing / asked / you / with / maria / her / me / will
Now, if you finished rearranging the sentences, check if you have done it correctly from the answers given below.
1. Vishal said, “My brother is participating in the running race.”
2. I asked Devi, “Do you like solving maths problems in your freetime?”
3. My friends said, “We are wearing red dresses for the wedding reception.”
4. Nobody responded when the teacher asked, “How many of you have completed the project?”
5. He says, “I will reach Bangalore tonight.”
6. The chief guest said, “The children danced beautifully.”
7. Finn’s mom said, “They are singing all his favourite songs.”
8. “The Bellas are performing live at the World Acapella Curtain Raiser”, said Susan.
9. My father said, “I love you.”
10. Maria asked, “Will you sing with me?”
Direct speech is a word-to-word repetition of what the speaker or writer has conveyed. In other words, it is the way in which you report the exact words of the speaker. Direct speech can be used to convey something that is being said in the present or to tell someone at a later point of time.
What is the formula of direct speech.
When using direct speech, you can follow the formula given below. Name of the speaker says/said, “Exact words of the speaker.”
Immediately after the phrase mentioning who said the particular sentence, add a comma followed by open quotation marks, the words of the speaker (capitalise the first letter of the first word) followed by a period, question mark or exclamation mark and the close quotation marks.
Here are a few examples of direct speech that you can refer to.
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English Basics
In English grammar, sentences are the key part that helps us convey our thoughts and ideas. Without sentences, it would be impossible for us to interact, state, or speak out our thoughts. But sentences can be of different types. Different sentences convey different information in their own unique ways.
Today, we will learn about one such unique sentence structure that works on its own functionality, the direct speech . In general, direct speech can be defined as a sentence where the exact words used by some speaker or writer are used to convey the message. Here, we make a sentence that uses the same words from the original speech that some person, at some point, spoke.
However, there are certain rules that we need to follow while using a direct speech sentence. If you are not aware of them, refer to the explanations below and enlighten yourself with every rule to avoid confusion.
By definition, direct speech is a sentence in which the exact words used or spoken by a speaker is presented. This is a sentence structure in which the words of a person are reproduced in speech marks. This is especially used to make the readers feel engaged or quote something very important.
In simple words, direct speech is the sentence where we see quotation marks or inverted commas containing a certain set of words in the grammatical tense of when it was originally spoken. That means the message that someone at some point has written or spoken is conveyed exactly in the same manner in the present.
This form of sentence structure is used for various different purposes. However, the most common use of direct speech is storytelling or quoting a thought. It makes dialogue presentation easy and helps understand characters more interestingly and engagingly.
If you are still confused, look at the examples below to understand easily:
In the above examples, we can notice that different sets of words are stated inside quotation marks. And those words are evidently not being spoken in a current state. So, direct speech is a sentence where the exact words spoken at some point are written in a new sentence. This is to convey the exact message that the original speaker had conveyed.
Now that we know what direct speech is, it is important to learn how to form and use one correctly. Direct speech is the presentation of the exact words of some person. It may seem easy in that sense. But there are some rules, especially punctuating rules, that we need to be aware of.
Some of the main rules regarding direct speech are;
• In a direct speech sentence, the speech of a particular person should always be between speech marks. That means the speech is opened and closed by speech marks, quotation marks, or inverted commas. For example: “I hate math classes,” said Vicky.
• The next important rule is that each character’s new speech will start on a new line. Also, each line of speech will begin with a capital letter.
• A line of speech usually ends with a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark. Further, if a sentence needs to be broken up for added information, we can use commas or question marks to finish the first part of the speech.
• A reporting clause mostly comes at the end of the sentence. Reporting clause means the phrase that indicates we are referring to the words that someone said or thought. They are the part that goes like: He said, Sarah asked, they screamed , etc. It is usually placed at the end of a sentence. But in some cases, it can also come in the beginning.
• Each reporting clause is ended with a full stop. But that is the case usually when it is mentioned at the end of a sentence. If a reporting clause is used at the beginning of a sentence, we will generally end it with a comma.
These are the general rules that we need to learn in order to form direct speech sentences. Missing any of these points can cause grammatical errors.
There is another form of speech in grammar, the indirect speech. Indirect speech and direct speech are both different types of sentences that convey a message in different ways.
As we learned, direct speech is a sentence where the exact same words spoken by someone are presented. On the other hand, indirect speech is where we rephrase the words of the speaker in a sentence. In indirect speech, only the necessary or important points of someone’s message or speech are reported.
Here, unlike direct speech, we do not write the full speech of the speaker. Instead, we report the necessary content by rephrasing them in our own words.
For example;
Direct speech: “I am bored of school activities,” John screamed. Here, the exact words used by John are conveyed. There is no change or replacement of words.
Indirect speech: Sam said that he wanted to go to the movies.
Here, the words used might not match exactly with the words used by Sam in the original context. However, the main objective is to convey the same message. And in indirect speech, we do that without quoting the person’s speech.
So, this is the basic difference between direct speech and indirect speech. Both the speech types work equally well in different situations. However, when it concerns characters and dialogues, one cannot avoid direct speech to make the sentences more interactive and engaging.
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The 39-year-old ohio senator is a relative political unknown, having served in the senate for less than two years., by jill colvin and jonathan j. cooper | associated press • published july 17, 2024 • updated on july 17, 2024 at 11:04 pm.
Introducing himself to the nation after being tapped as Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance used his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans.
The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown, having served in the Senate for less than two years. In his first prime-time address since Trump made his pick, Vance cast himself as fighter for a forgotten working class, making a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters who helped drive Trump’s surprise 2016 victory and voicing their anger and frustration.
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“In small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania, or in Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war,” he said.
“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I promise you this," he said. "I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”
Vance, who rapidly morphed in recent years from a bitter critic of the former president to an aggressive defender, is positioned to become the future leader of the party and the torch-bearer of Trump's “Make America Great Again" political movement, which has reshaped the Republican Party and broken longtime political norms. The first millennial to join the top of a major party ticket, he enters the race as questions about the age of the men at the top — 78-year-old Trump and 81-year-old Biden — have been high on the list of voters’ concerns.
At his first fundraiser as Trump’s running mate earlier Wednesday, Vance was introduced by Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who said Trump’s decision to choose him wasn’t about picking a running mate or the next vice president.
“Donald Trump’s decision this week in picking JD Vance was about the future,” he said. “Donald Trump picked a man in JD Vance that is the future of the country, the future of the Republican Party, the future of the America First movement.”
In his prime-time speech, Vance shared his story of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent. He later joined the Marines, graduated from Yale Law School, and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics — an embodiment of an American dream he said is in now in short supply.
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“Never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I’d be standing here tonight,” he said.
The first millennial on a major-party ticket, Vance spent much of his speech talking up Trump and going after Biden, using his relative youth to draw a contrast with the 81-year-old president.
“Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington as long as I’ve been alive,” Vance said. “For half a century he’s been a champion of every single policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer.”
The crowd inside the convention hall welcomed Vance warmly. They erupted into chants of “Mamaw!” in honor of his grandmother, and chanted “JD’s Mom!” after he introduced his mother, a former addict who has been sober for 10 years.
Vance was introduced Wednesday night by his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, who talked of the stark difference between how she and her husband grew up — she a middle-class immigrant from San Diego, and he from a low-income Appalachian family. She called him “a meat and potatoes kind of guy” who became a vegetarian and learned to cook Indian food for her mother.
Along with his relative youth, Vance is new to some of the hallmarks of Republican presidential politics: This year’s gathering is the first RNC that Vance has attended, according to a Trump campaign official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Trump, who entered the arena to a version of the song "It’s a Man’s World” by James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti, will be watching from his family box.
Convention organizers had stressed a theme of unity, even before Trump survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday. Trump's refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and the subsequent attack on the U.S. Capitol, officials said, would be absent from the stage.
But that changed with former White House official Peter Navarro, who was greeted with enthusiastic cheers and a standing ovation hours after he was released from a Miami prison where he served four months for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of the former president's supporter.
“If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you,” he said in a fiery speech. He compared his legal troubles to those faced by Trump, who earlier this year was convicted on 34 felony charges in his criminal hush money trial. Trump is also facing two indictments for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“They did not break me,” Navarro said, “and they will never break Donald Trump.”
Also spotted on the floor of the convention: Paul Manafort, Trump's 2016 campaign chair, who was convicted as part of the investigation into Russia's meddling in that election.
Vance is an Ivy League graduate and former businessman, but gained prominence following the publication of his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy," which tells the story of his blue-collar roots. The book became a must-read for those seeking to understand the cultural forces that propelled Trump to the White House that year.
Still, most Americans — and Republicans — don’t know much about Vance. According to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Trump selected the freshman senator as his choice, 6 in 10 Americans don’t know enough about him to have formed an opinion.
About 2 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of him, and 22% view him negatively. Among Republicans, 61% don’t know enough to have an opinion of Vance. About one-quarter have a positive view of him, and roughly 1 in 10 have a negative one.
Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a close friend of Vance, also had a prime-time slot and talked about the unlikely friendship between “a kid from Appalachia and a kid from Trump Tower in Manhattan."
“JD Vance is going to make one hell of a vice president,” he said.
He also turned the microphone over to his daughter, Kai, who delivered a humanizing speech, calling her grandfather “just a normal grandpa" who calls her while she's at school to talk about golf.
“The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person but I know him for who he is," she said.
Kai Trump spoke about the shock of learning her grandfather had been shot.
“I just wanted to know if he was okay,” she said. “It was heartbreaking that someone would do that to another person."
Beyond Vance’s prime-time speech, the Republican Party focused Wednesday on a theme of American global strength.
In a particularly powerful moment, the relatives of service members killed during Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan took the stage, holding photographs of their loved ones.
Christy Shamblin, whose daughter-in-law Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee died in the attack, spoke of the six hours she said Trump spent with her family in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“He allowed us to grieve. He allowed us to remember our heroes," she said, adding that Trump “knew all of our children’s names” and “spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood."
“Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me. And for the first time since Nicole’s death I felt I wasn’t alone in my grief," she said.
Herman Lopez, whose son, Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, was among those killed, read aloud the names of all 13 U.S. service members who died in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack.
His wife, Alicia, said they have another son in the Army. “We do not trust Joe Biden with his life," she said. The families have blasted Biden for never publicly naming their loved ones.
Also featured were the parents of Omer Neutra, one of eight Americans still being held hostage in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
His parents, Ronen and Orna, said Trump called them after their son, a soldier in the Israeli army, was captured, and offered support. As they spoke, the crowd chanted “Bring them home!" Many waved Israeli flags.
Republicans contend that the country has become a “global laughingstock” under Biden’s watch. The party that was once home to defense hawks and neoconservatives has fully embraced Trump’s “America First” foreign policy that redefined relationships with allies and adversaries.
Democrats have sharply criticized Trump — and Vance — for their positions, including their questioning of U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.
In a video released Wednesday by Biden's reelection campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris dismissed Vance as someone Trump "knew would be a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda.”
“Make no mistake: JD Vance will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country,” Harris says in a video.
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Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech. Change of Pronouns. Change of Tenses. Change of Time and Place References. Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech. Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks. Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker. Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb. Step 4: Change the Pronouns.
We can write the reporting clause either before or after the direct speech. If the reporting clause is before the direct speech, we write it as follows: Grammar rules - If the reporting clause is before the direct speech: We write a comma (,) before the direct speech. We write the exact words inside the inverted commas.
General Rules of Direct Speech. A direct speech should be written in correct composition so that it will be understood right. Here are the steps on how to do so: 1. Place quotation marks. Enclose the actual words of the speaker or writer in a set of quotation marks. They are the primary indications that your speech is in its direct form. Examples:
Direct speech refers to the exact wording of someone's comments or speech as it was spoken. In written text, direct speech usually appears in quotation marks or inverted commas to denote that the words were spoken or written by another person. The actual text of direct speech punctuated with a speech tag, which identifies the speaker and might ...
Rule 4: Direct and Indirect Speech Rules for Present Tense. If the Reporting Verb is in the Present Tense, there is no change in the tense in the Reported Verb when Direct Speech is converted into Indirect Narration. Examples: Direct: Arnab says, "The room is dark.". Indirect: Arnab says that the room is dark.
This is really a continuation of the last rule. When you write your speech declarations, try to make sure the verbs are actually speech verbs, and not just general verbs. If you want to put actions in, put them in as actions and not as speech declarations. 8. Add actions or thoughts into direct speech, using the 'before' or 'after ...
Here are some examples: Example 1: Everyday conversation Direct speech: "Hey, how are you doing?" asked John. In this example, John's exact words are being reported using direct speech. Example 2: News article Direct speech: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved friend and colleague," said the company's CEO in a ...
Here is an example: Direct speech: He said, "I am going to the store now.". Indirect speech: He said that he was going to the store then. Notice how "am" changed to "was" and "now" changed to "then". This is because the time and context have shifted from when the speaker originally spoke to when the speaker's words were ...
Direct speech helps us to directly quote the words spoken by a speaker. Use the correct punctuation rules for direct speech, and make sure that the first word of the direct speech sentence is capitalized. Soon, you'll effortlessly use it in your own English speech without even thinking. Check out more references below if you want to learn more!
Use 'not to' if the sentence begins without Don't.4. Don't use 'that'5. Omit the word 'please'. Use the word 'request' instead of 'say'.6. If the direct speech contains a request or a command, the reporting verb (say, said) change to tell, request, order, command etc. in its correct tense. 7.
A direct speech can be transformed into an indirect speech and vice versa using a suitable reporting verb and a linker depending on the sentence. Let's have an example first. Tina said to me, "Are you busy now?" [direct speech] Tina asked me whether I was busy then. [indirect speech] Direct Speech. Speaker. Reporting verb. Direct speech ...
Reported speech: direct speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Rule 8: Direct to indirect speech conversion - punctuations. In Direct speech, the words spoken must start with (") and ends with (.) inside the double inverted commas. All symbols such as question marks, full stops or exclamatory marks should be placed inside the quotes. Examples:
Here are the steps on how to do so: 1. Eliminate the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. The quotation marks are the primary indication of a direct speech. Therefore, it is crucial to take them out if you are forming an indirect one. 2. Retain the tense of the reporting verb and add the word "that" after it.
In indirect speech, words spoken by one person is reported in another place at a different time by a different person. Because of this, there are many grammatical differences between direct and indirect speech. It is not necessary to learn complicated rules about indirect speech in English, because most of the changes are natural and logical.
Direct Speech as Drama . When a speaking event is reported via direct speech forms, it is possible to include many features that dramatize the way in which an utterance was produced. The quotative frame can also include verbs that indicate the speaker's manner of expression (e.g. cry, exclaim, gasp), voice quality (e.g. mutter, scream, whisper), and type of emotion (e.g. giggle, laugh, sob).
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 ...
2. Ask your students to report on each other's answers to your questions. First, ask one student a question. Once they answer, ask another student to report what the first student said using direct speech. Then, ask a third student to report what the first student said using indirect speech.
Direct Speech: Punctuation. In direct speech, a comma is usually placed between the reporting clause and the reported clause. The exact words of the speaker are placed in quotation marks, either single ('…') or double ("…"). If the reported clause comes first, the comma is placed inside the quotation marks. Pay attention to the examples:
Direct speech is a word-to-word repetition of what the speaker or writer has conveyed. In other words, it is the way in which you report the exact words of the speaker. Direct speech can be used to convey something that is being said in the present or to tell someone at a later point of time. Q2.
Direct speech: "I am bored of school activities," John screamed. Here, the exact words used by John are conveyed. There is no change or replacement of words. Indirect speech: Sam said that he wanted to go to the movies. Here, the words used might not match exactly with the words used by Sam in the original context.
Step 4: Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your speech the more you'll discover which sections need reworked, which transitions should be improved, and which sentences are hard to say. You'll also find out how you're doing on length. Step 5: Update, practice, and revise your speech until it has a great flow and you feel ...
4. Generating Speech from Text. Copy and paste your text into the provided input field. Then, click the 'Generate' button. 5. Previewing and Downloading Generated Speech. Listen to the generated speech to evaluate the quality. If satisfied, click the download icon to save the audio file. 6. Cloning Your Own Voice
The Generate Speech tool enables you to paste or type text, and generate a realistic voice-over or narration track. The tool uses the libraries available in your Operating System. Use this tool to create synthesized voices for videos, games, and audio productions.
The first millennial on a major-party ticket, Vance spent much of his speech talking up Trump and going after Biden, using his relative youth to draw a contrast with the 81-year-old president.