Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech:

Imperatives

Check Point
Tick the doctor's exact words.

Eat a heavy meal before bed:

Don't eat a heavy meal before bed:

Not to eat a heavy meal before bed:

Express Check
Circle the correct words to complete these sentences.

The doctor told me go / to go to bed at the same time every night.

She said, “Don’t work / Not to work too hard.”
 Grammar Explanations Examples
1. Direct speech is the exact word a speaker • Come early and bring your national
used. In writing, use quotation marks. Health card: said the doctor.
Indirect speech reports what a speaker • The doctor told her to come early and
said without. Using the exact words. bring her National Health card.
There are no quotation marks.

2. The reporting verb (such as say or tell) is DIRECT SPEECH

usually in the past simple for both direct and
indirect speech.
BE CAREFUL! Put a personal direct object or
someone’s name after tell. Do not put a
personal direct object after say.
• Drink warm milk; he said.
INDIRECT SPEECH
• He told me to drink warm milk.
• He said I should call him in the
morning.
NOT he told I should call him in the
morning.

3. Imperatives in direct speech use the base

Direct speech Indirect speech
form of the verb. Imperatives in indirect Come early; he He said to come
speech use the infinitive to report: said. early
a. Instructions “Wait” He told me to
b. Commands Could you wait
c. Request please arrive by She asked him
d. Invitations 8:00? to arrive by
Could you join 8:00
us for lunch? She invited me
to join them for
lunch.

4. Use a negative infinitive (not+ infinitive)

Direct speech Indirect speech
to report negative imperatives. “Don’t go” He told her not
to go

• He said to Ann, “Tell me your

5. Indirect speech, make changes to keep the
speaker’s original meaning.
a. Change pronouns and possessives.
b. Change the phrases.
c.
problem”
• He told Ann to tell him her problem
• Call me tomorrow
• She said to call her the next day.
• “Sign this form here”
• She told him to sign that form there.
 Indirect speech
Statements (1)

Check Point
Tick the man’s exact words

It looks great on you!
It looked great on me!

Express Check
Circle the correct words to complete this sentence.

She said/told the salesperson that she is/was going to buy the dress.
 Grammar Explanations
1. An indirect speech statement reports
what a speaker said without using the
exact words. The word that can
introduce the indirect statement but
you can also leave it out.
BE CAREFUL !use say as the reporting
verb when the listener is not mentioned. Do
not use tell.
2. When the reporting verb is in the past
simple, the verb in the indirect
speech statement is usually in a
different tense from the verb in the
direct speech statement.
Direct speech Indirect speech
Present simple  past simple
Present past continuous
continuous
Past simple past perfect
Present perfect past perfect
3. In indirect speech the change of the
verb tense is optional when
reporting:
a. Something someone has just said.
b. Something that is still true
c. A general truth or scientific law.
4. When the reporting verb is in the • “I run a mile every day”
• She says that she runs a mile every day.
present simple do not change the
verb tense in indirect speech
Examples
Direct speech
• It’s a great dress, he said.
Indirect speech
• He told her that it was a great dress.
• He told her it was a great dress.
• He said that it was a great dress
NOT he told that it was a great dress.
Direct speech Indirect speech
He said, “it’s lovely”He said it was lovely
“I’m leaving” She said she was
leaving.
“I did it” He said that he had
done it.
He said to her, ”I’ve He told her that he
never lied” had never lied.
A: what did you just say?
B: I said I’m tired. Or I said I was tired.
• Rick said the bank wants a cheque.
• Rick said the bank wanted a cheque.
• She said that everyone lies sometime.
• She said that everyone lied sometime
 Indirect Speech:
Statement (2)

Check Point
Tick the weather forecaster's exact words.

“It would be windy.”

“It will be windy.”
 Express Check
Read Jim's words. Tick the sentence that correctly reports what he said.

JIM: “I may move soon.”

Jim said that I may move soon.

Jim said that he might move soon.

Grammar Explanations Examples

1. As you learned in unit (indirect speech
statement 1), when the reporting verb Direct speech Indirect speech
is in the past simple, the verb tense She said, “it’s windy” She said it was
usually changes in the indirect speech windy.
statement.
Modals often change in the indirect
speech, too.
Direct speech Indirect speech Direct speech Indirect speech
will would I said,” the wind will be
I said the wind
Can could strong” would be strong.
May They told us, “you can They told us we
might
stay with us” could stay with
must had to
them.
He said, “the storm He said that the
may last all night” storm might last all
night.
She told us, “ you must She told us we had to
leave” leave.

2. Some verb do not change in indirect

speech. Direct speech Indirect speech
a. Do not change should, could, might and “You should listen to He told us that we
ought to in indirect speech. the weather report” he should listen to the
b. Do not change the past perfect in told us. weather report.
indirect speech.
“I had just moved here She said she had just
c. Do not change verbs in the second and a week before,” she moved there a week
third conditional sentences in indirect said. before.
speech.
d. Do not change past modals in indirect “If I knew, I would tell Jim said if he knew,
you” he would tell me.
speech.
“If 1 had known, I He said if he had
would have told you,” known, he would
said Jim. have told me,
“I should have left” He said that he
should have left.
 Indirect Questions

The stress interview.

Check Point
Tick Ms Bentley's exact words.

“Why were you still single?”

“Why are you still single?”
 Express Check
Unscramble these words to complete the indirect question.
Why • he • job • his • left • had
He asked him…………………………………………………………
Grammar Explanations Examples
1. Use if, whether or whether or not to Direct speech
form indirect yes/no questions.
• “Can you type?” she asked.
USAGE NOT: whether is more formal than
Indirect speech
if.
• She asked if I could type.
• She asked whether (or not) I could
type.

2. In indirect yes / no questions, the Direct Speech

subject comes before the verb, the same • “Can I start tomorrow?”
word order as in statements.
Indirect Speech
• He asked if he could start tomorrow.
NOT he asked could he start tomorrow.
Direct speech
• “does the job proverbs benefits”
Indirect speech
• He asked if the job provided benefits.
NOT he asked does the job provide benefits.

3. Use questions words to form indirect Direct speech

Wh-questions. • “Where is you office?” I asked.
Indirect speech
• I asked where his office was.

4. In indirect wh-questions, the subject Direct Speech

also comes before the verb as in
statement, and you do not use do, does
or did.
In indirect wh-questions about the subject,
the question word is the subject and the
verb follows as in statement word order.
• “Why did you leave you job?”
Indirect speech
• She asked me why I had left my job.
NOT she asked me why did l leave my job.
Direct speech
• Bob asked, “Who got the job?”
Indirect speech
• Bob asked who had got the job.