Direct and

Indirect Speech
 DIRECT SPEECH

• It is sometimes called quoted speech.

• It is a speech that repeats exactly what has been
spoken or uttered.
• Quotation marks (“…”) and speech tag are used
here.
 DIRECT SPEECH

• He says, “I want to adopt a dog.”

• Julia asks, “What do you want to have for dinner?”
• Penny answers, “I would like to have some soup.”
• “I have a new job,” Kyle says to us.
• “I will be working as a virtual assistant,” he added.
 INDIRECT SPEECH

• It is sometimes called reported speech.

• It doesn’t make use of quotation marks.
• Verb tense, time expressions, and pronoun are usually
changed.
• Some words in the original utterance may also be changed.
 INDIRECT SPEECH

• He says that he wants to adopt a dog.

• Julia asks Penny what she wants for dinner.
• Penny answers that she would like to have some soup.
• Kyle told us that he got a new job.
• He added that he will be working as a virtual assistant.
 GENERAL RULES: CHANGING DIRECT
TO INDIRECT SPEECH
• Eliminate the quotation marks that enclose the
relayed text.
• Retain the tense of the speech tag and add the word
“that” after it.
• Change the tense of the verb in the reported speech,
if needed.
• Change the pronouns accordingly.
 RULE 1: CHANGING DIRECT TO
INDIRECT SPEECH
• If the speech tag in the direct speech is in the present tense
(he says, he asks, etc.), do not change the tense in the
actual sentence.

• She says, “I am happy.”

• She says that she is happy.
 RULE 2: CHANGING DIRECT TO
INDIRECT SPEECH
• If the actual utterance talks about universal truths or habitual
actions but the verb in the speech tag is in the past tense,
follow Rule 1. the tense of the verb in the utterance should still
be present.

• He said, “He goes to school every day.”

• He said that he goes to school every day.
 RULE 3: CHANGING DIRECT TO
INDIRECT SPEECH
• If the verb in the speech tag is in the past tense, the verb in
the actual utterance is changed to the past tense.

• She said, “I am hungry.”

• She said that she was hungry.