LESSON II:

DIRECT AND INDIRECT

SPEECH
Direct speech refers to the exact words/statements
a person says. It is also called quoted speech
because it is always enclosed with quotation marks
(“ ”). While indirect speech, also called reported
speech, restates/reports the words of others and
does not need quotation marks.

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RULES IN
TRANSFORMING DIRECT
TO INDIRECT SPEECH

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 USE OF “THAT”
Delete the comma and the quotation
marks and introduce the reported
statement with “that”. However,
sometimes the word “that” is optional.

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 USE OF
“THAT”
DIRECT Louise said, “I am amazed by the faithfulness of Louisians.”

INDIRECT Louise said that she was amazed by the faithfulness of Louisians.

(In transforming direct to indirect speech, always copy the introductory statement “Louise said”, remove
the comma and quotation marks, and insert the word “that”.)

DIRECT He said, “I am the king of the world.”

INDIRECT He said that he was the king of the world.

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 PRONOUN CHANGE
Pronoun changes depend on the
subject of the exact statement & POV
of the speaker. The pronouns are
changed to make them agree with the
context of the direct statement.

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 PRONOUN
CHANGE
DIRECT Mara said, “I am proud to be raised by a single parent.”

INDIRECT Mara said that she was proud to be raised by a single parent.

(Since you are restating/reporting what Mara said, you have to align the pronoun with Mara’s
gender which is female. Thus, change pronoun “I” into “she”.)

DIRECT Mr. Cabanban said, “I want to attend the meeting at 10 o’clock.”

INDIRECT Mr. Cabanban said that he wanted to attend the meeting at 10 o’clock.

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 CHANGE OF SITUATION
Take note of the following
situations in the direct speech and
their counterpart in the indirect
speech.

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 CHANGE OF
SITUATION
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

this that

here there

now then

today that day

yesterday the day before / the previous day

tomorrow the next day / the following day

last week the week before / the previous week

next month the following month

a while ago before

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 CHANGE OF
SITUATION
DIRECT Mr. Sanchez said, “I have nothing to do with this.”

INDIRECT Mr. Sanchez said that he had nothing to do with that.

(Remember to memorize the situations above with their equivalent indirect form. The word “this” from
the direct speech will be changed to “that” in its indirect form.)

DIRECT He said, "I am flying to Rome tomorrow."

INDIRECT He said that he was flying to Rome the next day.

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 TENSE CHANGE
Verb tenses are changed
to suit the context of the
sentence.

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 TENSE
CHANGE
TENSE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

SIMPLE PRESENT She said, “I like rainy days.” She said that she liked rainy days.

She said that she had bought some

SIMPLE PAST She said, “I bought some cookies.”
cookies.

PRESENT PERFECT
She said, “I haven’t called Cathy.” She said that she hadn’t called Cathy.
(has/have + past
The officers said, “We have prepared The officers said that they had prepared
participle form of the
the room for the orientation.” the room for the orientation.
verb)

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 TENSE
CHANGE
TENSE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

PAST PEFECT
She said, “I had taken driving lessons She said that she had taken driving
(had + past participle
before.” lessons before.
form of the verb)

PRESENT
CONTINUOUS She said, “I am staying in the city.” She said that she was staying in the city.
(-ing form of the verb)

PAST CONTINUOUS She said that she had been playing with
She said, “I was playing with my dogs.”
(-ing form of the verb) her dogs.

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 TENSE
CHANGE
NOTE:
 Wh e n th e ve rb in th e in tro d u c to ry sta te m e n t is in th e pre se nt te nse , th e te n se in th e
d ire c t sta te m e n t is no t c ha ng e d . It m e a n s th a t th e p re se n t te n se is re ta in e d .

Exa m p le :
Lo u ie sa y s, “I fe e l tire d .” Lo u ie sa y s th a t h e fe e ls tire d .

 Wh e n th e re p o rtin g ve rb is in th e pa st te nse , a ll th e o th e r ve rb s in th e se n te n c e
sho uld be c ha ng e d to the ir pa st fo rm s.

Exa m p le :
Sh e sa id , “Th e y a re le a vin g fo r Ma n ila .” Sh e sa id th a t th e y w e re le a vin g fo r Ma n ila .

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NOTE: For further explanation on
changes in verb tenses, kindly
open your book on page 229 and
study the given examples.

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 USE OF MODALS
MODALS DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

will He said, “I will meet you at the park.” He said that he would meet me at the park.

can He said, “I can speak perfect Spanish.” He said that he could speak perfect Spanish.

shall He said, “I shall take the test later.” He said that he should take the test later.

may He said, “I may be late for the meeting.” He said that he might be late for the meeting.

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must He said, “I must work overtime this Saturday.” He said that he had to work overtime this Saturday.

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 Let’s Do This!

TASK 1: Go to TASK 1 in your Genyo

lesson and answer the 5-item quiz to
check if you understood the first five
rules. (5 points)
GENERAL TRUTH
When the direct statement is a general
truth/fact or an obvious natural law, the
present tense in the direct statement is
retained in the reported statement.

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 TRUTH
DIRECT The book states, “The oceans move in circular currents.”

INDIRECT The book states that the oceans move in circular currents.

DIRECT The speaker said, “The earth is changing due to global warming.”

INDIRECT The speaker said that the earth is changing due to global warming.

DIRECT Lita said, “The moon orbits the earth.”

INDIRECT Lita said that the moon orbits the earth.

DIRECT My mother said, “Children are gifts from God.”

INDIRECT My mother said that children are gifts from God.

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INDIRECT SPEECH OF IMPERATIVE
SENTENCES

These are statements that express commands, requests, and

orders.

a) the reported verb is changed to an infinitive (to + verb)

b) the introductory verb said is changed to told
c) words like “kindly, “please” and “let me” are omitted

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INDIRECT SPEECH OF IMPERATIVE
SENTENCES

She said to him, “You should work hard for the

DIRECT
exam.”

INDIRECT She told him to work hard for the exam.

DIRECT He said to me, “Please help me.”

INDIRECT He told me to help him.

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INDIRECT SPEECH OF IMPERATIVE
SENTENCES
DIRECT My mom said, “Study hard.”
INDIRECT My mom told me to study hard.

My health teacher said, “Go to bed early to avoid

DIRECT
getting sick.”

My heath teacher told me to go to bed early to avoid

INDIRECT
getting sick.

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 Let’s Do This!

TASK 2: Go to TASK 2 in your

Genyo lesson. Using your book,
answer Activity 13 (numbers 1-5)
on pages 230-231. (5 points)
 INDIRECT SPEECH OF
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
These are statements that ask questions.

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 INDIRECT SPEECH OF INTERROGATIVE
SENTENCES

1. Yes/No questions are answerable

by yes or no; instead of ‘that”, use “if”

DIRECT Luke asked, “Can you answer this for me?”

INDIRECT Luke asked if I could answer that for him.

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 INDIRECT SPEECH OF INTERROGATIVE
SENTENCES

2. Optioned questions have

choices/options; instead of “that”, use
“whether”

DIRECT Mark asked, “Which do you prefer, English or Math?”

INDIRECT Mark asked whether I prefer English or Math.

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 INDIRECT SPEECH OF INTERROGATIVE
SENTENCES

3. Information questions – the same

question word as that used in the original
question

Nico asked me, “How do you transform direct speech to

DIRECT
indirect speech?”

Nico asked me how do I transform direct speech to indirect

INDIRECT
speech.

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 Let’s Do This!

TASK 3: Go to TASK 3 in your Genyo

lesson and answer the 10-item quiz to
check if you understood the rules in
transforming direct to indirect speech.
(10 points)
 Let’s Do This!

TASK 4: Go to TASK 4 in your Genyo

lesson and answer the 10-item quiz to
check if you understood the rules in
transforming direct to indirect speech.
(10 points)
REFERENCES
✘ Integrated English for Effective Communication by
Ria Karla I. Arana, et al.
✘ English Across Continents by Noemi U. Rosal and
Ceres Fern D. Demegilio
✘ Essential English – Worktext in Literature and
Language by Carolina T. Gonzales, et al
✘ English CV for High Schools Communication Values by
Aurea A. Lauengco, et al.
✘ Exploring Life through Philippine Literature by
Francisca B. De la Cruz