Sometimes we may wish to report the words of others. In fact, this is quite a regular occurrence in any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two ways to do this: reported (indirect) speech, and direct speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the name would suggest, direct speech is when you directly report the words of another person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Direct speech can always be identified in written speech through the use of speech marks (sometimes known as quotation marks). Please note that single or double marks can be used depending on the habit of the individual user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Direct speech is the easier of the two options because it does not involve any grammatical or structural changes to the original sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reported (indirect) speech<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Reported speech involves grammatical, and sometimes structural, changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is an example of the same sentence as above but this time delivered in reported speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,\u201d he said. (direct speech)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
He said (that) he would see me at the meeting today. (reported\/indirect speech)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aa can be seen, considerable changes have been made to the original sentence. First of all, the speech marks have been removed. Next, we must consider the verb tense used. Fortunately, the rules covering this are written in stone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Direct speech<\/strong><\/th> Indirect \/ Reported speech<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 1) Present simple<\/td> Past simple<\/td><\/tr> 2) Present Perfect<\/td> Past Perfect<\/td><\/tr> 3) Present continuous<\/td> Past continuous<\/td><\/tr> 4) Past simple<\/td> Past Perfect<\/td><\/tr> 5) Past continuous<\/td> Past perfect continuous<\/td><\/tr> 6) Past perfect<\/td> Past perfect (no change)<\/td><\/tr> 7) Past perfect continuous<\/td> Past perfect continuous (no change)<\/td><\/tr> 8) Future simple (will)<\/td> Would<\/td><\/tr> 9) Can<\/td> Could<\/td><\/tr> 10)All other Modal Verbs (might\/may\/could\/should\/would)<\/td> No change<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n As can be seen from the above table, the original verb tense must be adapted accordingly. Let us look at the original examples once more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,\u201d he said. (direct speech)<\/p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
He said (that) he would see me at the meeting today. (reported\/indirect speech)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The verb tense in the original, direct speech sentence (\u2018will\u2019) has been adapted to \u2018would\u2019 as necessary. This reflects the difference in time between when the comment was originally made, and when it was reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fact is made most obviously clear when the present tense is adapted to the past, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to talk to you,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
She said that she wanted to talk to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As is dictated, \u2018want\u2019 has become wanted\u2019 because the request is now clearly in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please note that, on some occasions, adapting the present tense to the past tense may not be necessary. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like pizza,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
She said she likes\/liked pizza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because we can assume the state to still be true, the present tense is also correct in the reported sentence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n
Other changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let us look once more at the original pair of sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,\u201d he said. (direct speech)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
He said (that) he would see me at the meeting today. (reported\/indirect speech)<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
As well as the verb tense, both the subject and object have been adapted, and so has the time expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, these amendments are all relative. Who was talking to who, and what is the time relationship between when the original sentence was communicated, and when it was reported? Always bear in mind these considerations when using reported speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reported questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Questions are a little bit different, and must be adapted in their own unique way. Generally speaking, there are two types of questions, and each must be considered separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d he asked.<\/li>
- \u201cDo you like pizza?\u201d she asked.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The first question is an \u2018information\u2019 question, requiring some kind of specific detail in the answer. The second question, meanwhile, is quite simply a \u2018yes\/no\u2019 question, where detail is optional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the changes that must be made to each question in reported (indirect) speech<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- He asked me what my name was\/is.<\/li>
- She asked me if I liked pizza.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In the \u2018information\u2019 question, the original sentence must be restructured so it is now no longer a question, but an affirmative statement. That is because, when reported, it is no longer a question. The verb tense should also be adapted as per the rules with all reported speech transitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the \u2018yes\/no\u2019 question, the sentence must also be adapted, with the word \u2018if\u2019 (or \u2018whether\u2019) replacing the auxiliary. Again, the verb tense must be changed accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reporting verbs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the examples in this article we have included the classic reporting verbs \u2018said\u2019 and \u2018asked\u2019. \u2018Tell\u2019 is another classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In truth, these verbs are incredibly uninformative. In reality, they tell us nothing about the emotion or feeling of what was communicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, it is better to run through the many options of reporting verbs we have at our disposal to select an option which best describes the sentiment of the words. Of course, in formal or business English you may want to stay with the neutral words of \u2018say\u2019, \u2018ask\u2019 and \u2018tell\u2019, but to be a little more descriptive, why not check out some of these options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n