Direct and indirect speech in English is connected with the help of well-established rules that do not comply with the rules of Russian grammar. Knowledge of the algorithms for converting direct speech to indirect is necessary for understanding English speech.
What is direct and indirect speech in English
Direct Speech or Direct Speech - these are the words of the speaker, presented unchanged - exactly as they were said. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that direct speech in English is not made out in accordance with the rules of punctuation of the Russian language.
Example:
- A girl said, "I am admiring a beautiful flower". (The girl said, “I admire a beautiful flower.”)
- "I am admiring a beautiful flower", said a girl. ("I admire a beautiful flower," the girl said.)
Indirect speech (Indirect / Reported Speech) - it is also the speaker's words, but presented in an altered form - transmitted in conversation by other people. Translation of sentences from direct speech to indirect in English is carried out according to certain rules. As a rule, indirect speech consists of the main one (the author’s words) and the subordinate clause (the author’s direct speech directly). If the verb of the main sentence is used in the present or future tense, then in the subordinate clause, you can put any time that is suitable in meaning. If the past sentence is used in the main sentence, the rules for coordinating times apply .
Example:
- A girl said, "I am admiring a beautiful flower". (Direct speech)
- A girl said that she was admiring a beautiful flower. (Indirect speech)
Direct and indirect speech in English is closely interconnected. Therefore, the rules of converting one type of speech into another must be studied by everyone who wants to learn the basics of the language for free communication. Exercises for direct and indirect speech in English will become the best simulator for memorizing the basic algorithms for constructing sentences in an indirect form.
Changing Present Group Times
Translation of direct speech into indirect in English for the present time is quite simple - just replace the tenses of the Present group with the Past group:
- Verbs in Present Simple take the form of Past Simple:
Jenny said, "I feed the birds!". (Jenny said, “I feed the birds”!)
Jenny said that she fed the birds. (Jenny said she feeds the birds.)
- Present Continuous goes to Past Continuous :
Tom answered, "My mother is baking cookies." (Tom replied, “My mom bakes cookies.”)
Tom answered that his mother was baking cookies. (Tom replied that his mom bakes cookies.)
- the forms of Perfect verbs also change the tense from the present to the past:
Lily read, "The old woman has seen her cat this morning". (Lily read: "The old woman saw her cat this morning.")
Lily read that the old woman had seen her cat that morning. (Lily read that an old woman saw her cat this morning.)
- Present Present Continuous takes on the form of the past Past Perfect Continuous:
I noticed, "You have been watching movies all day". (I noted: "You watch movies all day.")
I noticed that he had been watching movies all day. (I noted that he watches films all day.)
Changing Past Group Times
If you want to translate a direct speech into an indirect one with the English time of the Past group, you will have to remember a little more complicated rules. Past tenses are converted as follows:
| Direct Speech Time | Reported Speech Time |
Past Simple: Din said, "We played baseball in the backyard". (Dean said, "We played baseball in the backyard.") | Past Perfect: Din said that they had played baseball in the backyard. (Dean said they played baseball in the backyard.) |
Past Continuous: Ann noticed, "I was walking". (Anne noted, “I was walking.”) | Past Perfect Continuous: Ann noticed that she had been walking. (Anne noted that she was walking.) |
Past Perfect: Janny answered, "I had finished all my pressing matters by 3 o'clock". (Jenny replied: “I finished all my urgent matters by 3 o’clock.”) | Past Perfect: Janny answered that she had finished all her pressing matters by 3 o'clock. (Jenny replied that she had finished all her urgent matters by 3 o’clock.) |
Past Perfect Continuous: Nelly said, "I had been washing the dishes for 2 hours". (Nellie said, "I washed the dishes for 2 hours.") | Past Perfect Continuous: Nelly said that she had been washing the dishes for 2 hours. (Nellie said she washed the dishes for 2 hours.) |
Future Times Change
When working with direct and indirect speech in English, future tenses are changed by replacing will with would, that is, verbs of Future tenses are replaced by the Future-in-the-Past form.
Example:
- The boy said, "I will go for a walk tomorrow". (The boy said, "I will go for a walk tomorrow.")
- The boy said that he would go for a walk the next day. (The boy said he would go for a walk tomorrow.)
Interrogative sentences
The following rules are provided for working with interrogative sentences in direct and indirect speech in English:
1. When translating an interrogative sentence into an indirect form, a direct word order is established:
Example:
- She asked, "Do you notice the changes?" (She asked, “Do you notice a change?”)
- She ashed me if I noticed the changes. (She asked me if I notice a change.)
2. General and alternative questions begin with the unions if (for colloquial speech) and whether (for the formal version):
Examples:
- Andrew asked, "Did you arrive by bus?" (Andrew asked: "Have you arrived by bus?")
- Andrew asked her if she had arrived by bus. (Andrew asked if she arrived on the bus.)
- Mark asked, "Do you prefer green or black tea?" (Mark asked, “Do you prefer green or black tea?”)
- Mark asked whether she prefered green or black tea. (Mark asked if she prefers green or black tea.)
3. The verb ask in the main question can be replaced by closely related verbs:
Example:
- Jane asked Lily, "Where do you prefer to live?"
- Jane wanted to know, where Lily prefered to live.
4. The affirmations yes and negations no in the subordinate clause of indirect speech are omitted:
Examples:
- They answered, "Yes, we are doing this exercises". (They replied, “Yes, we are doing these exercises.”)
- They answered that they were doing that exercises. (They replied that they were doing these exercises.)
- Lucy answered, "No, I will not come". (Lucy replied, "I will not come.")
- Lucy answered that she would not come. (Lucy replied that she would not come.)
5. If interrogative words are used in direct speech, these words are preserved in the indirect subordinate clause:
Examples:
- She wondered, "What do you want to do?" (She asked, “What do you want to do?”)
- She wondered what he wanted to do. (She asked what he wanted to do.)
- Nelly asked me, "Why are you sitting there?" (Nellie asked me, "Why are you sitting here?")
- Nelly asked me why I was sitting there. (Nellie asked me why I am sitting here.)
Incentive offers
When converting sentences that have a stimulating character into an indirect form, the verb is replaced by an infinitive. The main sentence of Reported Speech uses the verbs allow (ask), ask (tell), order ("order") and others.
Not is used to form the negative form.
Examples:
- David allowed, "Take this sweet candy!" (David allowed: “Take this delicious candy!”)
- David allowed to take that sweet candy. (David allowed me to take this delicious candy.)
- Thomas warned, "Don't touch this flower!" (Thomas warned me: “Do not touch this flower!”)
- Thomas warned me not to touch that flower. (Thomas warned me not to touch this flower.)
If the person making the direct speech is not indicated in the context, Passive Voice is used to translate the sentence into the command form .
Example:
- Nicky, give me some milk, please! (Nikki, please give me some milk!)
- Nicky was told to give some milk. (Nikki asked for some milk.)
In the case of sentences with "Let ...", the transition to indirect speech is carried out using the infinitive or the form of the verb with the ending -ing.
Sentences beginning with "Let's ..." are converted into indirect speech using two combinations:
- the verb suggest + conjunction that + should;
- verb suggest + verb form with -ing ending.
Examples:
- He said, "Let me solve this problem." (He said: "Let me solve this problem.")
- He offered to solve that problem. He suggested solving that problem. (He proposed to solve this problem).
- Nelly said, "Let's do the homework!" (Nelly said, “Let's do our homework!”)
- Nelly suggested that we should do the homework. Nelly suggested doing the homework. (Nelly suggested doing homework).
Modal verbs
When translating direct speech into an indirect form, modal verbs are also changed.
| Modal verb in Direct Speech | Modal Verb in Reported Speech |
may James noticed, "It may snow". (James remarked: “It may snow.”) | might James noticed, that it might snow. (James noticed that it might snow.) |
can Tony said, "I can run fast". (Tony said, “I can run fast.”) | could Tony said that he could run fast. (Tony said he could run fast.) |
must Bill said, "You must show them the terms of the treaty." (Bill said: “You have to show them the terms of the contract.”) | had to Bill said that we had to show them the terms of the treaty. (Bill said we should show them the terms of the contract.) |
have to Billy answered, "I have to go at school". (Billy replied: “I have to go to school.”) | had to Billy answered that he had to go at school. (Billy replied that he should go to school.) |
There are also modal verbs that, when translating a sentence into an indirect form, do not change their form. These include the verbs would, ought to, should, could and might.
Example:
- Dorothy said, "You should learn math with me". (Dorothy said: “You should learn math with me.”)
- Dorothy said that I should learn math witn her. (Dorothy said I should learn math with her.)
Time and place indicators
Indices of time and place in sentences of direct and indirect speech in English do not always converge. Changing such pointers must be memorized. The table shows some of the words that are replaced during the transition from direct to indirect speech.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Yeaterday | The day before The previous day |
| Now | Then At that time |
| Today | That day |
| Tomorrow | The next day The following day |
| Last week | The week before The previous week |
| This week | That week |
| Next week | The following week |
| Here | There |
| This / These | That / Those |
Examples:
- Andrew said, "We met Tom yesterday and he was glad to see us". (Andrew said: "We met Tom yesterday, and he was glad to see us.")
- Andrew said that they had met Tom the previous day and he had been glad to see them. (Andrew said they met Tom yesterday, and he was glad to see them.)
- A girl said, "I want this ice-cream". (The girl said, “I want this ice cream.”)
- A girl said that she wanted that ice-cream. (The girl said she wants this ice cream.)
Say and Tell Usage Guidelines
The verb to say, used in direct speech, when the sentence is transferred to the indirect form, can remain unchanged, and can be replaced by the verb to tell. If the person to whom the direct speech was addressed is not mentioned in indirect speech, the verb say is used. If there is a mention, the say verb is tell.
Example:
- My father said, "You can go for a walk with your puppy". (My father said: "You can go for a walk with your puppy.")
- My father said that I could go for a walk with my puppy. (My father said that I can go for a walk with my puppy.)
- My father told me that I could go for a walk with my puppy. (My father told me that I can go for a walk with my puppy.)