Direct Indirect SPH

BEDOK NORTH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
DIRECT SPEECH
In direct speech, we quote the actual words of a speaker.

(a) We always put the spoken words and the attendant final punctuation marks within inverted
commas.
1. I said, “Please put the books on the table.”

2. She exclaimed, “What a beautiful day this is!”
3. “Let‟s go out for a walk,” she said.
4. “Did you do it?” the inspector asked the man.
(b) When speech or titles of books or films occur within speech, we have to use another set of
inverted commas.
1. He remarked, “Mary said „How do you do?‟ when she saw Tom.”
2. I asked, “Have you read the book „Born Free‟?”
(c) When a person is addressed directly, his name is separated from the rest of the words by
commas.
1. The teacher said, “John, will you come here?”

2. “I want to ask you something, Peter,” the man said.
3. “Come here, John, and help me carry this load,” his father said.
(d) Direct speech may sometimes be interrupted by reporting verbs. Be careful to punctuate the
sentences correctly.
1. (a) “If she finishes her work, she will help me,” Collin said.
(b) “If she finishes her work,” Collin said, “she will help me.”
2. (a) “It‟s getting late. We had better go now,” I said.
3. (b) “It‟s getting late,” I said. “We had better go now.”
EXERCISE 1
Put in all the necessary punctuation marks in the following sentences.
The teacher said to her do not read so fast.

 The teacher said to her, “Do not read so fast.”
1. He remarked I heard her say what a lazy boy you are to Harry.
2. Tell me young man the woman said is your mother at home?
3. Tony run down to the shop and get me some groceries his mother said.
4. Are you feeling all right he asked let me get you a drink.
5. Molly asked have you seen the film Star Wars?
6. The officer shouted to his men halt!
7. If you see Paul she said send him to me.
8. Please help me mister the beggar implored I am starving.
9. I exclaimed you have lived here all you life and you don‟t even know your neighbours!
10. Have you anything else to tell me Raymond I asked.
11. Look here boys this is the way to set up a tent the scoutmaster said.
12. Say thank you Shirley her mother told her.
13. He scolded his younger brother I have often told you not to play with fire!
14. Hurry up he shouted the ship Marianne is going to sail soon.
15. Oh dear I am ruined the businessman cried.
16. It‟s seven o‟clock shall we go now I asked.
17. What is the time Robert asked I want to watch Mystery Movie on television.
18. Mother the boy called where are you?
19. May I have the book Detective Stories for today I want to read it my little brother asked.
20. Of the two poems The Rain and Snow which poem appeals more to you the teacher asked.
INDIRECT SPEECH: STATEMENTS
Indirect speech reports the words of a speaker. There are several changes that have to be made
when direct speech changes to indirect speech.
(a) Punctuation: We do not use commas or inverted commas in indirect speech.
Direct: I told my brother, “I will not go with you.”
Indirect: I told my brother that I would not go with him.
Direct : “You must go first, Jeffrey,” the teacher said.
Indirect: The teacher told Jeffrey that he had to go first.
(b) Tenses: Changes in tenses depend on the situation. We DO NOT CHANGE the tense when:
(i) the statement is a general truth:
Direct: She said, “Man needs air in order to live.”
Indirect: She said that man needs air in order to live. [general truth – no tense change]
Direct: He told the boys, “The earth is a sphere.”
Indirect: He told the boys that the earth is a sphere. [general truth – no tense change]
(ii) the introductory verb is in the present of future tense:
Direct: She says, “I‟m sorry that I‟m late.”
Indirect: She says that she is sorry that she is late. [no tense change but change of form to
agree with new pronoun „she‟]
Direct: He will say, “I have work to do.”
Indirect: He will say that he has work to do. [no tense change but change of form to agree
with new pronoun „he‟]
(iii) the action is still continuing or will happen:
Direct: They said, “We will be playing in the field.”
Indirect: They said that they will be playing in the field.
Direct: She said, “I will bake a cake for you tonight.”
Indirect: She said that she will bake a cake for me tonight.
(c) However, when the situation is not shown, we may assume that the action happened in
the past. In that case, always move the TENSE one step back in time [= BACKSHIFT].
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
She said, She said that
SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST

“I have to go now.” she had to go then.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

“He is working here.” he was working there.
SIMPLE PAST PAST PERFECT

“She left last night.” she had left the previous night.
MODAL [e.g. will, can, may, shall] MODAL [e.g. would, could,
might, should]
“I will do this tomorrow.” she would do that the next day.
PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT

“He has done this weeks ago.” he had done that weeks before.
(d) PLACE and TIME: Observe these changes.

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
now then
ago before
last previous
next following
today that day
tomorrow the next day / the following day
yesterday the previous day
here there
this that
these those
last week the week before
next year the following year
Check whether or not the place and time are the same in the direct and reported speech situations.
Read the following example:
i. It is Friday and you meet James at a restaurant. James tells you that he saw Caroline in this
restaurant today:
 “I saw Caroline here today.”
ii. A few minutes later, Helen joins you and you want to report what James has told you. Place
(here) and time (today) are the same and you can say:
 James said that he had seen Caroline here today.
iii. One day later, you meet Mary at the same restaurant. Again, you want to report to her what
James has told you. The place is the same, but not the time (it happened yesterday). So you
would say:
 James said that he had seen Caroline here yesterday.

iv. Still a few days later, Tom rings you at home. Again, you want to report to him what James has
told you. However, now you are not at the restaurant (but at home) and a few days have passed
since then. So you would say:
 James said that he had seen Caroline at the restaurant on Friday.
 I met James in a restaurant on Friday and he said that he had seen Caroline there that
day.
Therefore you always have to think which place and time expressions are logical in a certain situation.
(e) PRONOUNS and POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: These must be changed so that the identity of
the person concerned will be clear.
DIRECT: I said, “I have to finish my work first.”
INDIRECT: I said that I had to finish my work first. (unchanged because reporter is referring to self)
DIRECT: She said, “I have to wash my clothes now.”
INDIRECT: She said that she had to wash her clothes then.
DIRECT: He told me, “I am going to renew my identity card.”
INDIRECT: He told me that he was going to renew his identity card.
(f) „MUST‟ in direct speech is changed to „HAVE TO‟ /„HAS TO‟ / „WILL HAVE TO‟ in indirect
speech. However, its negative „mustn‟t‟ is not changed.
DIRECT: He said, “I must change out of my wet clothes.” (Present)

INDIRECT: He said that he has to change out of his wet clothes.
DIRECT: She said, “I must tell her the news tomorrow. (Future)
INDIRECT: She said that she will have to tell her the news the next day.
DIRECT: I said, “You must not go out in the rain.”

INDIRECT: I said that she must not go out in the rain. [No change]
(g) The verbs COULD, SHOULD, WOULD, MIGHT, MUST, NEEDN‟T, OUGHT TO, USED TO do not
normally change.
(h) Main clauses connected with „and‟ / „but‟

If two complete main clauses are connected with ‚and‘ or ‚but‘, put ‚that‘ after the conjunction.
DIRECT: He said, “I saw her but she didn‟t see me.”

INDIRECT: He said that he had seen her but that she hadn‟t seen him.”
If the subject is left out in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do
not use ‘that’:
DIRECT: She said, “I am a nurse and work in a hospital.”
INDIRECT: He said that she was a nurse and worked in a hospital.
EXERCISE 2: INDIRECT SPEECH: STATEMENTS

Put the following into indirect speech. Be careful of your tenses.
She told me, “I‟ll finish reading this book later.”

She told me that she would finish reading that book later.
1. I said, “I‟ve borrowed your ruler, Annie.”
2. The doctor explained, “Having an X-ray taken is not painful.”
3. The teacher told us, “A diamond is a very valuable stone.”
4. The teacher explained, “Intransitive verbs do not have objects.”
5. He said, “I shall go there tomorrow.”
6. I said to him, “I will not take back what I have said.”
7. She says, “Examinations will never be abolished.”
8. “You are lying,” they told her.
9. He said, “I lived many years in India.”
10. He will say, “We do not know where Polly has gone.”
11. “Her brother came here last week,” I said.
12. She told me, “I finished my embroidery work days ago.”
13. I said, “I must not be disrespectful to my elders.”
14. He told me, “My brother is not free now. He is writing letters.”
15. The man said to the girl, “I know your father very well.”
16. The gardener told her, “You can pick as many flowers as you like from this bed only.”
17. He says, “I am not so foolish as to believe you.”
18. He says, “Keep quiet, and listen to what I have to say about this problem.”
19. “We‟d better start doing our work now as we have to hand it in next week,” she said.
20. “You mustn‟t be so slow with your work next time,” the supervisor told the girl.
INDIRECT QUESTIONS
(a) In indirect questions the SUBJECT COMES BEFORE THE VERB, as in a simple statement.
DIRECT: He asked me, “Who are you?”
INDIRECT: He asked me who I was.
DIRECT: She asked me, “Where is Desmond?”
INDIRECT: She asked me where Desmond was.
(b) Change of TENSE, PLACE, TIME, PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES also apply
to indirect questions. Remember that these changes DEPEND ON THE SITUATION indicated.
Direct: He asked me, “What are you doing here?”
Indirect: He asked me what I am doing here. (present)
Indirect: He asked me what I was doing there. (past)
(c) We do NOT use inverted commas, commas or question marks in indirect questions.
Direct: She asked him, “Are you feeling all right?”
Indirect: She asked him if he was feeling all right.
Direct: I asked her, “What is your name?”
Indirect: I asked her what her name is.

(d) To introduce indirect questions, we use REPORTING VERBS like „asked‟, „inquired‟,
„wondered‟, etc.
DIRECT: “Where have you been?”
INDIRECT: She asked me where I had been.
DIRECT: “Does Mr Long live here?”
INDIRECT: I enquired whether Mr Long lived there.
DIRECT: “What is going on here?”
INDIRECT: He demanded to know what was going on there.
(e) There are two types of Direct Questions:

(i) WITH INTERROGATIVE WORDS like what, where, who, when, why, and how.
(ii) WITHOUT INTERROGATIVE WORDS, i.e. questions beginning with have, do, etc
Note the different ways the two types of direct questions are converted to indirect questions:
TYPE EXAMPLE
DIRECT “Why don‟t you speak English?”
(i) WITH INTERROGATIVE
INDIRECT He asked me why I didn‟t speak English.
DIRECT “Do you speak English?”

(ii) WITHOUT INTERROGATIVE He asked me whether I spoke English.
INDIRECT
He asked me if I spoke English.
 Instead of that, indirect questions use either INTERROGATIVE WORDS as in Type (i) above,
or it uses whether/if as in Type (ii) above.
 The auxiliary verb ‘do’ is not used in indirect questions.
(f) Other Examples Of Direct Questions Without Interrogative Words:
DIRECT: “Have you brought it with you?” he asked me.
INDIRECT: He asked me whether I had brought it with me.
DIRECT: The teacher asked us, “Is the lesson clear enough?”
INDIRECT: The teacher asked us if the lesson was clear enough.
(g) Students sometimes find difficulty with the words „SHALL‟ and „SHOULD‟. These words change
according to their meanings.
DIRECT: I asked him “Shall I cook something special?”
INDIRECT: I asked him if I should cook something special. (request for advice)
DIRECT: “Shall I be all right, Doctor?” he asked.
INDIRECT: He asked the doctor if he would be all right. (change of pronoun)
DIRECT: “Should I leave him alone?” she wondered.
INDIRECT: She wondered if she should leave him alone. („should‟ meaning „ought to‟ remains
unchanged)
EXERCISE 3: INDIRECT QUESTIONS

Rewrite the following as indirect questions
“Where did you buy your pen?” he enquired.

He enquired where I had bought my pen.
1. “Where shall we go for our holidays?” the children asked their father eagerly.
2. He said, “How‟s your mother?”
3. “Did you hear what that man said?” Paul asked me.
4. The student enquired, “What is the best way to answer this question?”
5. “Have you anything else to tell me?” the lawyer asked his client.
6. She wondered, “Why can nobody ever be satisfied?”
7. “Tell me, young man, is your father at home?” the stranger enquired.
8. “Will you wait for me if I‟m late?” she asked her friend.
9. “Who shall be the leading actress in our play?” the monitor asked.
10. The money-lender asked, “Do you intend to repay all your debts?”
11. “Where shall I go now?” the traveller wondered.
12. “Have you anything to say in favour of the accused?” the magistrate asked the witness.
13. “When did you last see him?” the inspector asked her.
14. “Are you not ashamed of your behavior, son?” the farmer asked.
15. “To whom shall I go for help?” the girl asked herself desperately.
16. “Won‟t you go there with me?” he asked his friend.
17. “What questions are we supposed to answer?” he asked me.
18. He enquired, “Which way did the pickpocket go?”
19. “Why are you crying?” Mary asked Stella.
20. “Since I have no money, where can I stay for the night?” he wondered.
ANSWERS:
EXERCISE 1
Put in all the necessary punctuation marks in the following sentences.
1. He remarked, “I heard her say „what a lazy boy you are‟ to Harry.”
2. “Tell me, young man,” the woman said, “is your mother at home?”
3. “Tony, run down to the shop and get me some groceries,” his mother said.
4. “Are you feeling all right?” he asked. “Let me get you a drink.”
5. Molly asked, “Have you seen the film „Star Wars‟?”
6. The officer shouted to his men, “Halt!”
7. “If you see Paul,” she said, “send him to me”.
8. “Please help me, mister,” the beggar implored. “I am starving.”
9. I exclaimed, “You have lived here all your life and you don‟t even know your neighbours!”
10. “Have you anything else to tell me, Raymond?” I asked.
11. “Look here, boys. This is the way to set up a tent,” the scoutmaster said.
12. “Say „thank you‟, Shirley,” her mother told her.
13. He scolded his younger brother, “I have often told you not to play with fire!”
14. “Hurry up!” he shouted. “The ship „Marianne‟ is going to sail soon.”
15. “Oh dear! I am ruined!” the businessman cried.
16. “It‟s seven o‟clock. Shall we go now?” I asked.
17. “What is the time?” Robert asked. “I want to watch „Mystery Movie‟ on television.”
18. “Mother!” the boy called. “Where are you?”
19. “May I have the book „Detective Stories‟ for today? I want to read it,” my little brother asked.
20. “Of the two poems „The Rain‟ and „Snow‟, which poem appeals more to you?” the teacher
asked.
ANSWERS
EXERCISE 2: INDIRECT SPEECH: STATEMENTS

Put the following into indirect speech. Be careful of your tenses.
1. I said, “I‟ve borrowed your ruler, Annie.”
I said to Annie that I had borrowed her ruler.
2. The doctor explained, “Having an X-ray taken is not painful.”
The doctor explained that having an X-ray taken is not painful.
3. The teacher told us, “A diamond is a very valuable stone.”
The teacher told us that a diamond is a very valuable stone.
4. The teacher explained, “Intransitive verbs do not have objects.”
The teacher explained that intransitive verbs do not have objects.
5. He said, “I shall go there tomorrow.”
He said that he would go there the next day.
6. I said to him, “I will not take back what I have said.”
I said to him that I would not take back what I had said.
7. She says, “Examinations will never be abolished.”
She says that examinations will never be abolished.
8. “You are lying,” they told her.
They told her that she was lying.
9. He said, “I lived many years in India.”
He said that he had lived many years in India.
10. He will say, “We do not know where Polly has gone.”
He would say that they did not know where Polly had gone.
11. “Her brother came here last week,” I said.
I said that her brother had come the week before.

12. She told me, “I finished my embroidery work days ago.”
She told me that she had finished her embroidery work days before.
13. I said, “I must not be disrespectful to my elders.”
I said that I must not be disrespectful to my elders.
14. He told me, “My brother is not free now. He is writing letters.”
He told me that his brother was not free then because he was writing letters.
15. The man said to the girl, “I know your father very well.”
The man said to the girl that he knew her father very well.
16. The gardener told her, “You can pick as many flowers as you like from this bed only.”
The gardener told her that she could pick as many flowers as she liked from that bed
only.
17. He says, “I am not so foolish as to believe you.”
He said that he was not so foolish as to believe her/him.
18. He says, “Keep quiet, and listen to what I have to say about this problem.”
He says for (told) them to keep quiet and listen to what he has to say about this problem.
19. “We‟d better start doing our work now as we have to hand it in next week,” she said.
She said that they had better start doing their work then as they had to hand it in the
week after.
20. “You mustn‟t be so slow with your work next time,” the supervisor told the girl.
The supervisor told the girl that she must not be so slow with her work next time.
ANSWERS
EXERCISE 3: INDIRECT QUESTIONS
Rewrite the following as indirect questions
1. “Where shall we go for our holidays?” the children asked their father eagerly.
The children asked their father eagerly where they should go for their holidays.
2. He said, “How‟s your mother?”
He asked (me) how my mother was. / He asked (her) how her mother was. / He asked
(him) how his mother was. / He asked (us) how our mother was. / He asked (them) how
their mother was. / He wanted to know ……
3. “Did you hear what that man said?” Paul asked me.
Paul asked me if I (had) heard what that man had said.
4. The student enquired, “What is the best way to answer this question?”
The student wanted to know the best way to answer that question. / The student
enquired about the best way to answer that question.
5. “Have you anything else to tell me?” the lawyer asked his client.
The lawyer asked his client if he had anything else to tell him.
6. She wondered, “Why can nobody ever be satisfied?”
She wondered why nobody could ever be satisfied.
7. “Tell me, young man, is your father at home?” the stranger enquired.
The stranger asked the young man if his father was at home.
8. “Will you wait for me if I‟m late?” she asked her friend.
She asked her friend if she would wait for her if she was late.
9. “Who shall be the leading actress in our play?” the monitor asked.
The monitor asked who should be the leading actress in their play.
10. The money-lender asked, “Do you intend to repay all your debts?”
The money-lender asked if he intended to repay all his debts.
11. “Where shall I go now?” the traveller wondered.
The traveller wondered where he should go then.
12. “Have you anything to say in favour of the accused?” the magistrate asked the witness.
The magistrate asked the witness if he had anything to say in favour of the accused.
13. “When did you last see him?” the inspector asked her.
The inspector asked her when she last saw him.
14. “Are you not ashamed of your behavior, son?” the farmer asked.
The farmer asked his son if he was not ashamed of his behavior.
15. “To whom shall I go for help?” the girl asked herself desperately.
The girl wondered desperately to whom she should go for help.
16. “Won‟t you go there with me?” he asked his friend.
He asked his friend if he wouldn’t go there with him.
17. “What questions are we supposed to answer?” he asked me.
He asked me what questions they were supposed to answer.
18. He enquired, “Which way did the pickpocket go?”
He enquired which way the pickpocket went.
19. “Why are you crying?” Mary asked Stella.
Mary asked Stella why she was crying.
20. “Since I have no money, where can I stay for the night?” he wondered.
He wondered where he could stay for the night since he had no money.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Adapted from the following sources:
 Essential English Usage and Grammar by J.B. Alter, M.A. Times Educational. 1983.
 English Grammar Online at http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech

Direct Indirect SPH

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BEDOK NORTH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1

ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

In direct speech, we quote the actual words of a speaker.

1. I said, “Please put the books on the table.”

1. The teacher said, “John, will you come here?”

The teacher said to her do not read so fast.

INDIRECT SPEECH: STATEMENTS

(a) Punctuation: We do not use commas or inverted commas in indirect speech.

Direct: I told my brother, “I will not go with you.”

Indirect: I told my brother that I would not go with him.

Direct : “You must go first, Jeffrey,” the teacher said.

Indirect: The teacher told Jeffrey that he had to go first.

(i) the statement is a general truth:

Direct: She said, “Man needs air in order to live.”

Direct: He told the boys, “The earth is a sphere.”

(ii) the introductory verb is in the present of future tense:

Direct: She says, “I‟m sorry that I‟m late.”

Direct: He will say, “I have work to do.”

(iii) the action is still continuing or will happen:

Direct: They said, “We will be playing in the field.”

Indirect: They said that they will be playing in the field.

Direct: She said, “I will bake a cake for you tonight.”

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

She said, She said that

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

SIMPLE PAST PAST PERFECT

PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT

(d) PLACE and TIME: Observe these changes.

 “I saw Caroline here today.”

 James said that he had seen Caroline here today.

 James said that he had seen Caroline here yesterday.

DIRECT: I said, “I have to finish my work first.”

DIRECT: She said, “I have to wash my clothes now.”

DIRECT: He told me, “I am going to renew my identity card.”

INDIRECT: He told me that he was going to renew his identity card.

DIRECT: He said, “I must change out of my wet clothes.” (Present)

DIRECT: I said, “You must not go out in the rain.”

(h) Main clauses connected with „and‟ / „but‟

DIRECT: He said, “I saw her but she didn‟t see me.”

EXERCISE 2: INDIRECT SPEECH: STATEMENTS

She told me, “I‟ll finish reading this book later.”

1. I said, “I‟ve borrowed your ruler, Annie.”

2. The doctor explained, “Having an X-ray taken is not painful.”

3. The teacher told us, “A diamond is a very valuable stone.”

4. The teacher explained, “Intransitive verbs do not have objects.”

5. He said, “I shall go there tomorrow.”

6. I said to him, “I will not take back what I have said.”

7. She says, “Examinations will never be abolished.”

8. “You are lying,” they told her.

9. He said, “I lived many years in India.”

11. “Her brother came here last week,” I said.

12. She told me, “I finished my embroidery work days ago.”

13. I said, “I must not be disrespectful to my elders.”

17. He says, “I am not so foolish as to believe you.”

DIRECT: He asked me, “Who are you?”

INDIRECT: He asked me who I was.

DIRECT: She asked me, “Where is Desmond?”

INDIRECT: She asked me where Desmond was.

Direct: He asked me, “What are you doing here?”

Indirect: He asked me what I am doing here. (present)

Indirect: He asked me what I was doing there. (past)

Direct: She asked him, “Are you feeling all right?”