DIRECT AND INDIRECT

SPEECH

Prepared by:
Joey F. Valdriz
DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH
The man said, “I will not bar the door.”
Explanatory part Quoted Part

The man said that he would not bar the door.

Certain changes become necessary in the

second sentence
Rule No. 1
In indirect speech, the word that is
inserted after the verb.

The man said, “I will not bar the door.”

The man said that he would not bar the
door.
Rule No. 2
When changing from direct to indirect speech,
change all the pronouns and adverbs of time
and places to agree with the sense of the new
sentence.
The man said, “I will not bar the door.”
The man said that he would not bar the door.

Chris said, “This is my favorite book.”

Chris said that that was his favorite book.
I – he, she
WE – they, we
YOU – I, we, him, her
MY – his, her
OUR – their
US – them
• HERE - there
• TOMORROW - the next/following day
• THIS - that
• YESTERDAY - the previous day
• THESE - those
• THE NEXT WEEK - the following week
• TODAY - that day
• NOW - then
• TONIGHT - that night
Rule No. 3
Ifin direct speech you find say/says or will
say then do not change the tense that you
can find within the quotation marks

He says,” I was a fool then”

He says he was a fool then.

I will say,” He loves cricket”

I will say he loves cricket
 Rule No. 4
Ifin direct speech the words within the
quotation marks talk of a universal truth or
habitual action, then the tense inside the
quotation marks is not changed at all.

The teacher said,” The sun rises in the

east”
 The teacher said that the sun rises in the
east
Rule No. 5
If these verbs are in the past tense, we
change the verb tenses and verb forms

James said, "I have broken the window.”

James said that he had broken the
window.
We change the tenses in the following way:

1. Present – past
 She told me, "I never understand you." (She told me she never
understood me.)
 He explained, "We are doing exercises." (He explained that they were
doing exercises.)

2. Present perfect (has/have + past participle)

– past perfect (had + past participle)
 He admitted, "I have broken the window," (He admitted that he had
broken the window.)
 He complained "I have been waiting since the morning." (He
complained that he had been waiting since the morning.)

3. Past – past perfect (had + past participle)

 I thought, "She went to Rome." (I thought that she had gone to Rome.)
 She said, "He was thinking of buying a new car." (She said he had been
thinking of buying a new car.)
• IS / AM – was
• HAS / HAVE (killed) - had (killed)
• ARE – were
• WAS/WERE (laughing) - had been laughing
• IS (sleeping) - was (sleeping)
• CAN – could
• SHALL – should
• MAY - might
• DID - had done
• MUST – had to
Rule No. 6
In indirect speech, said to is
changed to told.

Chloe said to Diana, “I left my

cellphone at home”
Chloe told Diana that she left her
cellphone at home.
1. Sarah said, “What is my purpose of being?”

2. Roy said, “Why I am feeling lonely?”

3. Bea said, “How can you become a good citizen?”

4. Diana said, “What makes you busy?”

5. Henry said, “Who visited you last week?”

QUESTIONS
6. Jerry said to me, “Where do the policemen go?”

7. Mary said, “When did you celebrate your birthday?”

8. Leo asked, “What does the word pussyfoot mean?”

9. Trisha said, “Who invented the incandescent bulb?”

10. Warren said, “Where are you studying?”

 CHANGING DIRECT TO INDIRECT
SPEECH
1. Harry said to me, “Keep quiet.”

2. Marie said to Mary, “Call Maria.”

3. Peter said to me, “Run the race to victory.”

4. Karen told us, “Bring out a clean whole sheet of paper.”

5. Jimmy said to me, “Wear you smile always.”

 EXERCISES
 Paulo said, "I am eating."
 Jake said, "I have found the keys."

 "I have finished my homework“, Alice said.

 "We are doing exercises," Vince explained.

 "We can be really glad," she told us.

 She said, “We were all laughing uncontrollably”.

 Christine said, "I saw Amy at the bank on Monday."
 The driver said, "I'm going to turn right at the traffic
lights."
 "I have been waiting since the morning," he
complained.
 The teacher said, “The earth is oblate spheroid.”

 My father says, “I love you.”

 “The longest word in a major dictionary is

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis”, the
librarian said.
 He told us, "The longest word in English is comprised of
189,819 letters.“

 "I must wash up", he said.

 She said, “I may badly need some medical help soon”.

 You said to me, “You can do this ridiculously easy task”.

Using your notebook, do
Activity 6 on page 26.
Write your answers only.