Direct and Indirect Speech

When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past tense, then the tense changes to another past tense; it can almost be seen as moving even further into the past.

Verb tense changes also characterize other situations using indirect speech. Note the changes shown in the chart and see the table below for examples. With indirect speech, the use of that is optional. Direct Speech simple present He said, I go to school every day. simple past He said, I went to school every day. present perfect He said, I have gone to school every day. Indirect Speech simple past He said (that) he went to school every day. past perfect He said (that) he had gone to school every day. past perfect He said (that) he had gone to school every day.

present progressive past progressive He said, I am going to school every day. He said (that) he was going to school every day. past progressive He said, I was going to school every day. future (will) He said, I will go to school every day. perfect progressive He said (that) he had been going to school every day, would + verb name He said (that) he would go to school every day.

future (going to) present progressive He said, I am going to school every day. He said (that) he is going to school every day.

past progressive He said (that) he was going to school every day Direct Speech Indirect Speech

auxiliary + verb name simple past He said, Do you go to school every day? He asked me if I went to school every day.* He said, Where do you go to school? He asked me where I went to school. imperative He said, Go to school every day. infinitive He said to go to school every day.

*Note than when a Yes/No question is being asked in direct speech, then a construction with if or whether is used. If a WH question is being asked, then use the WH to introduce the clause. Also note that with indirect speech, these are examples of embedded questions. The situation changes if instead of the common said another part of the very to say is used. In that case the verb tenses usually remain the same. Some examples of this situation are given below.

Direct Speech simple present + simple present He says, I go to school every day. present perfect + simple present He has said, I go to school every day. past progressive + simple past He was saying, I went to school every day.

Indirect Speech simple present + simple present He says (that) he goes to school every day. present perfect + simple present He has said (that) he goes to school every day. past progressive + simple past He was saying (that) he went to school every day. past progressive + past perfect He was saying (that) he had gone to school every day.

future + simple present He will say, I go to school every day.

future + simple present He will say (that) he goes to school every day.

Another situation is the one in which modal constructions are used. If the verb said is used, then the form of the modal, or another modal that has a past meaning is used.

Direct Speech can He said, I can go to school every day. may He said, I may go to school every day. might He said, I might go to school every day. must He said, I must go to school every day. have to He said, I have to go to school every day. should He said, I should go to school every day. ought to He said, I ought to go to school every day.

Indirect Speech could He said (that) he could go to school every day. might He said (that) he might go to school every day.

had to He said (that) he had to go to school every day.

should He said (that) he should go to school every day. ought to He said (that) he ought to go to school every day.

While not all of the possibilities have been listed here, there are enough to provide examples of the main rules governing the use of indirect or reported speech. For other situations, try to extrapolate from the examples here, or better still, refer to a good grammar text or reference book. Some other verbs that can be used to introduce direct speech are: ask, report, tell, announce, suggest, and inquire. They are not used interchangeably; check a grammar or usage book for further information.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

Kalimat Langsung Dan Kalimat Tak Langsung Bilamana reported speech menyatakan kata-kata yang sebenarnya, ini disebut direct speech (kalimat langsung). Kalimat-kalimat tersebut tidak dihubungkan oleh that melainkan harus ditandai dengan (tanda baca) koma. Bilamana reported speech memberikan isi pokok kata-kata yang dipakai oleh si pembicara dan bukan kata-kata yang sebenarnya ini disebut indirect speech (kalimat tidak langsung). Dalam indirect speech kalimat-kalimat itu dihubungkan dengan kata that. Bentuk waktu reporting verb tidak diubah, akan tetapi bentuk waktu reported speech harus diubah berdasarkan atas bentuk waktu reporting verb. Dua cara perubahan bentuk waktu pada reported speech : Peraturan I Kalau reporting verb itu past tense, bentuk waktu kata kerja dalam reported speech itu harus diubah ke dalam salah satu dari empat bentuk past tense. Direct Speech - Indirect Speech Simple present - menjadi - Simple past He said The woman comes He said that the woman came Dari contoh di atas dapat disimpulkan perubahan untuk bentuk waktu dari reported speech sebagai berikut : Direct Speech Simple present Present continuous Present perfect Present perfect continuous Simple past Past continuous Future Indirect Speech Simple past Past continuous Past perfect Past perfect continuous Past perfect Past perfect continuous Past

Present Kekecualian :

Past

Kalau reported speech berhubungan dengan kebenaran umum atau fakta yang sudah menjadi kebiasaan, present indefinite atau simple present dalam reported speech tidak diubah ke dalam bentuk lampau yang sesuai, melainkan tetap persis sebagaimana adanmya, contoh : Direct Speech - Indirect Speech He said, The sun rises in the east - He said that the sun rises in the east Dalam reported speech, bila present tense diubah ke dalam past tense dengan peraturan I, kata sifat, kata kerja atau kata keterangan umumnya diubah: Direct Speech this = ini these = ini come = datang here = di sini, ke sini hence = dari sini hither = ke tempat ini ago = yang lalu now = sekarang today = hari ini tomorrow = besok yesterday = kemarin last night = tadi malam next week = minggu depan thus = begini Indirect Speech that = itu those = itu go = pergi there = di sana, ke sana thence = dari sana thither = ke tempat itu before = lebih dahulu then = pada waktu itu that day = hari itu next day = hari berikutnya the previous day = sehari sebelumnya the previous night = semalam sebelumnya the following week = minggu berikutnya so = begitu

contoh : He said, I will come here.

He said that he would go there

Akan tetapi kalau this, here, now dan sebagainya menunjukan pada benda, tempat atau waktu ketika berbicara, maka tidak dilakukan perubahan. Agus said, This is my pen. - Agus said that this was his pen (ketika berbicara pena berada di tangan pembicara) Peraturan II 1) Bila reported speech kalimat berita Dengan peraturan ini reporting verb dianggap dalam present atau future tense tertentu dan kapan saja ini terjadi, bentuk waktu dari kata kerja dalam reported speech tidak diubah sama sekali dalam mengubah direct menjadi indirect speech. Reporting verb - Reported speech Present tense - Any tense (bentuk waktu apapun) Direct : She says to her friend, I have been writing . Indirect : She says to her friend that he has been writing. (tidak berubah) Direct : She has told you, I am reading . Indirect : She has told you that he is reading. (tidak berubah) Direct : She will say, You have done wrongly . Indirect : She will tell you that you have done wrongly. (tidak berubah) Direct : She will say, The boy wasnt lazy . Indirect : She will tell them that the boy wasnt lazy. (tidak berubah)

2) Bila reported speech merupakan kalimat tanya a) Reporting verb say atau tell diubah menjadi ask atau inquire. Dengan mengulangi kata tanya dan mengubah tenses jika pertanyaannya dimulai dengan kata tanya diberitakan. Direct He said to me, Where are you going? He said to me, What are you doing? Indirect He asked me where I was going He inquired of me what I was doing

b) Dengan menggunakan if atau whether sebagai penghubung antara reporting verb dan reported speech dan mengubah tenses, jika pertanyaannya dimulai dengan kata kerja diberitakan : Direct He said to me, Are you going away today? He asked me , can you come along? Indirect He asked me whether I was going away that day. He asked me if I could come along.

3) Kalimat perintah (imperative sentences) Bila reported speech merupakan kalimat perintah, reporting verb say atau tell harus diubah menjadi kata kerja tertentu yang menandakan : command (perintah), misalnya ordered, commanded, dsb yang berarti menyuruh, memerintahkan. precept (petunjuk, bimbingan, didikan), misalnya advised yang berarti menasehati. request (permohonan), misalnya asked yang berarti meminta, memohon. entreaty (permohonan yang sangat mendesak), misalnya begged yang berarti meminta, memohon (dengan sangat). prohibition (larangan), misalnya forbade yang berarti melarang. Dalam perubahannya dari kalimat langsung menjadi kalimat tidak langsung, modus imperatif harus diganti dengan infinitif. Tegasnya, reported verb (kata kerja yang diberitakan atau kata kerja dalam reported speech) harus diubah menjadi infinitive with to. a) Command : Direct: He said to his servant, Go away at once! Indirect:He ordered his servant to go away at once

b) Precept : Direct: She said to her son, Study hard! Indirect: He advised her son to study hard c) Request : Direct: He said to his friend, Please lend me your pen! Indirect: He asked his friend to be kind enough to lend him his pencil d) Entreaty : Direct: He said to his master, Pardon me, sir Indirect: He begged his master to pardon him. e) Prohibition : Direct: She said to her daughter, Dont go there Indirect: She forbade her daughter to go there Kalau reporting verb say atau tell diubah menjadi reported verb ask, order, command dsb (tapi jika bukan forbid), predikatnya diubah ke dalam infinitive with to yang didahului oleh not atau no + infinitive with to. Direct: She said to her daughter, Dont go there Indirect: She asked herdaughter not to go there. 4) Kalimat seru (exclamatory sentences) Bilamana reported speech terdiri dari kalimat seru atau kalimat optatif, reporting verb say atau tell harus diubah menjadi kata kerja tertentu yang semacam itu seperti exclaim, cry out, pray dsb. a) Exclamatory sentences Direct: He said, Hurrah! My old friend has come Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that his old friend had come. b) Optative sentences (kalimat yang menyatakan harapan, pujian, dsb)

Direct: He said, God bless you, my dear son Indirect: He prayed that God would bless his dear son

If the sentence is in the past tense (he liked swimming), we use the past form of 'do' or 'does', which is did. The verb 'like' is still in the infinitive without 'to'. For example, "Did he like swimming?" Not "Did he liked swimming?" To make sentence 2 into a question, you don't need to use 'does' because you already have an auxiliary verb can. So you put the can before he. "Can he swim long distances?" Not "Can swim he long distances?" or "Does he can swim long distances?" To make sentence 3 into a question, use is as the auxiliary. "Is he a good swimmer?" Not "Does he is a good swimmer?" or "Does he be a good swimmer?"
Direct questions "wh" questions

What is your name? Why do you want this job? How much do you earn? How soon can you start? When did you see the advertisement? Where do you live? Which newspaper did you see the advertisement in? Who gave you my name? After the "wh word" (what, why, how, when, etc) comes the auxiliary (do, does, did or can), then the subject (you) , then the rest of the question. Note: if 'who', 'which' or 'what' are the subject of the question, you dont need an auxiliary. For example, "What happened?" Not "What did happen?" The thing that happened is what the subject of the question. "Who saw you?" Someone saw you who was it? Compare with "Who did you see?" You saw someone who was it?) "Which company made a profit?" A company made a profit which company was it? Compare with "Which company did you work for?" You worked for a company which one was it?

Indirect questions in English

If you want to ask a question that is quite sensitive, try using one of the indirect phrases below: Can you tell me Could you tell me I'd be interested to hear I'd like to know Would you mind telling me These questions are followed by either about, a "wh word" or if. Then you add the subject, then the sentence. You don't need an 'auxiliary', such as 'do', 'does', 'did', or 'can'. "Can you tell me what you like most about your present job?" Not "Can you tell me what do you like?" "I'd be interested to hear about your experiences." "Would you mind telling me if you have applied for a similar position before?"