Direct and Indirect speech - Verbs.

Hello guys! This post is going to deal with reported speech! It is something quite important when you are telling what a person says. It is a way to speak in third person, telling what other people think, suggest, requests etc. There are two types of reported speech. One is direct speech and other is indirect speech. The main difference between these two is that direct speech has to use quotation marks (") and reproduces all the exact words that the speaker said when the hearer was receiving that message. For example: "I am hungry" she said. In indirect speech this would be: She said she was angry. Indirect speech gives more naturality to our way of speaking. In order to use indirect speech, something more complicated than reproducing the same words, it is very important clearify the rules that the speaker should follow.

Some things you should know first:

-The conjugation of verbs is really important.

-Sometimes we have to use "that", "if" or "whether"

-When we talk about something that has not changed and it is still applicable to present time the verbal tense is the same. For example: Blood is red. She said that blood is/was red

The main verbs we use, known like the "reporting verb" are say and tell. They are the most common, but depending on each context we should use these two or others. One does not use the same verbs when make a suggestion, a request etc.

We are going tense by tense explaining how direct and indirect work.

Tenses in direct and indirect speech:

Present simple tense:

Direct speech: I like apples.

Indirect speech: She said (that) she liked apples.

Present continuous tense:

Direct speech: I am doing sport

Indirect speech: He said he was doing sport.

Past simple tense:

Direct speech: I aet a hamburger

Indirect speech: She said she had aet a hamburger.

Past continuous tense:

Direct speech: I was driving a car

Indirect speech: He said he had been driving a car

Present perfect tense:

Direct speech: I have not done my exercises

Indirect speech: She said she had not done her exercises.

Past perfect tense: NO CHANGE

Direct speech: I had taken French lessons before

Indirect speech: He said he had taken French lessons before

Will:

Direct speech: I will do it later

Indirect speech: He said he would do it later

Would: NO CHANGE

Direct speech: I would sing, but ...

Indirect speech: She said she would sing, but ...

Can:

Direct speech: I can speak five languages.

Indirect speech: He said he could speak five languages.

Could: NO CHANGE

Direct speech: I could dance when I was young

Indirect speech: She said she could dance when she was young.

Shall:

Direct speech: I shall come later.

Indirect speech: He said he would come later.

Should: NO CHANGE

Direct speech: I should go home

Indirect speech: She said she should go home.

Might: NO CHANGE

Direct speech: I might be late

Indirect speech: He said he might be late.

Must:

Direct speech: I must tell the truth.

Indirect speech: She said she must tell/had to tell the truth.

Reported questions:

In questions, when are passe to indirect speech, the interrogation marks disappear. For example (DS) Where is he shop? (ID) She asked me where the shop is. The reported verb has changed into "ask" because is a request. As we previously explained. This example is a fixed example, I mean, the shop is stable and does not move. But if instead of a shop, we replace it by a person, the verbs would change. For example (DS) Where is Brian? (ID) She asked me where Brian was.

Direct/Indirect reported questions:

There are other questions which are more direct. For example:

-Do you know where is the shop? -> He asked me if I knew where the shop is.

-Do you know where is Brian? -> He asked if I knew where Brian was.

Request question:

ask me/her/him + to + infinitive

some examples are:

Could you please do me a favor? -> She asked me to do her a favor.

Please, help me -> He asked me to help him

That's all. The theory is quite extense. The best way of learning is practising. Think twice before tell other person's words. Verbs can be tricky. Next time I will bring you some exercises and we will check if something is clear.

If you have any doubts, please ask! See you soon :)