English Toolkit

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21.2Distinguishing between direct and indirect speech
TYPICAL ERROR The Martian said 'that he would like to speak to our leader.'
CORRECTION The Martian said, 'I would like to speak to your leader.' OR The Martian said that he would like to speak to our leader.

EXPLANATION When we are writing down the actual words spoken by someone, we place these words in inverted commas. This is called direct speech. The first of the corrected forms above contains direct speech - what the Martian actually said.

If we report what someone has said by using our own words and not exactly the same words the speaker used, we do not use inverted commas. This is called reported speech or indirect speech. The second Correction above is an example of reported speech. Notice the word that; it is generally used as a lead-in to reported speech.

While direct speech must always contain the exact words used by a speaker, the words in reported speech may vary. For example, if what is said is reported immediately after it is said, then a word such as tomorrow will still be tomorrow; but if the speech is reported a few days later, tomorrow will obviously have to be changed to the next day, for with the passing of each day, tomorrow refers to a different day. Pronouns change too: compare the use of I and he in the corrected forms above.

Convert the direct speech into reported speech. Imagine in each case that you are reporting events many days after they happened.
a'I have come to fix the television,' explained Nick.



bThe woman replied, 'The accused ran out of the store and bumped into me.'



c'Is the houseboat about to leave?' asked the tourist.



d'The chairman already left for Brisbane,' explained the secretary.



e'I can’t wait for the next question,' said Eddie McGuire.



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