Table of Contents
What are the words used in indirect speech?
Reported or indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like ‘say’, ‘tell’, ‘ask’, and we may use the word ‘that’ to introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used.
What are the three rules when changing direct speech to indirect speech?
Procedure of changing direct speech into indirect speech
- Remove comma and inverted commas.
- Put “that” between the reporting and reported speeches.(it is optional to put “that” between the reporting and reported speech)
- Change the 1st letter of reported speech into small letter except for “I”
How do we show that words are in direct speech?
When we use direct speech in writing, we place the words spoken between quotation marks (” “) and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that’s being said NOW (for example a telephone conversation), or telling someone later about a previous conversation.
What are the rules in writing direct and indirect speech?
General rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech. Omit all inverted commas or quotation marks. End the sentence with a full stop. If the verb inside the inverted commas/quotation marks is in the present tense, change it into the corresponding past tense.
We expected direct speech to make readers focus more on the communicative situation (i.e., the way of speaking) as opposed to the referential situation (i.e., the content of the speech) than indirect speech.
How do you use direct speech in a story?
The general rules of direct speech are:
- Each new character’s speech starts on a new line.
- Speech is opened with speech marks.
- Each line of speech starts with a capital.
- The line of speech ends with a comma, exclamation mark or question mark.
- A reporting clause is used at the end (said Jane, shouted Paul, replied Mum).
Where do we use direct speech?
When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct speech. We use direct speech when we simply repeat what someone says, putting the phrase between speech marks: Paul came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”