Listening Comprehension / Direct and Indirect Speech

• What is direct and indirect speech?

• Direct speech is when you use someone's exact words to report what
they said. For example, if someone says "I am going to the store," and
you repeat their words, that is direct speech. Direct speech is
enclosed in quotation marks and attributed to the speaker.
• Indirect speech is when you report what someone said without using
their exact words. For example, if someone says "I am going to the
store," and you report it as "He said he was going for a walk," that is
indirect speech. Indirect speech doesn't need to be enclosed in
quotation marks and the speaker is usually not mentioned.
• Rules for changing direct to indirect speech
• When you need to report what someone said in indirect speech, there are certain rules you need to
follow.
• Tense Changes
• When changing direct speech to indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verbs to reflect the
time of the reporting. For example, if someone says "I am going to the store," and you report it the next
day, you would say "He said he was going to the store."
• Pronoun Changes
• When changing direct speech to indirect speech, you also need to change the pronouns to reflect the
subject of the reporting. For example, if someone says "I am going to the store," and you report it as "He
said he was going away for a while," you need to change the pronoun "I" to "He."
• Reporting verbs
• When changing direct speech to indirect speech, you need to use reporting verbs such as "said," "told,"
"asked," etc. For example, if someone says "I am going to the store," and you report it as "He said he was
going to be outside," you need to use the reporting verb "said."