In this article, we learn the use of direct and indirect speech in English, through this article I want to share some important tips and quick ways to understand the concept of Direct and Indirect speech.
You know that English is a widely spoken language in the world and even we learn our school syllabus in this language so it is necessary now to learn the language completely without making mistakes. We discuss here definitions and examples so that readers can easily understand it.
Use of Direct and Indirect
A repeated sentence or what someone said is called direct and indirect speech, there are two types of speech, Direct and Indirect and the use of both speech is different. You’ll learn blow the usage with easy definitions and examples.
Direct Speech
Direct Speech tells what someone said, for example, the Prime minister said “Every Pakistani gets 200 hundred free electricity units”. It is common sense that in direct speech we use said to tell someone’s sentence. Look at the below examples:
- When my father opened the door I said where’s my shoes.
- The defense minister said we defend any situation for the country.
- When I was 15 years old my father said that you were kidnapped.
Indirect Speech
Indirect Speech is used for indirectly said sentences like, Ashraf has purchased a new car (it’s a direct speech) and in indirect speech, you can say, He said he has purchased a new car.
Conversion of Direct and Indirect Speech
Learn how to change direct sentences in Indirect Speech with the conversion of tenses. Understand the use of the following tenses in Indirect, and practice it to understand quickly.
Learn the use all tenses in Indirect Speech, if a sentence is in present simple then it will change into past simple when we make it Indirect. Looking at the below table to understand changes in tenses.
Present Tense
Present Simple – Past Simple
A sentence of present tense will change in past simple, have a look at an example. She says I play a cricket game (direct), She said that She played a cricket game (Indirect).
Present Continuous – Past Continuous
You can use past continuous tense in Indirect when a direct sentence is present continuous. For example, They say, we are going to Karachi (direct), and They say that they are going to Karachi (Indirect).
Present Perfect – Past Perfect
Change present perfect in past perfect when you make it Indirect, and use past perfect tense in Indirect when a tense is present perfect for example, He says, I have completed my homework (direct). He said he had completed his homework (Indirect).
Present Perfect Continuous – Past Perfect Continuous
Easily change the sentence in Indirect Speech, just change the present perfect continuous sentence in the past perfect continuous tense. Read examples, He said, I have been waiting for an hour at the railway station (direct). He said that he had been waiting for an hour at the railway station (Indirect).
Above we describe the direct to indirect speech use and tenses conversion with examples. Learn more below conversion with other tenses.
Past Tense
Past Simple – Past Perfect
In the past tense, the use is different than present tense, we use past simple in Indirect, and when making Indirect the sentence changes to past perfect tense. Here are some examples, She said, I played cricket (direct), She said that she had played cricket (indirect).
Past Continuous – Past Perfect Continuous
When you talk about past continuous time, you can use past perfect continuous tense to change speech look at, He said I was eating dinner (direct) and He said that he had been eating dinner (indirect).
Past Perfect – Past Perfect
Note: The use of past perfect tense is the same in indirect, only some reporting changes have to do like, He said, I had already worked in this company (direct). He said that he had already worked in that company (indirect).
Future Tense
Future Simple – Conditional
The future tense tells something that will happen in the upcoming time like an event, seminar, etc. In this tense will & shall are used as auxiliary verbs, there are four types of future tense. We have already written an article on English Tense, you can read it in detail.
We use the future tense in direct and indirect speech, let me explain in detail. Note that the future tense (will) is used in (would) when you change it and if the reporting verb is in the past tense the coming changes in the past conditional tense as you see below.
- Direct: She says “I will join you tomorrow”.
- Indirect: She said that she would join you the next day.
Future Continuous – Conditional Perfect
Structure: Subject + will be + ing form (Direct) and Subject + would be + ing form (Indirect). Follow this sentence structure to make sentences easily, read below examples:
- He said I will play cricket in the evening. (Direct)
- He said that he would be playing cricket in the evening. (Indirect)
Future Perfect (Would have) + Past Participle
Use future perfect tense with would-have auxiliary verbs in indirect speech like, He will say, I will be studying in Hungary (Direct), He said that he would be studying in Hungary (Indirect).
Future Perfect Continuous – Present Participle
Structure: Use future-perfect continuous tense (would have been) + present participle, look at the below examples.
- He will say. I will have been playing since evening. (Direct)
- He said that he would have been playing since evening. (Indirect)
Pronoun Changes
| Pronoun | In Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| I | He/she |
| We | They |
| You | She/ He/ I & They |
| He | He |
| She | She |
| It | It |
| They | They |
Time and Place Changes – Indirect Speech
| Tomorrow | The Next Day |
| Last Night | The Night Before |
| Now | Then |
| Today | That Day |
| Here | There |
| Yesterday | The Day Before |
| This | That |
| These | Those |
The article is very helpful for beginners to understand the usage of Direct and Indirect Speech, we cover necessary information with examples and a detailed guide.
