Direct and Reported Speech: English lesson.

Texts in English

When we want to communicate or report what another person has said, there are two ways of doing so: direct speech and indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech

To report exactly what another person has said, we use direct speech. In direct speech, what the person has said is placed within quotation marks (“…”) and should be word for word.

Examples:

“I am going to London next week,” she said.

“Do you have a pen I could borrow,” he asked.

Alice said, “I love to dance.”

Chris asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

Indirect/Reported Speech

With indirect or reported speech, as opposed to direct speech, we do not use quotation marks and it does not have to be word for word. In general, when we use indirect or reported speech, the verb tense changes. Below is a table with an explanation of the tense changes in indirect or reported speech.

We sometimes use “that” in affirmative and negative sentences to introduce what the other person has said. In interrogative sentences, “if” or “whether” are used.

Note: Keep in mind that time expressions also change in reported speech. Note the changes in time in the examples below and at the end of the lesson you will find a table with more information regarding the changes in expressions of time in indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
“He is American,” she said.	She said he was American.
“I’m happy to see you,” Mary said.	Mary said that she was happy to see me.
" He asked, “Are you busy tonight?”	He asked me if I was busy that night.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
“Dan is living in San Francisco,” she said.	She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He said, “I’m making dinner.”	He told me that he was making dinner.
“Why are you working so hard?” they asked.	They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
“We went to the movies last night,” he said.	He told me they had gone to the movies the night before.
Greg said, “I didn’t go to work yesterday.”	Greg said that he hadn’t gone to work the day before.
“Did you buy a new car?” she asked.	She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I was working late last night,” Vicki said.	Vicki told me she’d been working late the night before.
They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”	They said that they hadn’t been waiting long.
He asked, “were you sleeping when I called?”	He asked if I’d been sleeping when he called.
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”	Heather told me that she’d already eaten.
“We haven’t been to China,” they said.	They said they hadn’t been to China.
“Have you worked here before?” I asked.	I asked her whether she’d worked there before.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I’ve been studying English for two years,” he said.	He said he’d been studying English for two years.
Steve said, “we’ve been dating for over a year now.”	Steve told me that they’d been dating for over a year.
“Have you been waiting long?” they asked.	They asked whether I’d been waiting long.
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)
“I’d been to Chicago before for work,” he said.	He said that he’d been to Chicago before for work.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)
She said, “I’d been dancing for years before the accident.”	She said she’d been dancing for years before the accident.

Note: When we speak of something that has not changed (that is still true) or of something in the future, we don’t need to change the verb tense.

Examples:

“I’m 30 years old,” she said. → She said she is 30 years old.

Dave said, “Kelly is sick.” → Dave said Kelly is sick.

“We are going to Tokyo next week,” they said. → They said they are going to Tokyo next week.

“I’ll cut my hair tomorrow,” Nina said. → Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.

Modal Verbs

The verb tense also changes in indirect or reported speech with some of the modal verbs.

Note: With “would”, “could”, “should”, “might” y “ought to”, the verb tense does not change.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Will	Would
“I’ll go to the movies tomorrow,” John said.	John said he would go to the movies the next day.
“Will you help me move?” she asked.	She asked me if I would help her move.
Can	Could
Debra said, “Allen can work tomorrow.”	Debra said Allen could work the next day.
“Can you open the window, please?”, he asked.	He asked me if I could open the window.
Must	Had to
“You must wear your seat belt,” mom said.	My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.
" She said, “You must work tomorrow.”	She said I had to work the next day.
Shall	Should
“Shall we go* to the beach today?”, Tom asked.	Tom asked if we should go to the beach that day.
“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.	She asked me what we should do that night.
May	Might/Could
" Jane said, “I may not be in class tomorrow.”	Jane said she might not be in class the next day.
“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the boy asked.	The boy asked if he could use the bathroom.

Note: Below is a table with an explication of how expressions of time change in indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
today	that day
tonight	that night
this week/month/year	that week/month/year
tomorrow	the next day
next week/month/year	the following week/month/year
yesterday	the day before or the previous day
last week/month/year	the week/month year before or the previous week/month/year
now	then/at that moment
Other changes
here	there

Cuando queremos comunicar o informar de lo que otra persona ha dicho, hay dos maneras de hacerlo: utilizando el estilo directo o el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech (El estilo directo)

Cuando queremos informar exactamente de lo que otra persona ha dicho, utilizamos el estilo directo. Con este estilo lo que la persona ha dicho se coloca entre comillas (“…”) y deberá ser palabra por palabra.

Ejemplos:

“I am going to London next week,” she said.(“Voy a Londres la semana que viene,” ella dijo.)

“Do you have a pen I could borrow,” he asked.(“¿Tienes un bolígrafo que puedas prestarme?,” él preguntó.)

Alice said, “I love to dance.”(Alice dijo, “Me encanta bailar.”)

Chris asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”(Chris preguntó, “¿Te gustaría cenar conmigo mañana por la noche?”)

Reported Speech (El estilo indirecto)

El estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, no utiliza las comillas y no necesita ser palabra por palabra. En general, cuando se usa el estilo indirecto, el tiempo verbal cambia. A continuación tienes una explicación de los cambios que sufren los tiempos verbales.

A veces se usa “that” en las frases afirmativas y negativas para introducir lo que ha dicho la otra persona. Por otro lado, en las frases interrogativas se puede usar “if” o “whether”.

Nota: Ten en cuenta también que las expresiones de tiempo cambian en el estilo indirecto. Fijate en los cambios de tiempo en los ejemplos más abajo y después, encontrarás una tabla con más explicaciones de los cambios de tiempo en el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
“He is American,” she said.	She said he was American.
“I am happy to see you,” Mary said.	Mary said that she was happy to see me.
He asked, “Are you busy tonight?”	He asked me if I was busy that night.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
“Dan is living in San Francisco,” she said.	She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He said, “I’m making dinner.”	He told me that he was making dinner.
“Why are you working so hard?” they asked.	They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
“We went to the movies last night,” he said.	He told me they had gone to the movies the night before.
Greg said, “I didn’t go to work yesterday.”	Greg said that he hadn’t gone to work the day before.
“Did you buy a new car?” she asked.	She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I was working late last night,” Vicki said.	Vicki told me she’d been working late the night before.
They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”	They said that they hadn’t been waiting long.
He asked, “were you sleeping when I called?”	He asked if I’d been sleeping when he called.
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”	Heather told me that she’d already eaten.
“We haven’t been to China,” they said.	They said they hadn’t been to China.
“Have you worked here before?” I asked.	I asked her whether she’d worked there before.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I’ve been studying English for two years,” he said.	He said he’d been studying English for two years.
Steve said, “we’ve been dating for over a year now.”	Steve told me that they’d been dating for over a year.
“Have you been waiting long?” they asked.	They asked whether I’d been waiting long.
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)
“I’d been to Chicago before for work,” he said.	He said that he’d been to Chicago before for work.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)
She said, “I’d been dancing for years before the accident.”	She said she’d been dancing for years before the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en el futuro, no es necesario cambiar el tiempo verbal.

Ejemplos:

“I’m 30 years old,” she said. → She said she is 30 years old.

Dave said, “Kelly is sick.” → Dave said Kelly is sick.

“We are going to Tokyo next week,” they said. → They said they are going to Tokyo next week.

“I’ll cut my hair tomorrow,” Nina said. → Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.

Modal Verbs (Los verbos modales)

El tiempo verbal cambia en el estilo indirecto también con algunos de los verbos modales.

Nota: Con “would”, “could”, “should”, “might” y “ought to”, el tiempo no cambia.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Will	Would
“I’ll go to the movies tomorrow,” John said.	John said he would go to the movies the next day.
“Will you help me move?” she asked.	She asked me if I would help her move.
Can	Could
Debra said, “Allen can work tomorrow.”	Debra said Allen could work the next day.
“Can you open the window, please?”, he asked.	He asked me if I could open the window.
Must	Had to
“You must wear your seat belt,” mom said.	My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.
She said, “You must work tomorrow.”	She said I had to work the next day.
Shall	Should
“Shall we go to the beach today?” Tom asked.	Tom asked if we should go to the beach that day.
“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.	She asked me what we should do that night.
May	Might/Could
Jane said, “I may not be in class tomorrow.”	Jane said she might not be in class the next day.
“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the boy asked.	The boy asked if he could use the bathroom.

Nota: A continuación tienes una tabla donde puedes observar los cambios que sufren las expresiones de tiempo cuando usamos el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
today	that day
tonight	that night
this week/month/year	that week/month/year
tomorrow	the next day
next week/month/year	the following week/month/year
yesterday	the day before or the previous day
last week/month/year	the week/month year before or the previous week/month/year
now	then/at that moment
Otros cambios
here	there

Direct and Reported Speech - Lesson 6.1