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Indirect speech: introduction

Change of situation​

Words that are spoken or thought in one place by one person may be reported in another place at a different time, and perhaps by another person. Because of this, there are often grammatical differences between direct and indirect speech. Compare:

  • JAMES (on Saturday evening): I don’t like this party. I want to go home now.
  • JACKIE (on Saturday evening): James says/said he doesn’t like the party, and he wants to go home.
  • DANIEL (on Sunday morning): James said that he didn’t like the party, and he wanted to go home.

These differences are mostly natural and logical, and it is not necessary to learn complicated rules about indirect speech in English.

Pronouns​

A change of speaker may mean a change of pronoun.

In the above example, James says I to refer to himself. Jackie and Daniel, talking about what James said, naturally use he.

  • James said that he didn’t like … (not James said that I didn’t like …)

‘here and now’ words​

A change of place and time may mean changing or dropping words like here, this, now, today. Daniel, reporting what James said, does not use this and now because he is no longer at the party.

  • James said that he didn’t like the party … (not James said that he didn’t like this party …)
  • … he wanted to go home. (not … to go home now.)

Some other ‘here and now’ words: next, last, yesterday, tomorrow. Compare:

  • DIRECT: I’ll be back next week.
    INDIRECT: She said she’d be back the next week, but I never saw her again.
  • DIRECT: Anna got her licence last Tuesday.
    INDIRECT: He said Anna had got her licence the Tuesday before.
  • DIRECT: I had an accident yesterday.
    INDIRECT: He said he’d had an accident the day before.
  • DIRECT: We’ll be there tomorrow.
    INDIRECT: They promised to be there the next day.

Tenses​

A change of time may mean a change of tense.

  • James said that he didn’t like the party … (not James said that he doesn’t like the party … – when Daniel is talking, the party is finished.)

Dropping that​

The conjunction that is often dropped, especially after common reporting verbs (e.g. say, think) in informal speech. For more details, (see here).

  • She said (that) she’d had enough.
  • I think (that) you’re probably right.