When do we use direct speech ? Direct Speech“Quoted Speech” is used when we want to retell what someone is saying in the present. You have to use quotation marks and you have to say exactly what that person is saying. Example: She said “I'm thirsty”.
When do we use indirect speech ? Indirect Speech“Reported Speech” is used when we want to retell what someone has said in the past. You don't have to use quotation marks in reported speech. In indirect speech the tense is changed and we go back in time.
Reported statements: Tom said, “I’ve lost my keys.” Tom said he had lost his keys.
Reported questions: “When did it start raining”? Mike asked. Mike asked when it had started raining.
Reported commands: “Give me your passport”, she told me. She told me to give her my passport.
Notice that we change the tense and we go back in time. Examples:
In indirect speech we change some words that have to do with time and place, for example:
Yesterday the day before Now then Today that day Tonight that night Tomorrow the following day Ago before These those This that Here there
Example: Direct speech Sara said, "he bought a laptop yesterday". Indirect speech Sara said she had bought a laptop the day before.