Direct and indirect speeches
Direct Speech and Reported/Indirect Speech, used to repeat what someone said, with or without quoting the exact words.
Direct Speech: we use the person's exact words, in quotation marks:
She said, I am tired.
(She said: I am tired.
)
Indirect Speech: we retell what was said, without quotation marks and with changes in verb tenses:
She said that she was tired.
(She said that she was tired.)
Important rules in indirect speech:
Verb tense goes back one step:
I like coffee. - He said (that) he liked coffee.
Pronouns change depending on the context:
I will help you. → She said she would help me.
Expressions of time and place also change:
today - that day
now - then
here - there
Complete example:
John said, I saw her yesterday.
- John said that he had seen her the day before.
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