Direct Speech and indirect Speech
(2011-06-13 09:48:57)
标签:
教育 |
分类: 中学英语语法 |
Direct/Quoted speech
Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we put the words spoken between inverted commas ("___") and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that's being said NOW, or telling someone later about a previous conversation
Indirect/Reported speech
Indirect speech is usually used to talk about the
past. When we use indirect speech, we don’t use inverted comas. We
should change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs
for
example
Example
Ø
When we report an intention, hope or promise, we
use an appropriate reporting verb followed by
a
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
He said, "I'll pay you the money tomorrow." |
He promised He
promised |
Other verbs used in this pattern include: hope, propose, threaten, guarantee, and swear.
When we want to report an order, we can use a verb
like
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
The doctor said to me, "Stop smoking!" |
The
doctor |
"Get out of the car!" said the policeman. |
The
policeman |
Other verbs used are: command, order,
warn, ask, invite, advise, beg, teach, and forbid.
<<See also section
on
When we want to report a request, we can use a
verb
like
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
The child asked, "Can I have a car?" |
The
child |
Suggestions are usually reported with
a
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
“I think you should go to the dentist", said my mother |
My mother suggested that I should go to the dentist. |
Other verbs used are: insist, recommend, demand,
request, and propose.
Note:
-
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
She asked me, “Where do u live?” |
She asked me where I lived. |
He asked me, "What is your name?" |
He asked me what my name was. |
-
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
He asked me, "Are you Eastern or Western?" |
He asked me whether I was Eastern or Western. |
Rules
There are rules in converting direct to indirect speech. The tense usually has change because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past).
Ø
As a rule when we report something someone has said you go back a tense (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right)
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
Present Simple |
Past Simple |
Present Continuous |
Past Continuous |
Present Perfect Simple |
Past Perfect
Simple |
Present Perfect
Continuous |
Past Perfect Continuous |
Past
Simple |
Past
Perfect |
Past Continuous |
Past Perfect
Continuous |
Past Perfect |
Past Perfect |
Past Perfect Continuous |
Past Perfect Continuous |
Note:
-
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
Present Simple |
Past Simple or Present Simple |
Modal verb forms also sometimes change
Direct Speech |
Indirect Speech |
Will |
Would |
Can |
Could |
Must |
Had to |
Shall |
Should |
May |
Might |
If it use modal, such
as:
If direct speech sentence contains an expression of time, we must change it to fit in with the time.
Time in Direct Speech |
Time in Indirect Speech |
this (morning/noon/evening) |
that (morning/noon/evening) |
today |
yesterday |
these (days) |
those (days) |
now |
then |
(a week/ a month/ a year) ago |
(a week/ a month/ a year) before |
last weekend |
the weekend before last/ the previous weekend |
here |
there |
next (week/month/year) |
the following (week/month/year) |
tomorrow |
the next/following day |
Verbs
Some reporting verbs may appear in more than one of the following groups.
Ø
ask |
remember |
see |
know |
say |
Ø
Add, admit, agree, announce, complain |
Confirm, consider, Deny, Doubt, estimate, explain, fear, feel, insist mention |
Observe, persuade, propose, remark, remember, Repeat, reply, report, reveal, say |
State, suggest, suppose, tell, think, understand, warn |
decide expect |
guarantee hope |
promise swear |
threaten |
advise beg demand |
insist prefer propose |
recommend request suggest |
Decided, scribe, discover, discuss, explain, forget |
Guess, Imagine, know, learn, realize, remember |
Reveal, Say, See, suggest, teach, tell |
Think, understand, wonder |
Ø
Advise, ask beg |
command forbid instruct |
invite teach tell |
warn |
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