English Grammar Practice Test: Direct and Indirect Speech — Flashcards

Direct speech repeats the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what was said. Indirect speech is also known as reported speech. 

Direct speech
Places the words spoken between quotation marks
Makes no changes to the words spoken
Can be used to report something that's being said now or to tell someone about a previous conversation

Indirect speech
Is usually used to talk about the past
Changes the tense of the words spoken
Uses reporting verbs like "say", "tell", or "ask"
May use the word "that" to introduce the reported words
Does not use inverted commas 

Here are some rules for converting direct speech into indirect speech.
Tenses: Change the verb tense of the direct speech to the past tense. If the direct speech contains a universal truth or a habitual action, then the tense remains the same.
Pronouns: Change the pronouns of the direct speech.
Modals: Change the modals of the direct speech.
Imperative sentences: Change the imperative sentences.
Exclamatory sentences: Change the exclamatory sentences.
Interrogative sentences: Change the interrogative sentences.
Punctuation: Remove the inverted commas and replace them with "that".
For example, "He said, 'I am tired.'" becomes "He said that he was tired".

Here are some rules for converting indirect to direct speech:
Reporting verb: Use "say" or "said to" in its correct tense.
Punctuation: Add a comma before the statement and put the first letter in capital. Add quotation marks, question marks, exclamation marks, or full stops as needed.
Conjunctions: Remove conjunctions like "that", "to", "if", or "whether".
Tense: Change the past tense to present tense when the reporting verb is in the past tense.
Past perfect tense: Change past perfect tense to past tense or present perfect tense as needed.
Pronouns: Use appropriate pronouns for the subject and object.
Word order: Ensure proper sentence structure and word order.
Modal verbs: For example, "will" in direct speech becomes "would" in indirect speech.
Orders, requests, and suggestions: For example, "The doctor said to me, 'Stop smoking!'" in direct speech becomes "The doctor told me to stop smoking" in indirect speech.
Continuous tenses: For example, "I have been to San Francisco" in direct speech becomes "He said that she had completed her work" in indirect speech.