Learn English Grammar: DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH (REPORTED SPEECH)

Summary

In this engVid lesson, Gill explains the nuances of direct and indirect speech in English. Direct speech involves quoting someone's exact words using quotation marks, while indirect speech, or reported speech, paraphrases what was said without quotation marks and often requires tense adjustments. Examples are provided to illustrate how different tenses in direct speech translate into past tenses in indirect speech. The lesson clarifies the use of modal verbs and auxiliary verbs in both speech forms and offers a quiz on the website for further practice.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Direct speech involves quoting someone's exact words using quotation marks.
• 📝 Indirect speech, or reported speech, is a more flexible way to convey what someone said without using direct quotes.
• 🔄 When changing from direct to indirect speech, verb tenses often shift to reflect the past context of the statement.
• 🕒 The future tense in direct speech (e.g., 'will begin') becomes conditional in the past (e.g., 'would begin') in indirect speech.
• 🏡 The present tense ('I live') becomes past ('I lived') when reported indirectly, even if the situation is current.
• 🎨 The present perfect tense ('I have finished') shifts to the past perfect ('I had finished') in indirect speech.
• 🏊 The modal verb 'can't' changes to 'couldn't' to reflect the past context in reported speech.
• ✍️ In writing, it's important to use correct punctuation, such as commas after reporting verbs like 'said'.
• 👤 Personal pronouns change from first to third person ('I' to 'he' or 'she') in indirect speech.
• 📉 There are no tense changes for past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses when switching from direct to indirect speech.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the lesson presented by Gill in the script?

The main topic of the lesson is the difference between direct and indirect speech.

What are the two ways of reporting what someone said as mentioned in the script?

The two ways of reporting what someone said are direct speech and indirect or reported speech.

How is direct speech defined in the script?

Direct speech is defined as quoting exactly the words the person said, using quotation marks.

What is an example of direct speech provided in the script?

An example of direct speech is: 'He said', quotation mark, 'I'm going to the office', full stop, quotation mark.

Why is it important to use the exact words in direct speech?

It is important to use the exact words in direct speech to accurately represent what the person said without altering the original meaning.

What is the function of the word 'that' in indirect speech?

In indirect speech, the word 'that' is used to introduce the reported clause and is optional; it makes the speech a bit more formal.

How does the tense change when moving from direct to indirect speech?

When moving from direct to indirect speech, the tense usually changes to reflect that the speech is being reported in the past.

What is the difference between using 'will' and 'would' in the context of reported speech?

In reported speech, 'will' is used in direct speech to indicate future actions, while 'would' is used in indirect speech to indicate a future action in the past.

How does the present perfect tense change in indirect speech according to the script?

In indirect speech, the present perfect tense 'I have finished' changes to the past perfect 'I had finished'.

What are the steps Gill suggests to test your knowledge on direct and indirect speech?

To test your knowledge on direct and indirect speech, Gill suggests going to the website www.engvid.com and trying the quiz.

What is the significance of using different verbs like 'answered' or 'mentioned' instead of 'said' in reported speech?

Using different verbs like 'answered' or 'mentioned' instead of 'said' in reported speech can provide more context and detail about the situation in which the speech was originally made.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Direct and Indirect Speech Introduction

In the first paragraph, Gill from engVid introduces the topic of direct and indirect speech. Direct speech is used when quoting someone's exact words, enclosed in quotation marks. Indirect speech, or reported speech, is a way of conveying what someone said without using quotation marks, often changing the tense to reflect that the original speech is being reported from the past. Gill explains that these concepts apply to both spoken and written language, and provides examples to illustrate the differences between direct and indirect speech.

05:01

🕒 Tense Changes in Reported Speech

The second paragraph delves into the nuances of tense changes when shifting from direct to indirect speech. Gill provides examples to demonstrate how future tense in direct speech ('will') becomes past future ('would') in indirect speech. Similarly, present tense verbs like 'live' change to past tense ('lived') in reported speech. The paragraph also covers changes in present perfect and modal verbs, showing how each tense must be adjusted to reflect the past context of the reporting.

10:06

📚 Summary of Tense Shifts in Speech Reporting

In the final paragraph, Gill summarizes the rules for tense changes when moving from direct to indirect speech. A visual aid is mentioned, possibly a board, which outlines the tense shifts for various verb forms. Gill reviews the transformations from present simple to past simple, present continuous to past continuous, and so on, including the changes in modal verbs like 'can' to 'could' and 'will' to 'would'. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for viewers to test their understanding through a quiz available on the engVid website.

Keywords

💡Direct Speech

Direct speech refers to the exact words spoken by a person, quoted verbatim. In the video, direct speech is exemplified by the use of quotation marks, where the speaker says, 'He said,' followed by the quoted statement, 'I'm going to the office.' This method is used to convey the precise language and tone of the original utterance, which is crucial for maintaining the authenticity of the message in both spoken and written contexts.

💡Indirect Speech

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is a way of conveying what someone said without using quotation marks. It involves rephrasing the original statement in the past tense or another appropriate tense to reflect the time of reporting. In the script, the instructor demonstrates this by changing 'I'm going to the office' to 'He said he was going to the office.' This method is useful for summarizing or paraphrasing what was said, often making the narrative flow more smoothly in written or spoken language.

💡Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are punctuation marks used in writing to indicate direct speech or a direct quote. The video script mentions their use when the speaker says, 'He said,' followed by the quoted statement in quotation marks. They are essential in written English to distinguish reported speech from the writer's or speaker's own words, ensuring clarity and avoiding confusion about the source of the information.

💡Tense

Tense in English grammar refers to the time reference of a verb. The video emphasizes the importance of changing verb tenses when shifting from direct to indirect speech. For instance, the present tense 'I am going' becomes 'he was going' in reported speech. This shift is crucial for reflecting the time difference between the original utterance and the reporting of it.

💡Present Simple

The present simple tense is used to describe habitual actions or general truths. In the context of the video, when someone says 'I live in London' in direct speech, it is reported in the past simple tense as 'she said she lived in London' to reflect the change from the time of speaking to the time of reporting.

💡Past Simple

The past simple tense is used to describe completed actions or states in the past. The video illustrates this by changing direct speech in the present tense to the past simple in indirect speech, such as 'I am busy' becoming 'he said he was busy'.

💡Present Continuous

The present continuous tense is used to describe ongoing actions happening at the moment of speaking. The video script shows this tense changing to the past continuous in indirect speech, as in 'The meeting will begin at 2pm' becoming 'The director said that the meeting would begin at 2pm'.

💡Modal Verbs

Modal verbs express abilities, possibilities, permissions, and obligations. The video discusses how modal verbs change in indirect speech to reflect the past context, such as 'can't' becoming 'couldn't'. This is demonstrated when someone says 'I can't swim' and it is reported as 'He said he couldn't swim'.

💡Future Tense

The future tense is used to talk about actions or events that will happen later. In the video, the future tense 'will' is shown to change to 'would' in indirect speech, as in 'The meeting will begin at 2pm' becoming 'The director said that the meeting would begin at 2pm'.

💡Punctuation

Punctuation in writing includes the use of commas, periods, and other marks to structure and clarify meaning. The video script mentions the importance of punctuation in reported speech, such as using a comma after the reporting verb like 'said' before introducing the reported clause.

Highlights

Introduction to the concept of direct and indirect speech.

Explanation of direct speech with an example using quotation marks.

Clarification on the necessity of quoting exact words in direct speech.

Usage of 'that' in indirect speech and its formal connotation.

Demonstration of tense changes from direct to indirect speech.

Example of changing present tense to past tense in indirect speech.

Illustration of future tense modification in indirect reported speech.

Explanation of the shift from 'will' to 'would' in indirect speech.

Transition from present perfect to past perfect tense in indirect speech.

Use of modal verbs in direct speech and their past forms in indirect speech.

Guidance on how to handle tense changes for different verb forms in indirect speech.

Advice on maintaining the same tense for certain verbs in indirect speech.

Instructions on changing 'will' to 'would' and 'can' to 'could' in indirect speech.

Emphasis on the importance of correct punctuation and verb tense in indirect speech.

Recommendation for practicing the use of direct and indirect speech through quizzes.

Invitation to visit www.engvid.com for further learning and quizzes.

Conclusion and farewell, with an expression of hope for future lessons.

Transcripts

Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today we have a lesson on direct and indirect speech. So,

what do I mean by that? So, this is whenever you're either talking about or you're writing

about what somebody said, and there are two different ways of doing it. So, you might

be just having a conversation with a friend, and you're telling them about a previous time

with a person who was speaking and what they said. Or you could be writing something, and

you need to write down what somebody said, and there are two different ways of doing

it. So, they're called direct speech and indirect or reported speech, whether you're speaking

about it or writing it down. But here, I'm showing you... Obviously, I've written some

examples down, so this is written, but these could just as easily be spoken face-to-face

with another person. Okay. So, the first example here is the direct speech. "He said", quotation

mark, "I'm going to the office", full stop, quotation mark. So, this is direct speech

because you're quoting exactly the words the person said. Okay? So, if you remember exactly

what the person said, you can quote them. Sometimes people aren't quite sure, but they

might say, "Oh, he said something like", and then put something in quotation marks, sort

of approximately what they said, but usually between the quotation marks. Also, if you're

writing an essay and you're quoting from another source with quotation marks, you can't change

anything; you have to quote exactly what it is. So, it is... In quotation marks, it should

really be exactly what the person said. But, of course, if you can't remember what they

said or if you prefer to say it in a more indirect way or reporting more loosely what

the person said, you would say, "He said that he was going to the office." Or you don't

have to use "that", that's why it's in brackets. "He said he was going to the office." You

don't have to use that little word, "that". It's a bit more formal to use "that". So,

you can see the difference here is that there are no quotation marks, because we're not

quoting directly. It's just a sort of an approximation of what the person said. But you can also

see that there's a difference in the tense, because at the time he said this, he was speaking

in the present tense. He said, "I'm going", "I am going", at now, at this moment, "I am

going to the office." So, he may have been answering a question if the person said, "Oh,

hello, John. Where are you going?" "I'm going to the office." So, he may have been answering

a question, but in that moment he's speaking in the present tense, so obviously you quote

in the present tense. But in the indirect reported speech, you're talking about something

that's happened in the past when you saw him. So, "He said he was going to the office."

We've gone into the past tense here, because it was in the past by the time you're talking

about it. Okay. And then we'll find this all the way through the different examples, the

tense has to change to go further back into the past. Right, so here's another example,

then. So, "The director said", quote, "The meeting will begin at 2pm", unquote. So, when

people say this out loud, quote, unquote, that's quite a useful thing to know. Quote,

unquote, beginning of quotation, end of quotation. Right. So, here, the director is speaking

in the future. "The meeting will begin at 2pm." So, maybe the director is speaking at

12 o'clock, lunchtime. You know, have your lunch, take your time. "The meeting will begin

at 2pm." Okay, so future tense. So, how does that change if you then move to indirect reported

speech? So, "The director said that the meeting would begin at 2pm." So, we've gone from "will",

future, to "would" in the past. Much later now, later, probably after the meeting has

taken place. Okay. And again, we've got that, but it's optional. "The director said the

meeting would begin at 2pm." It may be that everyone's sitting around the table waiting

and it's 10 past 2. "The director said the meeting would begin at 2pm." Well, why hasn't

it started yet? Where is the director to start this meeting? So, that's possible as well.

That's the kind of context you could have for that. Okay. But there's the change from

"will" to "would" there. Okay.

And then another nice, simple one going from present to past. "She said, quote, 'I live

in London.'" Unquote. But then if you're reporting this later indirectly, "She said she lived

in London." She said that she lived in London. That's what she said. Even if she still lives

in London now while you're speaking, the following day or the following week, she still lives

in London as far as you know, but it goes into the past tense because she said it in

the past. So, "She said she lived in London." Okay. So, from "live", present, to "lived",

past. Right.

And then a slightly different one. We've got the present perfect here, and then it changes

to the past perfect. So, whatever tense you're in for the quotation, you have to go further

back in the past for the indirect reported version. So, "The artist said, quote, 'I've

- I have finished the painting.'" And then in the indirect version, "The artist said

he had finished the painting." So, we've gone from "have finished" to "had finished". Okay.

And then finally, another verb, modal verb, "He said, quote, 'I can't swim.'" So, if you've

invited somebody to go swimming in the local swimming pool, and they say, "Oh, I'm sorry.

I can't swim. I would better go and do something else, go for coffee or something instead.

I can't swim." So, then in reported speech, indirect speech, "He said he couldn't swim."

"Can't" and "couldn't". So, "couldn't", "could not" is the past form of "can". "Can", "could",

"can't", "couldn't". Okay.

So, the... So, this can be used either in speaking or in writing. So, it sounds the

same in speaking. Of course, the difference in writing is that you have to use all the

punctuation and the quotation marks, so it's good to know, you know, best to put a comma

after "said". Or you could have other verbs, like "He answered" or "He mentioned", different

verbs, but "said" is the usual one. And so it's important to know how to write it, the

actual quotation marks. But in speaking as well, you would use the same change in the

verbs going further back into the past when you're using the indirect speech.

So, just to clarify, then, all the tense changes that will happen depending on what tense you're

using in the direct speech version, which tense you will use in the indirect version.

So, we have on the board here all the different tenses and how they will change from direct

to indirect. So, from present simple, it will go to past simple, and so if you were saying

in the direct form, "He said", quote, "I'm busy", in the indirect version, you would

say, "He said he was busy." So, "I am busy", present simple; "He was busy", past simple.

Okay? From "am" to "was" for the verb "to be". Okay?

So, similarly for every tense, I'll just read through them. From the present continuous,

you would change to the past continuous. From present perfect to past perfect. From present

perfect continuous to past perfect continuous. From past simple to past perfect. From past

continuous to past perfect continuous. Past perfect, there's no change, so if someone

says, "I had seen that", "I had seen that", "Yes, I had seen that", in the indirect speech,

you'd say, "He said that", "He had seen that", so it stays the same. Okay?

And then past perfect continuous, again, there's no change. So, if someone says... She said,

quotes, "I had been cooking that day", when there was a knock at the door, "I had been

cooking", and that's direct speech. And then in the indirect speech, "She said that she

had been cooking that day", so it stays the same. Okay.

So, then as we saw on the previous board, "will" changes to "would"; "can" changes to

"could"; "must" changes to "had to", because you can't have "must" in the past form. You

can have "have to" and then "had to", but if you use "must", you then have to use "had

to" in the indirect form. Okay.

And then "may" changes to "might", and then all of these, "might" or "to", "could", "should",

and "would", there's no change. So, for example, with "might", "She said", quotes, "I might

be going on holiday next week." Okay? "I might be going on holiday next week." And then in

the indirect, "She said that she might be going on holiday next week", or the following

week, if you're talking about it sometime later. So, that is an example of how all of

these stay the same, except you change it from "I" to "she" or "he". "I might be going

on holiday" is the direct one. "She said she might be going on holiday", or "He said he

might be going on holiday". So, the personal pronoun changes, but not the verb.

Okay, so I hope that's been a helpful explanation for you on the difference between direct and

indirect speech, how you write it with quotation marks for direct, how you have to change the

verb tense quite often with most of these, but some of them don't change. So, if you'd

like to test your knowledge on this, there's a quiz. If you'd like to go to the website,

www.engvid.com, and try the quiz, see how you do. So, thanks for watching, and hope

to see you again soon. Bye for now.