Direct and indirect speech chart
Direct speech gives the exact words in quotation marks: Ravi said, “I am happy.” Indirect (reported) speech reports them without quotes: Ravi said that he was happy.
Direct and Indirect Speech Chart
1. Tense change (when the reporting verb is in the past — said, told, asked)
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
| Simple present “I am tired.” | Simple past She said that she was tired. |
| Present continuous “I am reading.” | Past continuous He said that he was reading. |
| Present perfect “I have finished my work.” | Past perfect She said that she had finished her work. |
| Present perfect continuous “I have been waiting for an hour.” | Past perfect continuous He said that he had been waiting for an hour. |
| Simple past “I saw a tiger.” | Past perfect Ravi said that he had seen a tiger. |
| Past continuous “I was sleeping.” | Past perfect continuous She said that she had been sleeping. |
| will / shall “I will come tomorrow.” | would / should He said that he would come the next day. |
| can / may / must “I can swim.” | could / might / had to She said that she could swim. |
No tense change when the reporting verb is in the present or future (He says, “I am busy.” → He says that he is busy.) or when the words are a universal truth (The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.” → The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.).
2. Pronouns
Change I, me, my, we to match the speaker (the subject of the reporting verb); change you, your to match the listener (the object); he, she, they usually stay the same. She said to me, “You are my friend.” → She told me that I was her friend.
3. Time and place words
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| next week | the following week |
| last week | the week before |
| ago | before |
| here | there |
| this | that |
| these | those |
| come | go |
4. Questions, orders, requests, exclamations
- Yes/no question → asked + if / whether: He said to me, “Are you ready?” → He asked me if I was ready.
- Wh- question → asked + wh-word, no question order: She said to me, “Where do you live?” → She asked me where I lived.
- Order → told / ordered + to: The teacher said, “Sit down.” → The teacher told us to sit down.
- Don’t … → not to: Mother said, “Don’t touch the fire.” → Mother told me not to touch the fire.
- Request (please) → requested + to: Riya said, “Please help me.” → Riya requested me to help her.
- Exclamation → exclaimed with joy / sorrow that: He said, “Hurrah! We won.” → He exclaimed with joy that they had won.
said to + person becomes told + person in statements, and asked in questions. The comma and quotation marks go; add that for statements.
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Quiz — pick the correct indirect speech
The chart prints on one A4 page.
Also see: Tenses chart · Active and passive voice · Pronoun chart