Indirect speech Facts for Kids

Indirect speech is a way of telling someone what another person said without using their exact words. It's also called reported speech. When you use indirect speech, you don't need to use quotation marks.

For example:

Direct speech: Claire said, "You are so pretty."
Indirect speech: Claire said that you are so pretty.

What is Indirect Speech?
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What is Indirect Speech?

Indirect speech is like summarizing what someone said. Instead of repeating their words exactly, you explain what they said in your own words. This is very common in everyday conversations and writing. It helps us share information smoothly without stopping to quote every single word.

Direct vs. Indirect Speech

Let's look at the main differences between direct and indirect speech:

Direct speech uses the exact words of the speaker. It always has quotation marks around the spoken words.

* Example: The teacher said, "Please open your books."

Indirect speech reports the meaning of what was said, but not the exact words. It does not use quotation marks. Often, words like "that," "if," or "whether" are used to introduce the reported statement.

* Example: The teacher asked us to open our books.

Why Do We Use Indirect Speech?

Using indirect speech is helpful for several reasons:

To summarize: You can quickly tell someone the main idea of a conversation without going into too much detail.
To avoid exact quotes: Sometimes, you don't remember the exact words, or the exact words aren't important.
To make sentences flow better: It helps your writing and speaking sound more natural and connected.
To report questions or commands: You can report a question someone asked or a command they gave without using a question mark or exclamation mark.

How to Change Direct to Indirect Speech

When you change direct speech to indirect speech, you often need to make a few changes:

Changing Verb Tenses

Usually, the verb tense "shifts back" one step in indirect speech.

Present Simple becomes Past Simple

* Direct: He said, "I am happy." * Indirect: He said that he was happy.

Present Continuous becomes Past Continuous

* Direct: She said, "I am reading a book." * Indirect: She said that she was reading a book.

Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect

* Direct: They said, "We have finished our homework." * Indirect: They said that they had finished their homework.

Past Simple becomes Past Perfect

* Direct: He said, "I went to the park." * Indirect: He said that he had gone to the park.

Changing Pronouns

Pronouns (like I, you, he, she, we, they) often change to match the new speaker's point of view.

Direct: Sarah said, "I like pizza."
Indirect: Sarah said that she liked pizza.

Changing Time and Place Words

Words that refer to time and place often change to make sense from the new reporting moment.

now becomes then
today becomes that day
yesterday becomes the day before or the previous day
tomorrow becomes the next day or the following day
here becomes there
this becomes that
these becomes those

Example:

Direct: John said, "I will go to the library tomorrow."
Indirect: John said that he would go to the library the next day.

Reporting Questions

When reporting a question, you don't use a question mark. You often use "asked" and words like "if" or "whether" for yes/no questions, or the original question word (who, what, where, why) for other questions.

Direct: She asked, "Are you coming?"
Indirect: She asked if I was coming.
Direct: He asked, "Where is the station?"
Indirect: He asked where the station was.

Reporting Commands or Requests

For commands or requests, you often use verbs like "told," "asked," or "ordered," followed by an infinitive (to + verb).

Direct: The teacher said, "Sit down!"
Indirect: The teacher told us to sit down.
Direct: He said, "Please help me."
Indirect: He asked me to help him.

Indirect speech is a very useful skill for communicating clearly and effectively!

Indirect speech facts for kids

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