Direct and Indirect Speech Rules Chart - Summary
A direct speech report uses the speaker’s own words to summarize what they have shared. In such cases, we often use quotation marks to enclose their exact words. On the other hand, indirect speech allows us to communicate what someone has said without using their exact words. This often involves verbs like “said,” “told,” or “asked,” which come before the reported information.
Understanding the difference between direct and indirect speech can be a little tricky for young children. However, quoting someone is essential when we want to describe an event or action. All your questions about direct and indirect speech will find answers in this post. These two speech forms are crucial for explaining what others say, which is also referred to as reported speech.
Direct and Indirect Speech Rules Chart
The rules you must follow while using direct and indirect speech are provided below. Make sure to practice these rules to effectively change direct speech into indirect speech.
Key Components of Direct and Indirect Speech
Before diving into the rules, it is necessary to understand these two key components of direct and indirect speech.
Reporting Verb: Direct speech contains two parts. The first part of the sentence is called the reporting verb, as it tells us about the speaker (for example, “Rohan said,” “He says,” etc.).
Examples:
He says, “I have done my work.”
The teacher says, “The Earth is round.”
In these two sentences, the first part acts as the reporting verb. In the first example, ‘He says’ is the reporting verb, and in the second example, ‘The teacher says’ is the reporting verb.
Reported Speech: The second part of the sentence, or the words that are actually spoken by the speaker, is known as reported speech.
Examples:
He says, “I have done my work.”
The teacher says, “The Earth is round.”
You can download the Direct and Indirect Speech Rules Chart PDF using the link given below. Don’t forget to download the PDF for easy reference and practice! 📄