Direct and Indirect Speech in English

There are two ways of reporting what speakers have said, direct and indirect. Direct speech is
used when we want to repeat the original speaker's exact words, while indirect speech is used
when we want to give the exact meaning of a speech without quoting the speaker's exact words.

A. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense.

This usually when we are.

1. reporting a conversation that is still going on

2. reading a letter or something else and reporting what it said
3. reading instructions and reporting them
4. reporting a statement that someone makes very often
e.g. Andrew says that he will never get married.
Andrew says,"I will never get married".

Further, when the introductory verb (reporting verb) is in a present, present perfect, or future
tense (less common), the tense of the direct speech does not change. Study the following
examples:
1. He says,"I am unwell."
He says (that) he is unwell.
2. He has just said,"My master is writing letters."
He has just said (that) his master is writing letters.
3. He says,"I have passed the examination."
He says (that) he ahs passed the examination.

B. But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense.

When the reporting or principle verb is in the past tense, all present tense or verb in the direct
speech have to be changed into the corresponding past tense. The changes are shown as follows:
1. Tenses
a.simple present goes to simple past
b.present continuous goes to past continuous
c.present perfect goes to past perfect
d.simple past goes to past perfect
e.present perfect continuous goes to past perfect continuous
f.present future goes to past future (conditional)
g.present future continuous goes to past future continuous (conditional continuous)
2. Adverbs
a.now - then
b.ago - before
c.today - that day
d.tomorrow - the next day/the following day
e.yesterday - the day before/the previous day
f.last night - the night before/the previous night
g.next week/year - the following week/year
h.the day before yesterday - two days before
i.the day after tomorrow - in two days' time
j.a year ago - a year before/the previous year
k.here - there
etc.

3. Others
a.this - that
b.these - those
c.come - go there/here

'that' is usually optional after the verbs "say, tell, think, believe", and is obligatory after the verbs
"mention, declare, report, state".

Study the folowing examples:

1. He said,"I am unwell."
He said (that) he was unwell.
2. She said to me,"I don't believe you."
She said (that) she didn't believe you.
3. He said,"I have seen this film."
He said that he had seen that film.
4. She said,"I saw these boys yesterday."
She said that she saw those boys yesterday.
5. John told me,"You can leave us now."
John told me that I might leave them then.
6. "I saw her the day before yesterday", he said.
He said he had seen her two days before.
7. "I'll do it tomorrow", she promised.
She promised that she would do it the next day.
8. Andrew said to Tom,"You are wrong."
Andrew said to Tom that he (Tom) was wrong.
9. Jane said,"I have done my homework."
Jane said that she had done her homework.
10. "I'm starting the day after tomorrow, father", she said.
She said to (told) her father that she was starting in two days' time

Source: http://ekamanis.blogspot.com/2006/08/direct-and-indirect-speech-in-english.html

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

(Kalimat langsung dan tidak langsung)

Pengertian kalimat langsung adalah kalimat yang disampaikan kepada orang pertama kepada
orang kedua. Sedangkan informasi yang diterima oleh orang kedua disampaikan lagi kepada
orang ketiga dan seterusnya disebut dengan kalimat tidak langsung.

Prinsip kerja kalimat ini adalah senantiasa terdiri dari :

1. REPORTING SPEECH ( Kalimat yang memberitakan)

- Ali says ( Ali berkata)

- Dian says ( Dian berkata)

- Budi said ( Budi berkata) dan lain sebagainya.

1. REPORTED SPEECH ( Kalimat yang diberitakan)

- I am very sleepy ( Saya sangat lapar)

- I will visit you on holiday ( Saya akan mengunjungimu pada waktu liburan)

- We study English together ( Kita belajar bahasa Inggris bersama-sama)

Cara merubah kalimat langsung menjadi tidak langsung ( DIRECT menjadi INDIRECT) yaitu
sebagai berikut :

1. Jika Reporting Speechnya terdiri dari :

- Simple Present Tense

- Present Continuous Tense

- Present Future Tense

- Present Perfect Tense

( Simple Present Tense dan Present Perfect Tense yang paling sering dipergunakan).

Maka TIDAK TERJADI PERUBAHAN TENSES pada Reported Speechnya.

Contoh :

1. Ali says :” I am very sleepy now” (Kalimat langsung)

Ali says that he is very sleepy now (Kalimat tidak langsung)

1. Diana has said :” I need your help to solve my problem

Diana said that she needs my help to solve her problem

1. The students say :” We have done our homework very well”.

The students say that they have done their homework very well.

Ketiga contoh di atas memberikan gambaran bahwa tidak terjadi perubahan pada Reported
Speechnya, namun yang berubah hanya subjek, dan possessivenya saja. Sehingga dapat
disimpulkan seperti pada table berikut :

DIRECT INDIRECT

I He/She

My His / Her

Your My

You Me

We They

Our Their

1. Jika Reporting Speechnya terdiri dari :

- Simple Past Tense

- Past Perfect Tense

Maka akan terjadi perubahan tenses dan kata keterangan waktu pada Reported Speechnya.
Perubahan-perubahan tersebut yaitu sebagai berikut :

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Simple Present Tense Simple Past Tense

Present Continuous Tense Past Continuous Tense

Present Future Tense Past Future Tense

Simple Past Tense Past Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Tense Past Perfect Tense

Perubahan Kata Keterangan waktu :

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Now Then

Tomorrow The following day

……Later The following……..

Next…… The following……

Yesterday The day before

Last……. ……..before

……ago ..……before

This That

These Those

Here There

Contoh Kalimat :

1. Simple Present Tense berubah menjadi Simple Past Tense

Ridha said:” I want to come to your house on Sunday”.

Ridha said that she wanted to come to my house on Sunday.

1. Present Continuous Tense berubah menjadi Past Continuous Tense

Robby said:” I am writing a letter to my friend now”.

Robby said that he was writing a letter to his friend then.

1. Present Future Tense berubah menjadi Past Future Tense.

Nancy had said :” I will visit your village next December”.

Nancy had said that she would visit my village the following December.

1. Simple Past Tense berubah menjadi Past Perfect Tense.

Tommy said :” I drove my new car on the highway yesterday”.

Tommy said that he had driven his new on the highway the day before.

1. Present Perfect Tense berubah menjadi Past Perfect Tense.

The secretary said :” I have typed these contract letters for an hour”.

The secretary said that she had typed those contract letters for an hour.

Bandingkan beberapa contoh berikut :

Tony says:” I will give you a present if you get the first rank”, berubah menjadi :

Tony says that he will give me a present if I get the first rank.

Tony said :” I will give you a present if you get the first rank”, berubah menjadi :

Tony said that he would give me a present if I got the first rank.

Pada kalimat yang pertama Reporting speechnya adalah TONY SAYS ( Simple Pesent Tense ),
sehingga tidak terjadi perubahan tenses pada reported speechnya. Sedangkan pada kalimat yang
kedua Reporting Speechnya adalah TONY SAID ( Simple Past Tense ), sehingga terjadi
perubahan tenses pada Reported Speechnya.

Source: http://blockelevasi.blogspot.com/2010/05/direct-and-indirect-speech.html