Direct & Indirect Speech/Reported Speech
Direct speech and indirect speech/reported speech are the two ways to tell someone what another person said. Direct speech repeats the same words in the same order in quotation marks. Indirect speech/reported speech involves paraphrasing with slightly different words, so it doesn’t have quotation marks.
Reported speech and direct speech are useful in many situations, such as taking messages or telling someone about a meeting or conversation. If you’re taking an English proficiency test, you’ll probably use reported speech during the speaking or writing sections.
Direct and indirect speech both have specific grammar and punctuation rules. The following tips and examples show how to use them correctly. And when you’re writing with direct or indirect/reported speech, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech/reported speech |
|---|---|
| Miley said, “I can buy myself flowers.” | Miley said that she can buy herself flowers. |
| The neighbor just stopped by and asked, “Can I borrow a cup of sugar?” | The neighbor asked if he could borrow a cup of sugar. |
| “Shut the front door,” Mom said. | Mom told us to shut the front door. |
Direct and indirect speech
Direct and indirect speech are the two ways to communicate what someone else said. Another term for indirect speech is reported speech. Each technique uses different grammar and punctuation.
Direct speech
Direct speech is a direct quote of another person’s exact words. A direct quote repeats the speaker’s (or writer’s) words in the same order. In writing, direct speech involves these steps:
- Begin with a signal phrase that includes the person’s name (or a subject pronoun) and a reporting verb, such as “said,” “wrote,” “explained,” or “asked.”
- Use a comma after the reporting verb.
- Put quotation marks around the sentence(s) that the person wrote or said.
- Place the period or other end punctuation inside the closing quotation marks.
You can also start the sentence with the quote and put the speaker and reporting verb after. If you use this form of direct speech, place a comma before the closing quotation marks.
Uncle Ben always used to say, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Dr. Petersen said, “Drink plenty of water, and get some rest.”
Jeanine asked, “Can I reschedule my appointment for Friday?”
QuillBot’s free AI story writer can help you brainstorm compelling dialogue sections for characters in your short stories, plays, or novels.
Indirect speech/reported speech
Indirect speech/reported speech includes all of the details about what someone said or wrote, but it’s not an exact quote, so it looks different than direct speech. To change direct speech to reported speech, follow these steps.
- Start the sentence with a signal phrase (e.g., “Professor Davis said”). Another term for this is “a reporting clause.”
- Rephrase the quote with a noun clause (e.g., “that the essay is due on Friday”) or an infinitive phrase (e.g., “to turn in the essay on Friday”).
- Backshift the verb to past tense (e.g., “will” to “would,” simple present to simple past, or present perfect to past perfect), but only if the quote is no longer true and if you’re using a noun clause. (You don’t need to backshift the verb if the direct quote is still true or in an infinitive phrase).
- Revise any personal pronouns/possessive adjectives, demonstrative pronouns, time expressions/adverbs of time, and the adverb of place “here,” as illustrated in the chart below.
| Direct speech | Reported speech | |
| Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives | First-person (I, me, we, us, mine, ours, my, mine, our) | Third-person (she, he, they, her, him, them, hers, his, theirs, his, their) |
| Second-person (you, yours, your) | First-person or third-person, depending on who the speaker was talking to | |
| Demonstrative pronouns | This | That, the |
| These | Those, the | |
| Time expressions | Today | That day |
| Tomorrow | The next day | |
| Now | At that moment or then | |
| Yesterday | The day before | |
| Tonight | That night | |
| Adverb of place | Here | There |
The following chart illustrates how to adjust verbs and other parts of speech in reported speech. The revised words are highlighted in each example.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech/reported speech |
|---|---|
| The pilot said, “Turn off your electronic devices.” | The pilot told us to turn off our electronic devices. |
| Elaine said, “These pretzels are making me thirsty!” | Elaine said that the pretzels were making her thirsty. |
| Bernie said, “I will never sign this bill.” | Bernie said he would never sign that bill. |
| Dillon asked, “Can I ride with you?” | Dillon asked if he could ride with me. |
| The receptionist said to Grandma, “The nurse will call you tomorrow.” | The receptionist told Grandma that the nurse would call her the following day. |
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you with correct verb tenses when you’re summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting other writers.
Types of indirect speech (reported speech)
You can make different types of sentences into reported speech, and the grammar rules are slightly different for each type.
Reported speech for statements
Reported speech for a statement includes a reporting clause (e.g., “Bert said”) and a noun clause (e.g., “that his plane was delayed”). The reporting clause has a reporting verb, such as “said,” “explained,” “claimed,” or “suggested.” You can also use the reporting verb “told” with an object pronoun or a noun (e.g., “told Jim,” “told me,” or “told her”).
The mayor said that the city has big plans for the 2026 World Cup.
Jessica told us that she didn’t work last Friday.
- The mayor said the city has big plans for the 2026 World Cup.
- Jessica told us she didn’t work last Friday.
If you’re ever unsure about whether it’s too informal to omit “that,” you can always run your writing through QuillBot’s free Paraphraser.
Reported speech for questions
Indirect speech/reported speech for questions can take several different forms. It usually starts with a signal phrase, just like reported statements. The reporting verb is usually “asked,” but you can also use “wondered” or “wanted to know.” After the reporting clause, a reported question has a noun clause that begins with one of these words:
- The subordinating conjunction “if” or “whether”
- An interrogative (e.g., “who” or “when”)
When you change a question to reported speech, flip the order of the subject and the verb. In the original question, the order is usually verb + subject (e.g., “Is your refrigerator running?”). In reported speech, the order is subject + verb (e.g., “Your refrigerator is running”).
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| Yesterday Mel asked, “Is the air conditioning working today?” | Mel asked if the air conditioner was working yesterday. |
| “When are we getting another kitten?” | The kids wondered when we’re getting another kitten. |
| “Who painted your house?” | The neighbor wants to know who painted our house. |
- Justin asked, “Which BBQ restaurant has the best brisket?”
- Justin asked which BBQ restaurant has the best brisket.
- Justin asked which BBQ restaurant has the best brisket?
Whether you’re writing questions with direct speech or indirect speech/reported speech, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use correct punctuation.
Reported speech for imperatives
Imperative sentences are commands or requests in the imperative mood. In imperative statements, the pronoun “you” is implied but not directly stated. Imperative sentences in reported speech usually have these two parts:
- A reporting clause that includes the speaker and a reporting verb, such as “told,” “said,” or “instructed.” If the reporting verb is transitive (and therefore always needs a direct object), add the listener’s name or an object pronoun (e.g., “Mehta instructed us to”)
- An infinitive phrase that begins with “to” and repeats the imperative sentence
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| “Please submit your PTO requests by Monday.” | Owen told us to submit our PTO requests by Monday. |
| “Email your resume in a PDF.” | The recruiter said to email my resume in a PDF. |
| “Please take the trash out this evening.” | Dad told us to take the trash out last evening. |
| “Take this medication after a meal.” | The pharmacist instructed her to take the medication after a meal. |
Frequently asked questions about reported speech
- What are the most common reporting verbs?
-
The most common reporting verbs are “said,” “explained,” “wrote,” and “asked” (e.g., “Dr. Xiu said that I am very healthy”). Reporting verbs can be past tense, like these examples, or simple present tense (e.g., “says” or “writes”).
Use past tense reporting verbs when you’re using direct speech and indirect speech/reported speech for a quote that happened in the past. Use present tense to report a quote that is happening in the present moment (e.g., “Mom says it’s time to go home”).
When you use reporting verbs in your writing, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with correct grammar and punctuation.
- What is direct speech?
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Direct speech is a direct quote of another person’s exact words in the same order and in quotation marks (as opposed to indirect speech/reported speech, which is a form of paraphrasing).
The following examples illustrate the differences between direct speech and indirect speech/reported speech.
- Direct speech: The recruiter asked, “Why do you want to work here?”
- Indirect speech/reported speech: The recruiter asked me why I want to work there.
When you’re writing with direct speech, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you ensure that the quotation marks and other punctuation are in the right place.
- What is indirect speech?
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Indirect speech is another term for reported speech, which is a paraphrase of what someone said or wrote rather than an exact quotation. Indirect speech uses slightly different words to communicate what someone else said or wrote.
Indirect speech/reported speech is an alternative to direct speech, which is a quote of someone’s exact words in quotation marks.
- Direct speech: The receptionist said, “Your next appointment is in June.”
- Indirect speech: The receptionist said that my next appointment is in June.
When you’re writing with indirect speech, why not try the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure that it’s error-free?
- What is an indirect question?
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Indirect questions are questions that are embedded in a statement (e.g., “I wonder who will win this year;” “She asked Max where he was”).
Indirect questions often begin with an interrogative word (e.g., “where,” “when”), but they can also begin with “if” or “whether” (e.g., “My mom asked whether you want to stay for dinner”).
An indirect question is a special type of noun clause, often referred to as an interrogative clause. It is typically embedded within a declarative sentence, so it is not followed by a question mark. Additionally, the word order is the same as a declarative sentence (i.e., subject followed by verb).
