DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH

DIRECT VERSUS REPORTED SPEECH.  LEVEL 6. DR.ELMA ROSS

CRITERIA	DIRECT SPEECH	REPORTED SPEECH
PERSON	1ST PERSON  “I passed the exam!”	3rd PERSON: I change to he/they. He said that he passed. He told us that he had passed the exam.
Lines	Start a new line for each speech. “Peter, are you home?” “Yes, come in, Clive!”	It is not necessary to start a new line for each speech. Standing by the door, Clive asked if Peter was home. Peter then invited him in.
Tense	Present tense.	Past tense, because it is reported speech.
punctuation	Direct speech comes in quotation marks. If the sentence is interrupted, the next part starts with a small letter, for example: “But, moaned Don, “it doesn’t make sense.”	No quotation marks are used, except for an actual quote.
verbs	The verb would show the manner in which something has been said, i.e. ·      Moaned ·      Shouted ·      Exclaimed ·      Muttered ·      Whispered ·      Said (used for plain speech).	The verb could change, i.e. “I am studying!.” Said Marie. Marie told them (or her or him or us or them) that she was studying.