Translation of direct speech into indirect English online. Indirect speech in English

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Direct speech and indirect speech

In English, as in Russian, there are concepts of direct speech and indirect speech:

Pay attention to the punctuation marks in sentences with direct speech. In English, direct speech is also enclosed in quotation marks, which are placed at the top of the line (“ ”). A period or other punctuation marks are placed inside quotation marks. The words of the author may precede direct speech, or may follow it. In both cases, they are separated from direct speech by a comma.

He said, “I am busy today.” / “I'm busy today,” he said.

He asked me, “Are you busy?” / “Are you busy?” he asked me.

He said, “What a nice weather today!” / “What a nice weather today!” he said.

Features of translating direct speech into indirect

In order to convey someone else's statement in indirect speech, it is necessary to take into account what direct speech is: a statement, a question, or an order / request. Below we consider the features of the transmission of declarative sentences in indirect speech.

Statements in indirect speech

If someone else's statement is a statement (i.e., an ordinary declarative sentence), then in order to convey it in indirect speech, you need to pay attention to the following:

That in indirect speech / verbs introducing indirect speech

Indirect speech is introduced by the union that (what), which is often omitted:

He says, “I am busy.” — He says that he is busy. / He says he is busy.
He says, "I'm busy." - He says, what He is busy.

If in the words introducing direct speech (that is, in the words of the author), the verb is used say without an addition indicating the person to whom the speech is addressed, then say is preserved; if the verb say used with an addition (required with to), for example, said to me, then say changes to tell+ addition without the preposition to (told me):

Personal and possessive pronouns

All personal and possessive pronouns of direct speech are replaced by meaning:

Present tense of the verb introducing indirect speech

If verb present or future tense(Present Simple, Present Perfect, Future Simple), then the verb in indirect speech (in the subordinate clause) remains in the same tense as it was in direct speech:

Past tense of the verb introducing indirect speech

If verb(in the main sentence), introducing indirect speech, used in one of the past tenses, then the tense of the direct speech verb changes in indirect speech (in the subordinate clause) to another corresponding tense according to the tense agreement rule in English:

Direct speech		Indirect speech
present simple He said, “I work every day.” He said, "I work every day."		past simple He said that he worked every day. He said he works every day.
Present Continuous He said, “I am working.” He said, "I'm working."		Past continuous He said that he was working. He said he was working.
Present Perfect He said, “I have finished.” He said, "I'm done."		past perfect He said that he had finished. He said he was done.
Present Perfect Continuous He said, “It has been raining since morning.” He said, "It's been raining since morning."		Past Perfect Continuous He said that it had been raining since morning. He said that it had been raining since morning.
past simple He said, “I bought a car." He said, "I bought a car."		past perfect He said that he had bought a car. He said he bought a car.
Past continuous He said, “I was working.” He said: "I worked."		Past Perfect Continuous He said that he had been working. He said he was working.
Past Perfect* He said, “I had finished my work by 7 o’clock.” He said, "I finished my work by 7 o'clock."		past perfect He said that he had finished his work by 7 o'clock. He said that he had finished his work by 7 o'clock.
Past Perfect Continuous* He said, “I had been working.” He said: "I worked."		Past Perfect Continuous He said that he had been working. He said he was working.
Future Simple* He said, “I will come later.” He said, "I'll come later."		Future-in-the-Past He said that he would come later. He said he would come later.
can He said, “I can speak Spanish.” He said, "I can speak Spanish."		could He said that he could speak Spanish. He said that he could speak Spanish.
may= "opportunity" He said, “I may come later.” He said "I might come later".		might He said that he might come later. He said that he might come later.
may= "permission" He said, “You may wait in the hall.” He said, "You can wait in the lobby."		could He said that we could wait in the hall. He said we could wait in the lobby.
have to He said, “I have to go.” He said, "I have to go."		had to He said that he had to go. He said he had to go.
must= "need" He said, “I must study.” He said "I have to practice".		had to He said that he had to study. He said that he should be engaged.
must= "order/advice, suggestion" He said, “It must be nice to live in London.” He said, "It must be great to live in London."		He said that it must be nice to live in London. He said that living in London must be great.
should He said, “I should call my mum.” He said, "I should call my (my) mother."		should He said that he should call his mum. He said that he should call his (his) mother.
ought to He said, “You ought to help her.” He said, "You should help her."		ought to He said that I ought to help her. He said that I should help her.

* If Past Perfect (or Past Perfect Continuous) is used in direct speech, then this tense is preserved in indirect speech.
* If one of the future tenses was used in direct speech, then in indirect speech it changes to the corresponding future in the past. Simply put, will changes to would.

Demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time/place

Demonstrative pronouns, some adverbs of time and place in indirect speech are replaced in meaning by other words:

Replacement of demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time/place
Direct speech Indirect speech
this(this, this, this) that(that, that, that)
these(these) those(those)
now(now, now) then(then)
yesterday(yesterday) the day before(the day before)
tomorrow(tomorrow) the next day / the next day(the next day)
here(here) there(there)
today(today) that day(that day)
the day after tomorrow(day after tomorrow) two days later(after two days)
the day before yesterday(the day before yesterday) two days before(two days earlier)
ago(ago) before(before)
last week(last week) the week before / the previous week(one week earlier)

Please note that such substitution of demonstrative pronouns and adverbs should be performed by meaning, and not automatically. It all depends on when we heard direct speech and when we transmit it in indirect speech.
For example:
Ann says, “I am leaving today.”- Ann says "I'm leaving today" .
Let us convey what Ann said in indirect speech:
Ann said that she was leaving today. - Ann said that she was leaving today (today is not over yet, so we say that “she is leaving today”; in this case, replacing today with that day would not be logical).
Ann said that she was leaving that day.- Ann said that she was leaving that day (a week has passed since then, and only a week later we transmit this information, so in this case it is logical to replace today with that day).

Read about the features of the transmission of interrogative and imperative sentences in indirect speech in the following sections.

In order to master indirect speech, it is not enough just to know the rules. It is necessary to practice the acquired knowledge in order to consolidate the result as much as possible.

That is why most people use various games to make it easy and interesting for students.

Reported speech is a topic that requires additional attention. First, you need to know that when we want to express another person's thoughts in English, we need to "shift" time itself one step back. So, if the sentence is in the Present Simple, we need to use the Past Simple. Look at the table below:

But there are those that remain unchanged:

would	would
could	could
might	might
should	should
ought to	ought to

Now that you have already mastered all the intricacies of Reported Speech, we suggest playing a game called What did you say?

What is needed for this?

First of all, you need a company of friends that is ready to accept the rules of the game. They are simple: the first person says a phrase, the second asks what he said, the first, using indirect speech, rearranges the sentence. It looks something like this:

Do you like watching TV?
- What did you say?
- I asked if you liked watching TV?
- Yes, I do.
- What's your favorite TV channel?

Below we offer a number of questions that you can use to play:

Do you like going to the cinema?
What are you doing at the weekend?
Have you ever sung in public?
How long have you been learning English?
What did you do last weekend?
What were you doing yesterday at 5.50pm?
Do you think you will get married?
Are you going to learn a new language?
Do you wish you were famous?
Who is your favorite actor?
What are you doing this evening?
Have you ever fallen in love?
How long have you been living here?
Did you watch a good movie last weekend?
Were you watching TV yesterday at 7.45pm?
Will you have children?
What are you going to do next Monday?
Where do you like spending your holidays?

You can come up with your own questions and diversify them using all tenses of the English language. It will be not only interesting, but also useful. It's safe to say that after such a game, the topic "Reported Speech" will be mastered perfectly.

Be aware of time shifts:

present simple	past simple
Present Continuous	Past continuous
Past continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
past simple	past perfect
Present Perfect	past perfect
past perfect	past perfect
Future Simple	Conditional
Will-will not	Would-wouldn't

Don't forget to change the following words:

Today	That day
Now	Then
Tonight	That night
Last day	The day before / the previous day
yesterday	The day before
Ago	before
Last week	The week before
next year	The next year
Tomorrow	The next day / the next day
Here	There
This	That
These	Those

Study and don't be afraid to make mistakes in speech. As soon as you begin to speak, all the mistakes will fade into the background. Remember that speaking is the first step to fluency.

Direct speech in English ( Direct Speech), literally quoting the statement. The response is enclosed in quotation marks on both sides, and you add the words of the author to it, for example, He says: “I swim well”.

Indirect speech in English ( Reported Speech/ Indirect Speech), which conveys the content of the conversation from a third person. In this case, the accuracy of the statement is violated: you change the tenses and word order in the sentence.

let's consider Reported Speech rule and learn how to correctly express the opinion of the interlocutor, without inventing anything.

Indirect speech in English always depends on what time is used in the words of the author. If there is real, then you can exhale and relax: you will not have to change almost anything. The tense in the subordinate clause will remain the same, just watch the verb form and capricious pronouns:

Melissa says: I am a good cook.” – Melissa says that she is a good cook.

Jack said: like cats.” (Present Simple) – Jack said that he liked cats. (Past Simple)

In more detail, we will consider the timing ( Sequence of Tenses) separately.

Examine the Reported Speech table. With it, you will be able to express yourself grammatically correctly. And one more piece of advice - always try translate sentences into Russian, he will tell you which words will have to be replaced.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Affirmative sentences turn into complex sentences with the union That (what). See if you know who we're talking to. If yes, then the verb to say should be changed to to tell.
They say: "Annie, we read a lot of books."	They tell Annie that they read a lot of books.
When you translate negative sentences into indirect speech in English, pay special attention to the form of the verb and don't lose the not particle.
Mark says:"I don't like computer games".	Mark says that he doesn't like computer games.
Imperative sentences, namely orders and requests, become infinitive. At the same time, in the main sentence, use the verbs to ask - to ask, to tell - to say, order, to order - to order, etc. and indicate the person being addressed.
Mother said: "Open the window."	Mother asked me to open the window.
Questions become subordinate clauses with direct word order. a) General questions are introduced by a subordinate clause using the unions if and whether
Jim asks me: "Do you watch TV?"	Jim asks me if I watch TV.
b) Special questions are attached to the main sentence with the interrogative words that are used in them.
Tony wonders: “What is your favorite food?”	Tony wonders what my favorite food is.

If the sentence you are translating into indirect speech in English contains demonstrative pronouns or adverbs of time and place, then our table will help to replace them correctly:

To master this vast topic, you only need a Reported Speech table, a list of adverbs, and your defense-ready brain. Keep in mind that exercises for translating direct speech into indirect(Reported Speech Exercises) are found in all kinds of work and exams that you can only imagine. Moreover, without this knowledge, you will be stuck and will not progress in learning English.

Indirect speech in English is considered a real stumbling block. In fact, the devil is not so "terrible as he is painted." If you want to make sure of this, then our material will come in handy for you.

There are 2 types of speech: direct (Direct Speech) and indirect (Indirect Speech or Reported Speech). The direct is transmitted using ordinary quoting, and the indirect is transmitted using special constructions and introductory verbs.

Direct and indirect speech: short examples that English offers us (with translation)


1) Julia said, “I like green leaves in early spring.” Julia said: "I love green leaves in early spring"	1) Julia said that she liked green leaves in early spring. Julia said she loves green leaves in early spring.
2) Mother told her, “Open the door, please!” The mother told her: “Please open the door!”	2) Mother asked her to open the door. The mother asked her to open the door.
3) The tutor said to me, “I have been to London this year.” The teacher told me: "This year I went to London."	3) The tutor said that he had been to London that year. The teacher said that he was in London that year.

As you can see, indirect speech and English are friends with numerous changes in sentences, the table reflects only a few of them. You will read more about the rules for translating direct statements into narrative below.

Stages of translating direct speech into indirect

The punctuation stage implies the omission of the quotes that enclose the replica, and the comma that separates 2 simple sentences as part of a complex one. The last one can be replaced by the union that, but this is not necessary. When sending interrogative sentences, do not forget to put a period instead of a question mark.
At the lexical stage, all the necessary verbal transformations take place.

Changes in adverbs

Examples of such modifications:

The boy said that he was reading at that moment. The boy said that he was reading at that moment.
(In the original, the boy said: "I am reading now.")

This woman tells me she has lost the key that week. This woman says she lost her key last week.
(In the original, the woman says: "I have lost the key this week.")

The librarian asked to return the book the following week. The librarian asked to return the book next week.
(Original "Return the book next week, please!")

Rules for coordinating tenses in indirect speech

Let's take a closer look at all the necessary changes regarding the time frame.

He says, “I swim very well.” (direct speech)
He says that he swims very well. (indirect speech)

NB! Indirect speech in English to convey what has already happened and the construction of appropriate statements can cause some difficulties. If the introductory verbs are in the past tense, the tenses of the verbs from the quotations are subject to the following modifications.

Reported Speech: Sequence of Tenses (Timing)

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Simple (Indefinite)“I want to buy a car”	Past Simple (Indefinite) He said (that) he wanted to buy a car.
Present Progressive (Continuous)“I am looking for a kitten”	She said (that) she was looking for a kitten.
Present Perfect“He has won this game”	past perfect She said (that) he had won that game.
Past Simple (Indefinite)“She found me at the seaside yesterday”	past perfect He said (that) she had found him at the seaside the day before.

Past Progressive (Continuous)“He was playing football”	Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Mother said (that) he had been playing football.
Future Simple (Indefinite)“I will catch this butterfly”	Future-in-the-Past (= Conditional Would) The boy said (that) he would catch that butterfly.
modals: “I can dive very well” “You must be here at 5 p.m.” “I may be late a bit”	modals: He said (that) he could dive very well. She told me (that) I had to be there at 5 p.m. He said he might be late

If you learn 2 main tables (temporary and adverbial changes), modifying sentences from direct speech to indirect speech will be easy and simple. There will be only nuances that will need to be monitored.

Light (upper) cloud - thought transmission in the present, dark (lower) cloud - thought transmission in indirect speech (past tense)

Indirect speech: features of the transition of various types of sentences

Get acquainted with these simple principles and easily delve into grammar: now English, in particular direct and indirect speech, will not cause any special difficulties.

Translation of affirmative sentences is carried out using the union that. Introductory verbs to tell (with addition), to say (without addition).
They said, "We have never been here before." – They said (that) they had never been there before.

He said, "I will clean the car." – He told me he would clean the car.

He said, "I will have finished this paper by tomorrow." – He told his teacher that he would have finished that paper by the following day.

She said, "It is very quiet here." She said that it was very quiet there.
When changing negative sentences, pay special attention to the particle not.
She said, "I don't know where my shoes are." – She said that she didn’t know where her shoes were.

He said, "They won't sleep." – He said that they would not sleep.

“I don't speak Italian,” she says. - She says that she does not speak Italian.

"I cannot find a book anywhere," she said to him. – She told me that she could not find a book anywhere.
The imperative mood is transformed with the help of the infinitive. Introductory verbs to order - to order, to ask - to ask, to tell - to order, to beg - to beg, etc.
"Take off your shoes," she told us. – She told us to take off our shoes.

"Stop talking, Joe," the teacher said - The teacher asked Joe to stop talking.

"Don" t go out without me, "he begged her. - He begged her not to go out without him.

"Don" t repair the computer yourself," she warned him. - She warned him not to repair the computer himself.
Interrogative sentences acquire direct word order. At the same time, general questions become subordinate clauses, joined by unions if or whether. Special questions are attached with appropriate question words. Introductory verbs: to ask - to ask, to wonder - to be interested, to want to know, to want to know - to want to know, to be interested - to be interested, etc.
Helen: What does she say? – He wanted to know what Helen said.

"Where is my umbrella?" she asked. – She wondered where her umbrella was.

Are you going to the cinema? he asked me. – He asked me if I was going to the cinema.

"Have you tidied up your room?" the mother asked the twins. – The mother asked the twins whether they had tidied up their room.
To convey replicas with an exclamation, you can use the verb to exclaim - exclaim by adding the appropriate emotion word (for example, joy - joy, sorrow - grief, wonder - surprise, etc.)
“Hurrah! I've got the first prize!” – Tomas exclaimed with joy (that) he had got the first prize.

“Wow! What a marvelous dress you are having on.” – She exclaimed with wonder (that) I was having a marvelous dress on.

“Oh, my… I’ve lost my wallet!” – He exclaimed with sorrow (that) he had lost his wallet.

“Come on! You'll cope with this task.” – She exclaimed with enthusiasm (that) I would cope with that task.

And, finally, we present to your attention the transmission of a small dialogue in indirect speech.

— Hello Mike! How are you?
— Hey Jane! I am not well, I have a sore throat. Sorry, I can't speak to you now…
— Ok, hold on then… I’ll call you in a couple of days.

Reported Speech: Jane greeted Mike and asked him how he was. Mike greeted Jane in response and explained that he was not well. He exclaimed with sorrow that he could not speak to Jane. She expressed her support and added that she would call him in a couple of days.

Admit it, now indirect speech does not seem so difficult, English is so scary, and repeated exercises will increase your skills and improve your grammatical skills.

See the video for the basic rules of indirect speech with examples.

To understand what indirect speech is in English grammar, you first need to understand what direct speech is.

Direct speech is a phrase of a subject, it sounds directly from the first mouth and is written in quotation marks

Direct speech is a separate sentence, so after we open the quotes, we write the first word with a capital letter. In English, after words indicating who is speaking, a comma is placed. While in Russian we put a colon:

He said, "I will return your book tomorrow."

He said, "I will return your book tomorrow."

Indirect speech is a way of transmitting words spoken by another person, while the transmitter transforms other people's words grammatically and in meaning so that it is clear to whom they belong, while maintaining the general content of what was said.

He said he would return my book the next day.

He said that he would return my book the next day. Secrets of English indirect speech

Indirect speech - transformed direct

In the declarative sentences of the English language, a number of changes occur when direct speech is turned into indirect:

After the words that introduce the phrase of the author, the comma is no longer put
An alliance is put after the introductory words that(what), sometimes you can do without it
If there is a verb in the introductory words to say(say) it is replaced by to tell(say) if it is followed by an addition indicating to whom the phrase is addressed

The following table with illustrative examples will help you understand the rules listed above.

The main sentences are exactly those introductory words, such as “Luke said”, “she claims”, “parents answered”, etc. They retain their tense form:

Present Indefinite(Real Simple)
Present Perfect(Present perfect)
Future Indefinite(Future Simple), even as part of indirect speech

The table with examples will again help you understand this rule.

Gradually, we came to an important point in grammar, which must be analyzed in order to understand how indirect speech is formed in English. I mean the rules for coordinating the tenses of the English language in indirect speech. The following table conveys the principle of the transition of tenses (in the upper column - the time that is used in direct speech, in the lower column - the time to be used in indirect speech).

Using examples, let's consider how time can change when speech is converted.

present simple(Real Simple) -> past simple(Past Simple)
- Nick said, "I learn English." Nick said: "I'm learning English."
- Nick said that he learned English. — Nick said that he was learning English.
present progressive(Present Continuous) -> past progressive(Past Continuous)
- Leonardo said, "I am reading the book now." Leonardo said: "I'm reading a book now."
- Leonardo said that he was reading the book then. — Leonardo said he was reading a book now
Present Perfect(Real Perfect) -> past perfect(Past Perfect)
- Angelina said, "I have seen him this morning." Angelina said, "I saw him this morning."
- Angelina said that she had seen him that morning. Angelina said she saw him this morning
past progressive(Past Continuous) -> past progressive/ Past Perfect Progressive(Past Perfect Continuous)
- Robert said, "I was swimming." - Robert said: "I swam."
- Robert said that he was swimming. Robert said he swam.
- Robert said that he had been swimming. — Robert said he swam
past simple(Past Simple) -> past perfect(Past Perfect)
- Nina said, "I wrote the letters." Nina said: "I wrote letters."
- Nina said that she had written the letters. Nina said she wrote letters
Future Simple(Future Simple) -> Future in the Past(Future in the Past)
- Kate said, "I will find the solution of this problem."
- Kate said that she would find the solution of this problem. Kate said she would find a solution to this problem

English grammar strictly regulates the use of temporary forms necessary in a particular case. The fact is that each of them has its own characteristics, through which information about the period of the action is obvious. When translating into Russian, these subtleties are not so noticeable, due to the fact that Russian grammar is different from English.

Necessary modifications in interrogative and imperative sentences

An indirect question is different from a regular question:
- Has a direct word order, that is, a structure similar to a declarative sentence
- Doesn't require a question mark
- Doesn't need present simple And past simple in an auxiliary verb to do, which is replaced by if(whether)
  - Daniel said, "Do you want to walk?"
  - Daniel asked if I want to walk. Daniel asked if I wanted to go for a walk
- The rules for coordinating tenses between the main and subordinate clauses remain the same as in narrative sentences.
- Special interrogative words still remain in indirect speech, helping to create a connection between the main and subordinate clauses.
  - Bob asked me, "When did you meet her?" Bob asked: “When did you see her?”
  - Bob asked me when I had met her. Bob asked when I saw her
Indirect requests and orders:
- The following introductory verbs are used
  For requests:
  - to ask - ask
  - to run - ask
  - to implore - beg
  For orders:
  - to tell - say, command, order
  - to order - order
  - to allow - allow
- After the introductory part, the infinitive construction follows.
  To + verb
  Request:
  - Lisa says, "Be attentive, please!" - Lisa says: "Be careful, please!"
  - Lisa asks to be attentive. Lisa will ask you to be careful.
  Order:
  - Jack says, "Learn English!" Jack says: "Learn English!"
  - Jack tells to learn English. Jack tells me to learn English.
- If you need a negative form of the imperative mood, you should put a particle before the infinitive construction -not
  - Kim says, "Don't talk so loudly!" Kim says, "Don't talk so loud!"
  - Kim orders not to talk so loudly. Kim orders not to speak so loudly