Special rules apply to the reporting of speech in written form. In direct speech the words that a person has said are repeated exactly, usually enclosed by quotation marks:"Would you like a coffee?" she inquired politely.
"Tell me," he said at last, "everything you know about the organization."
He whispered, "There's someone in the room." In indirect speech (otherwise called reported speech) the gist of what has been said is communicated without the actual words being repeated and without the insertion of quotation marks:He said he was less worried about his daughter now than he had been.
She asked where her husband was. In either form, sentences containing speech comprise two clauses: the reporting clause and the reported clause.A reporting clause introduces or sets the tone for the reported clause. The reporting clause consists of a subject and a verb of speaking or writing, as well as any other related information (Roger said; answered Tom; they shouted angrily). In indirect speech the reporting clause always precedes the reported clause, but in direct speech it may be placed before, after, or in the middle of the reported clause. When it is inserted after or in the middle of the reported clause, it is set off by commas, and the verb is often placed before the subject (said his mother; replied Bill). When the reporting clause is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it is usual to follow it with a comma or colon, which appears before the opening quotation marks. It is also the convention to insert any closing punctuation related exclusively to the direct speech before the closing quotation marks. Note how the punctuation differs between reported clauses made up of one sentence and others made up of more than one sentence, particularly how a capital letter is used to reopen the quotation when it comprises multiple sentences:"Hold on a moment," she said, "while I think about that."
"Hold on a moment," she said. "We need to think about that." Where a text has two or more people involved in a conversation, it is common for the reporting clause to be omitted once it has been established whose turn it is to speak."What do you mean by that?" demanded Higgins.
"What do you think I mean?" responded Davies.
"I'm not sure."
"Let me know when you are." Note also that the convention of beginning a new paragraph with each new speaker aids in distinguishing the individuals in a conversation.The reporting clause may be omitted in so-called free indirect speech:She could not believe what he was telling her—how he had lost all their money, and how he could not remember the name of the man who had cheated him. It may also be left out in the case of so-called free direct speech (typically where the writer is expressing his or her own thoughts):I bought the house in the end, even though it's a ruin. Why do I love it so much? If the previous example were rendered in direct speech, the last two sentences would be separated by I thought, I told myself, or a similar construction.A reported clause includes what was said or written, with or without quotation marks, as appropriate. In indirect speech what has been said or written is usually introduced by that or a word beginning with wh-:She said that she would never go back there again.
The teacher told us where they should look for the child.
He asked which suitcase was ours. Note that in practice the word that may actually be omitted, but any wh- word must remain in place:He promised us [that] he would win.
She said [that] she would phone.
He asked what they were planning to do. Certain changes are made when direct speech is converted to reported speech. As well as the reporting clause being (usually) moved to the start of the sentence, personal pronouns are usually changed, (from I to he or she, from we to they, and from you to I or we, etc.), and changes to references to time and location may also need to be made:"There is no need to go until tomorrow," he said. [direct speech]
He said there was no need to go until the following day. [reported speech]
"Nothing will be decided until you get back from vacation," they told her. [direct speech]
They told her that nothing would be decided until she got back from vacation. [reported speech] Sometimes when converting, the words if or whether need to be inserted:"Is there any money left in the budget?" he asked. [direct speech]
He asked if there was any money left in the budget. [reported speech]
"Has the news been released yet?" they asked. [direct speech]
They asked whether the news had been released yet. [reported speech] Note that the tense of the verb in the reported clause changes from the present tense to the past tense:"I have no interest in the matter," she said. [direct speech]
She said she had no interest in the matter. [reported speech]
"I'm thinking about it," he assured us. [direct speech]
He assured us he was thinking about it. [reported speech] Similarly the future tense will changes to would:"I will write something for the occasion," a local composer suggested. [direct speech]
A local composer suggested he would write something for the occasion. [reported speech]
"Time will tell," she commented. [direct speech]
She commented that time would tell. [reported speech] The simple past tense in turn is transformed into the past perfect (pluperfect) tense:"We hoped to get in free," they admitted. [direct speech]
They admitted they had hoped to get in free. [reported speech]
"We were trying to prevent an outbreak of violence," the police said. [direct speech]
The police said they had been trying to prevent an outbreak of violence. [reported speech]
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