Direct speech refers to quoting someone's exact words, while indirect speech involves reporting what someone said without using their exact words. The key differences are that indirect speech changes pronouns, adverbs of time and place, and verb tenses. For example, direct speech would be "I am working for my country" while the indirect version reported by Anderson Cooper would be "He said that he was working for his country." The document provides additional examples of how direct speech converts to indirect speech by changing verb tenses and other elements.

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3. “I am working for my country”
Barack Obama
He said that he was
working for his country
Anderson Cooper
“I will create more jobs”
Barack Obama
He said that he would
create more jobs
Anderson Cooper
Examples

4. Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Present
Simple Past
“I live in Boston, MA”
…she lived in Boston, MA
Present Perfect
“I have been to China”
Past Perfect
…he had been to China
Simple Past
“I went when I was 28”
Present Progressive
“We’re going to study law”
Past Progressive
“I was working in New York”
Past Perfect
…he had gone when he was 28
He
She
They
Past Progressive
…they were going to study Law
said that…
Past Perfect Progressive
…she had been working in New York
Modal “Can’t”
“I can’t fail this class”
Modal “Couldn’t”
…she couldn’t fail that class
Future
Conditional
…they would help me with my
homework
“We will help you with your
homework”
*Imperative
“Clean your room!”
*Indirect Order with Infinitive
She told me to clean my room

5. Other parts that change
Reporting Verbs
• say, tell, admit, express, claim, explain, insist, reply, etc.
Pronouns
• Pronouns and possessives change depending of logic
Expressions of time and place
• Time and place expressions referring to the here and the now change
to express more distance.
Questions
• Order changes: “Who are you?” He asked who I was
• Yes/No questions use if/whether: “Do you want to go to the movies?”
She asked if/whether I wanted to go to the movies

6. Can you rewrite them in reported speech? Choose a couple and write
your sentences in the comment box below.
Russell Brand
• “I was wondering how did it get in
here”
• “We need that to be in the sky for
nighttime”
• “People won't appreciate it”
• “For a moment I just pretended that it
was really happening”
• “I went to his house once”
• “It was out of control crazy”
Exercises
Conan
• “Don't be distracted by that thing, it's
fake”
• “It can move from side to side”
• “I don't know if this is going to work”
• “Look! It is crashing into the sea!”
• “There is a story that you have been
taking Charlie Sheen to yoga”
• “Are you taking Charlie Sheen to
yoga?”
Watch the video of Russell Brand at
CONAN.