When to use direct speech and reported speech

When to use direct speech and reported speech

Quick reminder: • Direct speech is where you quote EXACTLY what the speaker said. This has to be inside speech marks (inverted commas) and in the same order that the speaker said it. • Reported speech is when you take what someone has said and use it within your report. You do not have to use every word they used or in the order they said it. • Let’s look at the examples on the next page.

Spotting Direct and Indirect Speech Can you spot an example of direct speech in this newspaper report? Here is a passage of direct speech. It has inverted commas, other speech punctuation and a reporting clause. Here is a passage of indirect (reported) speech. It has no inverted commas or reporting clause. It tells the reader what Justin Gatlin promised his supporters.

I have included this article as a separate document, so that it is clear to read. In the first paragraph it states: Most schools had said that it would be impossible to stick to social distancing guidelines with so many pupils returning to school. This is an example of reported speech. Although schools had said this, they have not asked anyone in particular for their opinion. This was a general opinion. We know this is reported speech as there are no inverted commas.

I have included this article as a separate document, so that it is clear to read. In the second paragraph it states: Education Minister Nick Gibb, in an interview with Sky News kids show FYI, said he was satisfied with the return of schools so far, and that the priority was to keep pupils and teachers safe. “Schools are doing a magnificent job in keeping the schools clean, making sure that children are in those small groups of 15 and not mixing with other groups, ” he said. This is an example of direct speech. It was Nick Gibb’s exact words that were used and they need to be inside inverted commas to show this.

Let’s have try ourselves: I shall use the article shown. The original words are in black and any additions I make will be in red. SPORT IN NUMBERS 78 days after snooker was suspended due to the pandemic, it’s back. The Championship League finals started on 1 st June at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, without any spectators. World number one Judd Trump (below) won nine of his opening ten matches. Judd commented after his ninth win, “I’m just in great form, every ball just seems to drop into the pocket. I’m so excited!” You can see how easy it was to imagine what Judd would have said if we had spoken to him. Let’s try reported speech next.

Let’s have try ourselves: Using the same article, let’s try to add some reported speech. Again, anything I add will be in red. SPORT IN NUMBERS 78 days after snooker was suspended due to the pandemic, it’s back. The Championship League finals started on 1 st June at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, without any spectators. World number one Judd Trump (below), who had previously commented that he was in the best form of his life, won nine of his opening ten matches. This time, although I’m using words he could have said, I’m not quoting his words exactly.

Now your turn: Using the same article, first, imagine that you had interviewed Judd – What might he have said? How do you think he might be feeling? Ask your grownup to interview you as you pretend to be Judd, ask them to note down what you say and then you try to add into the article as direct speech – don’t forget to use speech marks and write the words exactly as they were said. SPORT IN NUMBERS 78 days after snooker was suspended due to the pandemic, it’s back. The Championship League finals started on 1 st June at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, without any spectators. World number one Judd Trump (below) won nine of his opening ten matches.

Now your turn: Using the same article, now, imagine that although you had not interviewed Judd, you could imagine how he might have been feeling or what he may have said previously but you can’t remember his exact wording. This time, you do not need inverted commas. SPORT IN NUMBERS 78 days after snooker was suspended due to the pandemic, it’s back. The Championship League finals started on 1 st June at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, without any spectators. World number one Judd Trump (below) won nine of his opening ten matches.