Can I say indirect speech?



Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past.

Direct & Indirect Speech.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech
simple present He said, “I go to school every day.” simple past He said (that) he went to school every day.

Can I have indirect speech?

Ambiguity. Some modal verbs (would, could, might, should, ought to) do not change in indirect speech. The indirect speech sentence is then ambiguous since it can be a result of two different direct speech sentences.

Can you say or tell?

We use say and tell in different ways in reported speech. Say focuses on the words someone said and tell focuses more on the content or message of what someone said: ‘Hello,’ she said. Not: ‘Hello,’ she told.

What are the rules of indirect speech?





Changes as per Tense

Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Past simple (Subject+V2+Object) Past perfect (Subject+had+V3+Object)
Past Continuous (Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ Object) Past perfect continuous (Subject +had been+V1 +ing+ Object)
Future simple (Subject+ will/shall+V1+object) Present Conditional (Subject+ would+V1+object)

Can I help you change to indirect speech?

Direct Speech – “May I help you” I said. Indirect Speech – I asked if I might help you.

Is Say me correct?

As an interjection, the children would say “Me!”. The word “I” is not used on its own. You are confused because you think that the sentence “I want to sing a song” should be shortened to “I!” This is not correct.