Reported speech also called indirect speech is used to communicate what someone else said, but without using exact words.
From some definitions above, it can be concluded that reported speech is to qoute somebody’s idea or thoughts without exactly repeating the exact
word produced by the speaker.
2. The kinds of Speech
There are two ways of realiting what a person has said: direct and indirect.
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a. Direct Speech
Direct speech conveys exactly what someone has said.
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It is usually found in conversations in book, in plays, and in quotations.
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Example: She said, ―I want to go the market.‖
Quotation marks are used when we quote direct speech. Single quotatin marks ―...‖ are more common in British English, and double
qoutation marks ―...‖ in American English.
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In direct speech, usually the words qoute introduced by one the words say or think. It is put before the quotation. In writing, quotation marks ―...‖ or
―...‖ are used. In litetary writing, a large number of other verbs are used to
add variety and to give additional information; for example, ask, suggest, recommend, remind, etc.
b. Indirect speech
It can be made a speaker’s words or thoughts part of his sentence using conjunction e.g. that, and changing pronouns, tenses and other words where
38
Betty Schrampfer Azar, Fundamentals of English Grammar Edisi Inggris- IndonesiaJakarta: Binarupa Aksara, 1993, 2
nd
edition, p. 275
39
Thompson, PracticalEnglish Grammar, p. 269
40
Martin Parrot, Grammar For English Language Teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 217
41
Thompson, loc. Cit.
42
Micheal Swam, Practical English Usage, Oxford: Oxford University Press,1995, p. 471
n ecessary. This kind of structures called ‘indirect speech’ or ‘reported
speech’.
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Example: She said that she wanted to go the market.
Commas are not put before that, what, where, etc in indirect speech structure.
Example:
He explained that he never atc meat ____ not he explained, that he
neveretc meat. Reported speech is used when it is interested not in the words that
someone has chosen, but in the essential information they conveyed. It is often used far fewer words to report this than were originally spoken. Reported
speech found in newspaper report, fiction, talking, or writing about conversation, report articles or speeches that have been heard or read.
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When turning direct speech into indirect speech, some chenges are usually necessary. The tenses, pronoun and other words may different from
the original sentence.
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If introductory verb which is introduced in indirect speech is a present, present perfect tense, so if someone wants to report the direct speech into
indirect speech, the change of tenses will not happen. Or in the other word, there is no change of tenses if someone reports form direct speech into indirect
speech. Example: paul says, ―I’m tryingto get a taxi.‖
Paul says he is trying to get a taxi. However, if the introductory verb is in he past tense, the tense of
indirect speech have then to be changed into corresponding past tense.
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Example:
43
Micheal Swam,Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 501
44
Martin Parrot, loc. Cit.
45
Micheal Swam, practical english usage, Oxford: Oxford University Press,1995, p. 501-502
46
Thomson, loc. cit
