There are two ways to tell someone what another person said.
The first is direct speech — the speaker's exact words inside quotation marks. The second is reported speech (also called indirect speech) — the same idea retold in your own words, without quotes.
Both are correct. They belong to different situations: direct speech shows the wording, reported speech shows the meaning.
Direct speech
Direct speech repeats the original words exactly. The quoted part sits inside quotation marks, and a reporting verb — usually say, ask, shout, whisper — introduces or follows it.
A comma separates the reporting clause from the quotation, and the first word inside the quotes keeps its capital letter. The quotation marks and the punctuation are what signal to the reader: these are the actual words spoken.
Direct speech is common in fiction, journalism, and anywhere the exact wording matters — a courtroom statement, a quote in an article, a line of dialogue in a novel.
Reported speech
Reported speech drops the quotation marks and rephrases what was said as part of your own sentence. The reporting verb stays, but the quoted clause turns into a that-clause.
The word that is often dropped in everyday speech and informal writing. Both versions are standard:
Reported speech is the default in conversation, summaries, emails, and most writing where the idea matters more than the exact phrasing.
The basic structure
A reported statement has two parts: a reporting clause and a reported clause.
The reporting clause holds the reporting verb and, often, a person — the one being told. The two most common reporting verbs are say and tell, and they behave differently:
- say — no person after it: She said she was busy.
- tell — always followed by a person: She told me she was busy.
Other reporting verbs include ask, explain, admit, promise, reply, mention, warn. Each one adds a shade of meaning to how the original was delivered.
Direct vs. reported: the key differences
| FEATURE | DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation marks | Yes | No |
| Verb tense | Kept as spoken | Usually shifts back |
| Pronouns | Speaker's own | Adjusted to the reporter |
Three things tend to change when speech moves from direct to reported: the tense of the verb, the pronouns, and words pointing to time or place (now, today, here, this).
Each of these shifts has its own rules, and each is covered separately in the lessons that follow. For now, the point is that they exist — reported speech is not just "remove the quotes".
When to use which
Use direct speech when the exact words matter: quoting a source, writing dialogue, repeating a memorable line, or showing someone's tone and style.
Use reported speech when you are summarising, retelling, or integrating what was said into your own flow of writing or speech.
In spoken English, reported speech is far more common. People rarely quote each other word for word in conversation — they paraphrase.
Common mistakes
Keeping quotation marks in reported speech
Mixing direct and reported forms
Forgetting to adjust the pronoun
Confusing say and tell
Leaving question word order in reported questions