How to distinguish indirect speech from direct speech. Direct speech

When a speaker or writer includes the statements of other people in his presentation, then these statements, in contrast to the author’s speech, are called someone else’s speech.

The statements of other persons may occupy different places in the works. They can be given independently, without connection with the author’s speech (for example, in dialogues in dramatic works), or they are somehow included in the author’s speech.

In grammatical terms, other people's speech includes cases when the statements of other persons are indicated with the author's speech: their transmission has characteristic syntactic means that differ depending on the two main types of this transmission, called direct and indirect speech.

Direct speech completely, without restructuring, preserves the quoted statements of other persons; it not only accurately conveys the content of these statements, but also reproduces the form of their linguistic content. A feature of direct speech compared to indirect speech is that it retains the transmission of statements on behalf of the character (or more broadly, the one to whom it belongs), and not on behalf of the author conveying these statements, which affects mainly the use of personal pronouns and personal forms verb.

In syntactic terms, direct speech differs from indirect speech in how the character’s statement is linked to the author’s speech. On this side, it is characteristic that direct speech retains complete independence: its inclusion in the author’s speech is not accompanied by any restructuring of the reproduced language structures. The speech of the author and the character is clearly distinguished by intonation: the rendering of the character’s speech is more or less dramatized and reproduces, at least in hints, his characteristic manner of pronunciation. The connection between direct speech and author's speech is limited by the fact that direct speech is only accompanied by the author's message that he is conveying someone else's speech and an indication of who it belongs to. Such an author’s message occupies different places: before someone else’s speech, after its end, or inside someone else’s speech.

Rules regarding punctuation marks in direct speech:

Direct speech is highlighted in quotation marks;

Valya, warmly hugging her mother by the shoulders, reassured her, walking her to the door: “Don’t worry, Mom.” (N. Ostrovsky).

• a) “I won’t betray you to anyone,” Tonya solemnly promised.
• b) "Who was it?" - Pavel asked Klimka in bewilderment.
• c) "To the gun, lads! Gang!" - Pavel shouted. (N. Ostrovsky).

In quite rare cases, direct speech breaks the words of the author. Then a colon is placed before direct speech (see paragraph 2), and after it - a comma, question mark or exclamation mark (see paragraph 3), for example:

To my question: “Is the old caretaker alive?” - no one could give me a satisfactory answer. (A.S. Pushkin).

If there should be no sign at the break in direct speech or there should be a comma, then the author’s words on both sides are highlighted with commas and a dash. The author’s words and the first word of the second part of direct speech are written with a small letter, for example:

“For us,” Nina said emphatically, “he (Oleg) will now always be Kashuk.” (A. Fadeev).

If there should have been a period where the direct speech broke, then after the direct speech a comma and a dash are placed before the author’s words, and after the author’s words a dot and a dash are placed. The second part of direct speech begins with a capital letter, for example:

“Our presence on the ground at such a tense moment is necessary,” Bartashev concluded. “I’m leaving today.”

(N. Ostrovsky).

“Well, okay, okay!” Valya laughed, “I won’t tell anyone.”

(N. Ostrovsky).

If one part of the author’s words refers to the first half of direct speech, and the other to the second, then a colon and a dash are placed after the author’s words (signs are placed before the author’s words in accordance with the rules set out in paragraph 4 above), for example:

“Fifty thousand?” Gavrila said incredulously, but immediately he got scared and quickly asked, pushing the bales in the boat with his foot: “What kind of thing will this be?” (M. Gorky).

When transmitting dialogue, each line (especially in print) begins on a new line, a dash is placed before the line, and quotation marks are not used:

• -And you, Maxim Maksimych, aren’t you coming?
• -No with.

Why?

Yes, I haven’t seen the commandant yet... (M. Yu. Lermontov).

Less often, the dialogue is formatted differently: the lines are written in a row, in a selection, each of them is placed in quotation marks and separated from the other by a dash. So sometimes the author, in the direct speech of a character, conveys the speech reproduced by this character from the conversation of other characters (the reproducer may or may not be a participant in the conversation being reproduced, but is a witness to it, remember the story about Dubrovsky the robber and the rogue manager who tried to appropriate the money of the landowner, who she forwarded it to her son; A. S. Pushkin, “Dubrovsky”, chapter 9, exactly the indicated technique is used there - as if “direct speech in direct speech”).

When a warning about its inclusion is given before someone else's speech, the direct order is necessarily used: in the first place - the subject (the name of the character), in the second - the predicate (usually verbs with the meaning of speaking and expressions close to them); there is an intonation of explanation that is similar to that observed in non-union sentences; in writing it is indicated by a colon, for example:

The student looked at the sky and continued: “Even from the sky you can see that it’s already autumn...” (A.P. Chekhov, “Mail”).

When the author's indication that the speech belongs to a character is located inside someone else's speech, then the reverse order of subject and predicate is used. These author's words are produced with an introductory intonation, especially if they tear apart one sentence of someone else's speech (see examples in paragraph 4 of the rules for using punctuation marks in direct speech).

The author's remark that comes after someone else's speech also has the reverse order and intonation close to the introductory one; when it is disseminated with other details, it merges with the general narrative tone of the author's message (see examples in paragraph 3).

As for the syntactic expression of someone else's speech itself, it can be extremely diverse depending on the content, and any types of complete and incomplete sentences can be found in it. In direct speech, in contrast to indirect speech, techniques of expressiveness and emotionality can be presented (interjections, addresses, modal words, interrogative and exclamatory sentences, etc.).

INDIRECT SPEECH is the transmission of statements by characters on behalf of the author. Compared to direct speech, indirect speech is secondary and is a processing of the first: in it the grammatical, in particular, syntactic, structure of reproduced utterances undergoes certain changes.

A common feature of indirect speech is that the author’s indication of who the speech belongs to is the main sentence; it comes first and usually has direct word order; the speaking verb found here requires disclosure of the object of speech; it is given in the form of an additional subordinate clause that conveys the content of someone else’s speech. It is convenient to consider the features of indirect speech in comparison with direct speech, the processing of which it represents. These features are as follows.

When replacing direct speech with indirect speech, personal and possessive pronouns, personal forms of verbs are conveyed on behalf of the author, and not the person whose speech is conveyed:

“It’s been a while since I picked up checkers!” - said Chichikov. (N.V. Gogol). (Indirect speech: Chichikov said that he had not picked up checkers for a long time.).

Pavel, leaving home, said to his mother: “On Saturday I will have guests from the city” (M. Gorky). (Indirect speech: Paul, leaving home, told his mother that on Saturday he would have guests from the city.).

If direct speech denotes an impulse, an order, a request and the predicate in it is expressed by a verb in the imperative mood, then when replacing indirect speech it is conveyed by a subordinate explanatory clause with the conjunction so that:

“Let him go (the man),” I whispered in Biryuk’s ear (I. S. Turgenev).

(Indirect speech: I whispered in Biryuk’s ear to let him go.).

If direct speech is an interrogative sentence, then when replacing indirect speech, it is conveyed by an indirect question (with or without a particle through the conjunctions which, which, which, etc.). When asking an indirect question, there is no question mark:

"Have you heard from your son?" - I asked her finally. (I.S. Turgenev). (Indirect speech: I finally asked her if she had heard from her son.).

Indirect speech is less expressive and less emotional than direct speech. Addresses, interjections, and particles present in direct speech are omitted when replacing it with indirect speech. Their meanings can sometimes only be conveyed by other words, more or less close to them in meaning. In this case, an approximate retelling of direct speech is obtained.

The specified norms for the use of personal forms are violated when personal forms of direct speech are transferred into indirect speech without change. The result is a construction that is homogeneous with indirect speech in terms of the conjunctions used and with direct speech in terms of the forms of faces. It is called semi-direct speech and is sometimes used in artistic speech as a feature of colloquial speech. This is Osip’s remark from “The Inspector General”: “The innkeeper said that I won’t give you anything to eat until you pay for what you already have.” (Direct speech: The innkeeper said: “I won’t give you anything to eat until you pay for what was before”).

Someone else's speech can be included in the author's more organically than is the case in direct and indirect speech; the author expresses the thoughts and speech of the characters on his own behalf, conveying their content in his own manner of presentation, only sometimes reproducing certain features of the character’s speech. In such cases, individual words, phrases, sentences from someone else’s speech are included in the author’s speech without any indicators of their belonging to another person. And syntactically, such speech is no different from the author’s. In writing, the included elements of someone else's speech are sometimes placed in quotation marks, but in pronunciation they are not highlighted. This is typical for business styles of speech.

In works of art, elements of someone else's speech can be captured by the stylistic features characteristic of the character; they can be distinguished in pronunciation by underlining, an ironic tone, etc. Such a transmission of someone else’s speech is called free indirect speech, or improper direct speech, which simultaneously characterizes the characters by the nature of their speech and expresses the author’s attitude towards them. Free indirect speech is widely used in works of art for stylistic purposes.

A feature of direct speech compared to indirect speech is that it preserves the transmission of statements on behalf of the character, and not on behalf of the author conveying these statements, which is reflected primarily in the use of personal pronouns and personal forms of the verb. In syntactic terms, direct speech differs from indirect speech in how the character’s statement is linked to the author’s speech: its inclusion in the author’s speech is not accompanied by any restructuring of the reproduced linguistic structures.

Compared to direct speech, indirect speech is secondary and is a processing of the first: in it the grammatical, in particular, syntactic, structure of reproduced utterances undergoes certain changes. A common feature of indirect speech is that the author’s indication of who the speech belongs to is the main sentence; it comes first and usually has direct word order; the speaking verb found here requires disclosure of the object of speech; it is given in the form of an additional subordinate clause that conveys the content of someone else’s speech. Indirect speech is less expressive and less emotional than direct speech. Addresses, interjections, and particles present in direct speech are omitted when replacing it with indirect speech. Their meanings can sometimes only be conveyed by other words, more or less close to them in meaning. In this case, an approximate retelling of direct speech is obtained.

The author's narration may include the speech of another person or the statements and thoughts of the author himself, expressed in a certain situation and conveyed verbatim or in content. The statements of other persons (less often the author himself), included in the author’s narration, form someone else’s speech. Depending. how such a statement is conveyed varies direct speech And indirect speech.

The main criterion for distinguishing between direct and indirect speech is, first of all, that the first, as a rule, literally conveys someone else’s statement, preserving its lexical and phraseological composition, grammatical structure and stylistic features, while the second usually reproduces only the content of the statement, and the original words and expressions speaker, the nature of the construction of his speech changes under the influence of the author's context.
From a syntactic point of view, direct speech retains significant independence, being connected with the author's words only in meaning and intonation, and indirect speech acts as a subordinate clause as part of a complex sentence, in which the role of the main sentence is played by the author's words. These are the most important differences between both methods of transmitting someone else's speech. However, their clear delineation in a number of cases gives way to their convergence, close interaction and crossing.
Thus, direct speech may not convey someone else’s statement verbatim. We sometimes find an indication of this in the author’s words themselves: He said something like this...; He answered something like the following... etc. It is clear that in such cases someone else's speech is reproduced with greater or lesser approximation to accuracy, but not verbatim.
Naturally, we find not a literal translation, but an exact translation in those cases when the speaker expresses himself in a foreign language, and his direct speech is conveyed in Russian: - What? What are you saying? - said Napoleon. - Yes, tell me to give you a horse (L.T.).
On the other hand, indirect speech can literally convey someone else's words, for example, in an indirect question corresponding to an interrogative sentence of direct speech; cf: He asked when the meeting would start. - He asked: “When will the meeting start?”
Sometimes indirect speech differs lexically from direct speech only by the presence of a function word - a conjunction that subordinates the subordinate clause to the main one; Wed; He said that the manuscript had already been edited. - He said, “The manuscript has already been edited”; He asked if everyone was ready to leave. He asked: “Are everyone ready to leave?”
The rapprochement of direct and indirect speech is possible not only from the side of their lexical composition, but also from the side of the syntactic structure, the construction of speech, which in common speech reaches the mixing of both forms of transmitting someone else's statement (the so-called semi-direct speech); Of course, the postmaster and the chairman and even the police chief himself, as usual, made fun of our hero, wondering if he was in love and that we know, they say, that Pavel Ivanovich has a limp in his heart, we know who shot him... (G.).
The same mixed construction is formed in cases where there is no subordinating conjunction, with which indirect speech as a subordinate clause would have to be attached to the author’s words: They objected to him, justifying himself, but he persistently insisted: no one is to blame for anything before him , and everyone is to blame before themselves (M.G.) The absence of a conjunction brings such sentences closer to direct speech, and pronouns indicate indirect speech.

Direct speech is the transmission of someone else's statement, accompanied by the author's words. The latter first of all establish the very fact of someone else’s speech, explain to whom it belongs, and can indicate under what conditions it was spoken, to whom it was addressed, give it an assessment, etc.:
“Hush, children, hush!” - Levin even shouted angrily at the children, standing in front of his wife to protect her, when a crowd of children scattered towards them with squeals of joy (L. T.).
In the absence of the author's words, you can talk about someone else's speech, but not about direct speech: Everyone took their places. “I’m opening the meeting, comrade!” There was silence in the hall. In such a narrative, the author's text characterizes the situation, but does not introduce direct speech.
In relation to the author's words, direct speech acts as an independent sentence, in meaning and intonationally connected with the author's context, together with which it forms one whole, reminiscent of a non-conjunctive complex sentence. In some cases, the connection between direct speech and the author's words is closer and more direct speech resembles a member of the sentence formed by the author's words: We heard: “Help!” (the author’s words do not have semantic completeness, and with a transitive verb an addition is expected; cf.: We heard a call for help); In the silence there was a voice: “Follow me! Attack!" (the author’s words are perceived as an incomplete sentence in which a subject is necessary; cf.: In the silence a call for attack was heard); He made a request: “Give this book to the library” (cf.: He asked to hand over this book to the library - an inconsistent definition with an objective meaning). However, it should be borne in mind that direct speech is a sentence, therefore, when drawing an analogy between it and a member of a sentence, one cannot talk about the identity of these constructions.
In other cases, the analogy with subordinate clauses is closer. These are the constructions in which direct speech is associated with verbs of speech: he said..., he asked..., he answered..., he objected..., etc. When replacing direct speech with indirect speech, a subordinate clause is formed, and not a member of the sentence. From here, however, it does not follow that the combination of the author’s words with direct speech forms a complex sentence: this is a special construction consisting of two independent sentences. As for such cases as Osip’s remark, conveying to Khlestakov the innkeeper’s speech: “You and your master, he says, are swindlers, and your master is a rogue” (G.) - then there is no merging of direct speech and the author’s words into one sentence, so how the word speaks acts in such cases as an introductory word, indicating the source of the message.

Direct speech can be transmitted:
1) a statement by another person, i.e. literally someone else’s words: “Iran, you’re crying again,” Litvinov (T.) began with concern;
2) the words of the speaker himself, spoken earlier: “Why aren’t you going?” - I asked the driver impatiently (P.);
3) unspoken thoughts: “How good, “I hid the revolver in the crow’s nest,” thought Pavel (N. Ostr.).
Author's words can occupy different positions in relation to direct speech:
1) precede direct speech: The overjoyed mother confidently answered: “I’ll find something to say!” (M.G.);
2) follow direct speech: “I will, I will fly!” - it rang and went in Alexey’s head, driving away sleep (B. Pol.);
3) engage in direct speech: “We’ll have to spend the night here,” said Maxim Maksimych, “you can’t cross the mountains in such a snowstorm” (L.);
4) include direct speech: To my question: “Is the old caretaker alive?” - no one could give me a satisfactory answer (P.).
Direct speech is most often associated with verbs of statement or thought contained in the author’s words (speak, say, ask, answer, exclaim, say, object, think, decide, etc.), less often with verbs indicating the nature of speech, its connection with the previous statement (continue, add, conclude, finish, complete, interrupt, interrupt, etc.), with verbs expressing the purpose of speech (ask, order, explain, confirm, complain, agree, etc.), as well as with phrases with nouns close in meaning or formation to verbs of speech (asked a question, heard an answer, heard exclamations, uttered words, heard a whisper, heard a cry, heard a voice, etc.), or with nouns indicating the emergence of a thought (a thought arose, flashed in consciousness, appeared in the mind, etc.). Author's words may contain verbs indicating the action that accompanies the statement; verbs denoting movements, gestures, facial expressions (run, jump up, shake your head, shrug your shoulders, spread your arms, make a grimace, etc.), expressing feelings, sensations, the internal state of the speaker (to be happy, upset, offended, indignant, surprised, laugh, smile, sigh, etc.).
The order of words in direct speech does not depend on its place in relation to the author's words, and the order of words in the author's remark is associated with the place it occupies in relation to direct speech. namely:
1) if the author’s words precede direct speech, then in them there is usually a direct order of the main members of the sentence (the subject precedes the predicate); Zhukhrai flocked to the training machine gun site and, raising his hand, said: “Comrades, we have gathered you for a serious and responsible matter” (N. Ostr.);
2) if the author’s words come after direct speech or are included in it, then the order of the main members of the sentence in them is reversed (the predicate precedes the subject): “Fire! Fire/" - a desperate cry was heard below (Ch.); “Gather, brothers, material for the fire,” I said, picking up some block of wood from the road. “We’ll have to spend the night in the steppe” (M. G.).

Indirect speech is the transmission of someone else's speech in the form of a subordinate clause: Gurov told. that he is a Muscovite, a philologist by training, but works in a bank; once prepared to sing in a private opera, but gave up, has two houses in Moscow (Ch.).
The subordinate clause containing indirect speech follows the main one and is attached to the predicate of the latter using conjunctions and relative words characteristic of explanatory subordinate clauses: what, so that, as if, as if, who, what, which, which. whose, how. where, where, where, why, why, etc.
A conjunction that indicates the transfer of a real fact and is used when replacing a narrative sentence of direct speech: They said that Kuban was preparing an uprising against the Volunteer Army... (School.)
The conjunctions seem to give indirect speech a tinge of uncertainty, doubt about the truth of the conveyed content:... Some said that he was the unfortunate son of rich parents... (L. T.).
The conjunction so is used when replacing an incentive sentence of direct speech:... Tell the groom not to give oats to his horses (G.). Also in some cases, with a negative predicate of the main sentence: No one could say that they had ever seen him at some evening (G.).
Relative words who, what, which, food, where, etc. are used when replacing the interrogative sentence of direct speech, i.e. interrogative pronominal words are retained in the role of interrogative-relative: Korchagin repeatedly asked me when he could check out (N. Ostr. ). Such a subordinate clause is called an indirect question. An indirect question is expressed using the conjunction particle whether, if the question in direct speech was expressed without pronominal words: The mother asked a worker working in the field how far it was to the tar factory (M.G.).
In indirect speech, personal and possessive pronouns and persons of the verb are used from the point of view of the author (i.e. the person conveying the indirect speech), and not the person to whom the direct speech belongs. Addresses, interjections, emotional particles present in direct speech are omitted in indirect speech; the meanings they express and the expressive coloring of speech are conveyed only approximately by other lexical means.
The introduction of modal particles into indirect speech, say, de, they say, etc., allows us to preserve in it some shades of direct speech: The servant... reported to his master that, they say, Andrei Gavrilovich did not listen and did not want to return (P).
Sometimes in indirect speech the literal expressions of someone else’s speech are preserved (in writing this is shown with the help of quotation marks): From Petrushka they heard only the smell of living quarters, and from Selifan that “he performed government service, but previously served at customs,” and nothing more (G. ).

Someone else's speech can also be expressed by a special technique called improperly direct speech. Its essence lies in the fact that it, to one degree or another, preserves the lexical and syntactic features of someone else’s statement, the manner of speech of the speaker, the emotional coloring characteristic of direct speech, but it is conveyed not on behalf of the character, but on behalf of the author, the narrator. In this case, the author expresses the thoughts and feelings of his hero, merges his speech with his own speech. As a result, a two-dimensionality of the statement is created: the “inner” speech of the character, his thoughts, moods are conveyed (and in this sense, he “speaks”), but the author speaks for him.
Indirect speech is similar to indirect speech in that it also replaces the persons of the verb and pronouns; it can take the form of a subordinate clause.
The difference between direct, indirect and improperly direct speech is shown by the following comparison:
1) direct speech. Everyone remembered this evening, repeating “How good and fun we had!”;
2) indirect speech: Everyone remembered this evening, repeating that they had a good time and had fun;
3) improperly direct speech: Everyone remembered that evening. How good and fun they had!
From a syntactic point of view, improperly spicy speech is:
1) as part of a complex sentence: The fact that Lyubka stayed in the city was especially pleasant. Seryozha Lyubka was a desperate girl, at home (Fed.),
2) as an independent, independent proposal:
When my grandmother died, they put her in a long, narrow coffin and covered her eyes, which did not want to close, with two nickels. Before her death, she was alive and was carrying soft bagels sprinkled with poppy seeds from the market, but now she is sleeping, sleeping... (H).
The most characteristic type of improperly direct speech is the form of interrogative and exclamatory sentences, which stand out in emotional and intonation terms against the background of the author’s narration:
She could not help but admit that he liked her very much; Probably, he too, with his intelligence and experience, could have already noticed that she distinguished him: how come she had not yet seen him at her feet and had not yet heard his confession? What was holding him back? Shyness.. pride or coquetry of a cunning red tape? It was a mystery to her (P.); Nikolai Rostov turned away and, as if looking for something, began to look at the distance, at the water of the Danube, at the sky, at the sun. How beautiful the sky seemed, how blue, calm and deep! How tenderly and glossily the water shone in the distant Danube! (T)
The interaction of individual methods of conveying someone else's speech allows, for stylistic purposes, to combine them in one text: He [the provincial] is angrily silent when making such comparisons, and sometimes he dares to say. that such and such material or such and such wine can be obtained from them better and cheaper, and that such and such wine can be obtained from overseas rarities. they won’t even look at these big crayfish and shells and red fish, and it’s free, they say, for you to buy various materials and trinkets from foreigners. they rip you off, and you are glad to be boobies (Gonch).

Unlike direct speech indirect speech conveys someone else’s statement on behalf of the author and reproduces it not verbatim, but only preserving the general content (although in some cases indirect speech may approach verbatim reproduction of someone else's speech). For example: 1) Grushnitsky came to me at six o’clock in the evening and announced that his uniform would be ready tomorrow, just in time for the ball (M. Lermontov). 2) However, the visitor did not ask all empty questions; he asked with extreme precision who the governor of the city was, who the chairman of the chamber was, who the prosecutor was (N. Gogol).

Differences between direct and indirect speech clearly manifest themselves when translating direct speech into indirect. The changes affect the grammatical structure, vocabulary, and the emotional side of other people's statements.

1. Syntactically indirect speech is formalized as a complex sentence with an explanatory clause. The main sentence (it comes first) is formed by the words of the author (their circle is somewhat narrower than in direct speech). The subordinate clause conveys the content of someone else’s speech and joins the main clause with the help of a conjunction What(when narrating), conjunction to(when expressing motivation), allied words (relative pronouns or adverbs) who, what, where, when, how much etc. and the conjunction-particle whether(when expressing a question). For example:

a) If direct speech is expressed by a declarative sentence, then when replacing indirect it is conveyed by an explanatory subordinate clause with a conjunction What.

b) If direct speech is an incentive sentence (expresses an impulse, request, order) and the predicate in it is expressed by a verb in the imperative mood, then when replacing indirect speech it is conveyed by a subordinate clause with a conjunction to.

Direct speech, in which the predicate is expressed in the imperative mood of the verb, can also be conveyed by a simple sentence with an addition in the indefinite form.

c) If direct speech is an interrogative sentence, then when replacing indirect it is conveyed by a complex sentence with an explanatory clause with a particle whether or using conjunctive words which, which, what, where, where, how etc. (Such constructions are called indirect questions; There is no question mark after an indirect question.)

2. When replacing direct speech indirect personal and possessive pronouns, as well as personal forms of verbs, are conveyed on behalf of the author, the narrator, and not on behalf of the person whose speech is transmitted.

3. Addresses, interjections, and particles present in direct speech are omitted when replacing it with indirect speech. Their meanings can sometimes only be conveyed by other words, more or less close to them in meaning. In this case, an approximate retelling of direct speech is obtained (only the content is conveyed, not the form of direct speech).

Not every direct speech is easy to turn into indirect. Direct speech, rich in interjections, introductory words, appeals and words characteristic of oral speech, cannot be replaced indirect speech. For example: 1) In despair, Marya Vasilievna just threw up her hands and said: “Oh, Semyon, Semyon! What kind of person are you, really!..” (A. Chekhov). 2) “Ugh, you’re an abyss!- He [Yermolai] muttered, spitting into the water.- What an opportunity! And that’s all you, old devil!”- he added with heart... (I. Turgenev).

Literally introduced into the author’s speech (speaker or writer). Unlike indirect speech, it preserves the individual and stylistic features of the speech of the person whose statement is reproduced: dialectal features, repetitions, pauses, introductory words, etc. Direct speech is introduced without conjunctions, personal pronouns, verb forms indicate the attitude towards the speaker’s person, for example : "You said, 'I'll be back late.'" For comparison in indirect speech: “You said that you would be back late.” Typically, direct speech is highlighted in the text with quotation marks or given in a separate paragraph, at the beginning of which a dash is placed. Direct speech as its variety includes quotations.

Designations:

Author's words before direct speech

• The period is behind the quotation marks.

Sidorov said: “I’ll be back late.”

• The exclamation mark and question mark remain in quotation marks.

The wolf shouted: “Well, wait a minute!”

The author's words break direct speech

All direct speech is placed in quotation marks. A dot and a dash are placed between the author’s words and the second part. Otherwise the rules are the same.

“I’ll be late,” Sidorov said. “Go to bed peacefully.” “Well, hare! - the wolf shouted. - Wait for it!"

Dialogue

There are no quotation marks (even if one contains the words of the author). Each replica begins on a new line and is preceded by a dash.

- Who's there? “It’s me, postman Pechkin,” came the answer. - I brought a note about your boy.

If there are two direct speeches in one sentence, each with its own verb, then a dash is placed before the second direct speech, in addition to other punctuation marks.

“Let’s go, it’s cold,” Makarov said and asked gloomily: “Why are you silent?”(Bitter). (compare: “Let’s go, it’s cold,” said Makarov and asked gloomily: “Why are you silent?”)

Line-by-line dialogue

Short (2-3 lines) dialogues are allowed to be written in one line. Such dialogues are written according to the usual rules of direct speech, but the lines are separated from each other by a dash.

- Who's there? - asked Uncle Fyodor. - It's me!

Are not direct speech

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See what “Direct speech” is in other dictionaries:

DIRECT SPEECH- someone’s statement, literally introduced into the author’s speech (speaker or writer); Wed Indirect speech … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Direct speech- DIRECT SPEECH. See Indirect speech... Dictionary of literary terms

Direct speech- DIRECT, oh, oh; straight, straight, straight, straight and straight. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Direct speech- (from Latin oratio recta) - one of the ways of transmitting someone else’s speech (see) - the speech of a person reproduced verbatim, framed as a relatively independent sentence and introduced into the text with the words of another person - the author of this text, so ... ... Stylistic encyclopedic dictionary of the Russian language

direct speech- Reproduction of a statement on behalf of the person by whom it was made, accompanied by the author's words (see author's words). In relation to the author’s words, direct speech acts as an independent sentence, only in meaning and... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

direct speech- a syntactic way of introducing someone else's speech into the text. Constructions with direct speech include someone else’s speech itself and the words of the author, which can precede it, follow it and be included inside; depending on this design in different ways... ... Literary encyclopedia

direct speech- someone’s statement, literally introduced into the author’s speech (speaker or writer); Wed Indirect speech. * * * DIRECT SPEECH DIRECT SPEECH, someone’s statement, literally introduced into the author’s speech (speaker or writer); Wed Indirect speech (see... encyclopedic Dictionary

Direct speech- (lat. oratio recta) verbatim reproduction of someone else’s statement, accompanied by a commentary remark from the speaker (“the words of the author”). Unlike syntactically organized indirect speech, P. r. is built on the principle of free parataxis... Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary

Direct speech- someone’s statement, literally introduced into the author’s speech (speaker or writer). Unlike indirect speech (See Indirect speech), it preserves the individual and stylistic features of the speech of the person whose statement is reproduced: ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

direct speech- 1) The speech of another person, transmitted verbatim, regardless of the speech of the person serving as the transmitter. 2) A linguistic means used in artistic speech, journalistic, conversational styles, where there is an orientation towards expressive capabilities... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

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• Direct speech, Seleznev G., This book presents a wonderful portrait of a statesman, politician, journalist, family man Gennady Nikolaevich Seleznev, created by people who knew him well. From the heart… Category:

Indirect and direct speech in Englishare used to transmit information received from another person. Thisdirect and indirect speech in Englishdo not differ from their counterparts in Russian. However, they differ in other respects.

Direct speech

Direct speech, or direct speech, expresses a person’s phrase verbatim; it is a quotation or conveyance of the essence of a phrase spoken by another person on his behalf.

As in Russian, direct speech in English is framed by quotation marks, but “upper” quotation marks, called English double quotation marks, are used. Instead of a colon before the words of the author at the beginning or a comma and a dash at the end, in English one simple comma is used. The period at the end of the sentence is placed before the closing quotation mark, and not after, as in Russian.

Sentence schemes with direct speech:

Examples

The postman said, “I will deliver this letter tomorrow.” - The postman said: “I will deliver this letter tomorrow.”

She asked, “Do you feel comfortable here?” - She asked: “Are you comfortable here?”

“I will not accept his apology,” she said. “I won’t accept his apology,” she said.

Indirect speech

Reported speech (Indirect speech), or indirect speech, is speech that is not conveyed word for word, but only in content, in the form of additional subordinate clauses, without preserving the author’s style.

All sentences that have indirect speech are complex, where the author’s words are used in the main clause, and indirect speech itself is used in the subordinate clause. Question and exclamation marks are not used in indirect speech. There is no comma after the words of the author in English.

Sentence diagram with indirect speech:

Examples

The postman said he would deliver that letter the next day. - The postman said that he would deliver this letter the next day.

She asks when you'll be free. - She asks when you will be free.

He said (that) they liked everything very much. - He said (that) they liked everything very much.

All offers indirect speech in Englishcan be translated into sentences in indirect speech. But if the main clause is in the past tense, the subordinate clause must also change its tense to the appropriate one. The rule for coordinating times works here.

Example

A sentence with direct speech needs to be translated into a sentence with indirect speech:

He said, “I have never been to South Korea.” “He said, 'I've never been to South Korea.'

The main part of this sentence is in the Past Simple, the subordinate clause is in the Present Perfect. In indirect speech, it will be translated into Past Perfect according to the rule of the English language: if the verb in the main clause is used in the past tense, subordinate clauses are formed only by past or future forms in the past.

Thus, the result of translating the example sentence from direct speech to indirect speech will look like this:

He said that he had never been to South Korea. - He said that (he) had never been to South Korea.

Changes that have taken place:

• The verb has moved from Present Perfect to Past Perfect.
• The pronoun has changed.

Indirect speech in English - tablecoordination of times

When time coordination is not required

Cases when the offer andstraight, and inremains at the same time:

• If in direct speech the main sentence is in the form of present (Present Simple or Present Perfect) or future (Future Simple) tense, then the verb in indirect speech (in a subordinate clause) remains in the same tense as it was in direct speech.

Examples

She says, “I want to go for a walk.” - She says: “I want to go for a walk.”
=>
She says that she wants to go for a walk - She says she wants to go for a walk.

I will just say, “You made a huge mistake.” “I'll just say, 'You made a huge mistake.'
=>
I will just say that he made a huge mistake. - I'll just say that he made a huge mistake.

• If the subordinate clause is in the Past Pefect, then in indirect speech its tense does not change.

Examples

My friend said to me, “I had known you before we were introduced to each other.” - My friend told me: “I knew you before we were introduced to each other.”
=>
My friend told me that he had known me before we were introduced to each other. - My friend told me that he knew me before we were introduced to each other.

Mom said, “Tom was tired because he had studied hard.” - Mom said: “Tom is tired because he studied a lot.”
=>
Mom said that Tom had been tired because he had studied hard. - Mom said that Tom was tired because he studied a lot.

• If the main sentence is Past Perfect Continuous, then in indirect speech the tense of the verb does not change.

Examples

My wife said, “We had been dating for 3 years before we got married.” - My wife said: “We dated for 3 years before we got married.”
=>
My wife said that we had been dating for 3 years before we had got married. - My wife said that we dated for 3 years before we got married.

She said, “We had not been traveling till he graduated from the university.” “She said, 'We didn't travel until he graduated from university.'
=>
She said that they had not been traveling till he had graduated from the university. - She said they didn't travel until he graduated from university.

• If the main clause is in the Past Simple, then in indirect speech the tense of the verb in some cases may not change, which is typical for colloquial speech. When using such temporary designations as the day before (the day before), two years before (two years before), etc., it is preferable to use the Past Perfect.

Examples

They said, “We went to the cinema and watched a film.” - They said: “We went to the cinema and watched a film.”
=>
They said that they went to the cinema and watched a film. - They said that they went to the cinema and watched a film.

She said, “I had a cold a week ago.” - She said: “A week ago I had a cold.”
=>
She said that she had had a cold the week before. - She said that a week before she had a cold.

• If the subordinate clause is in the Past Continuous, then in colloquial speech the tense of the verb may not change.

Example

He said, “I was playing tennis when she called me.” - He said: “I was playing tennis when she called me.”
=>
He said that he was playing tennis when she called him. - He said he was playing tennis when she called him.

Translation of modal verbs fromdirect to indirect speech in English

Direct speech: Will => Indirect speech: Would

Example

The doctor said, “You will get the result of your blood test tomorrow.” - The doctor said: “You will get the result of your blood test tomorrow.”
=>
The doctor said that I would get the result of my blood test the next day. - The doctor said that I will receive the result of my blood test the next day.

Direct speech: Can => Indirect speech: Could

Example

The assistant said, “I can check it for you.” - The assistant said: “I can check this for you.”
=>
The assistant said that he could check it for me. - The assistant said he could check it for me.

Direct speech: May => Indirect speech: Might

Example

She said to me, “I may come, too.” “She told me: “Maybe I’ll come too.”
=>
She told me that she might come too. “She told me that maybe she’ll come too.”

Direct speech: Shall => Indirect speech: Should(suggestions, request for advice, etc.)
Direct speech: Shall => Indirect speech: Would(when talking about the future tense)

Examples

She asked, “Shall I open the window?” - She asked: “Maybe I’ll open the window?”
=>
She asked if she should open the window. - She asked if she should open the window.

Somebody said, “I will be there at this time.” - Someone said: “I will be there at this time.”
=>
Somebody said that he would be there at that time. - Someone said he would be there at that time.

Modal verbs that remain unchanged during translationdirect speech to indirect

• Modal verbs in the past tense:would, could, had to, might.

Example

They said, “There was nothing we could do about that.” “They said, 'We couldn't do anything about it.'
=>
They said that there had been nothing they could do about that. - They said they couldn't do anything about it.

• Modal verbsought to, needn"t, must.

Example

He said, “They must be late.” - He said: “They must be late.”
=>
He said that they must be late. - He said they must be late.

Features of translating the verb to say into indirect speech

If in a sentence introducing direct speech, the verb to say is used without mentioning the person to whom the speech is addressed, then say is retained in indirect speech. If there is such a person, then say changes to the verb tell.

Examples

He said, “Our team lost the game.” - He said: “Our team lost.”
=>
He said that their team had lost the game. - He said that their team lost.

She said to me, “I will wait for you outside.” “She told me: “I’ll wait for you outside.”
=>
She told me that she would wait for me outside. - She said she would wait for me outside.

Changing pronouns during translationdirect speech to indirect speech in English

When forming sentences in indirect speech, pronouns change according to the meaning of the phrase.

Personal pronouns (nominative case):

I => he / she
You => I / he / she
We => they
He / she / it / they => do not change

Personal pronouns (objective case):

Me => him/her
You => me / him / her
Us => them
Him / her / it / them => do not change

Possessive pronouns:

My => his / her
Your => my / his / her
Our => their
His / her / its / their => do not change

Demonstrative pronouns:

This => that
These => those

Example

He said, “I like these shoes.” - He said: “I like these shoes.”
=>
He said that he liked those shoes. - He said he liked those shoes.

How do time indicators change inindirect speech in English

It all depends on the specific situation and the time that is used. For example, in direct speech the author talks about “now,” but if the sentence is in the past tense with indirect speech, then “now” is replaced by “then.”

now (now) => then (then)
here (here) => there (there)
today (today) => that day (on that day)
tomorrow (tomorrow) => the next day (the next day)
the day after tomorrow (the day after tomorrow) => two days later (two days later)
yesterday (yesterday) => the day before (the day before)
the day before yesterday (the day before yesterday) => two days before (two days earlier)
next week / month (next week / next month) => the next week / month (next week / next month)
next year (for next year) => the next year / the following year (for next year)
last week / month (last week / last month) => the previous week / month (week / month before)
last year (last year) => the year before (the year before)
ago (back) => before (before that)

Example

He said, “We will meet next week.” - He said: “We will meet next week.”
=>
He said that they would meet the next week. - He said that they would meet next week.

Types of sentences in indirect speech in English

Declarative sentence

To summarize, it can be noted that to translate a declarative sentence with direct speech into a sentence with indirect speech, you need to take 4 steps.

• Remove the quotation marks and use the conjunction that. In colloquial speech and sometimes in writing, the conjunction can be omitted.

She said, “I will buy a dress.” - She said: “I’ll buy a dress.”
=>
She said that... - She said that...

• Change the character. In direct speech, a person speaks on his own behalf; in indirect speech, the person will be changed. So, if you need to convey the words of a girl, instead of “I” the pronoun “she” will be used.

She said that she...

• Agree the tense because in English you cannot use the past tense in the same sentence as the present or future tense. If a person’s words are being conveyed at the present moment, then there is no need to coordinate times. To reconcile the first and second parts of the sentence in the example above, we change will to would.

She said that she would buy a dress.

• Change the clarifying parts of the sentence according to the meaning.

She said, “I am driving now.” - She said: “I’m driving now.”

When conveying these words, not now (now), but then (then) will be used, since we will be talking about a point in time in the past when she was driving.

She said that she was driving then.

Also in the following example:

He said, “I work here.” - He said: “I work here.”

If the person delivering this line is in the same building where he works, then there is no need to replace the word.

He said that he worked here. - He said he works here.

If the person delivering the remark talks about this in another place, then he uses there (there), and not here (here).

He said that he worked there. - He said he works there.

How can you replace say and ask in indirect speech?

Some verbs that can be used to convey indirect speech to avoid the constant repetition of the verbs say and ask:

Agree(agree)

He said, “Ok, I was wrong.” “He said, 'OK, I was wrong.'
=>
He agreed that he had been wrong. - He agreed that he was wrong.

Claim(declare)

He said, “I saw a UFO.” - He said: “I saw a UFO.”
=>
He claimed that he had seen a UFO. - He stated that he saw a UFO.

Complain(complain)

She said, “You never share any secrets with me!” - She said: “You never share secrets with me!”
=>
She complained that I never shared any secrets with her. - She complained that I never share secrets with her .

Admit(to acknowledge)

She said, “I was really unfriendly to him.” “She said, 'I was really unfriendly to him.'
=>
She admitted that she had been unfriendly to him. - She admitted that she was unfriendly towards him.

Deny(deny)

He said, “I didn’t break your favorite cup!” - He said: “I didn’t break your favorite cup!”
=>
He denied that he had broken the cup. - He denied breaking the cup.

Exclaim(exclaim)

She said, “I am so happy!” - She said: “I’m so happy!”
=>
She exclaimed that she was very happy. - She exclaimed that she was very happy.

Explain(explain)

He said, “You see, there’s no point in going there right now.” “He said, 'You see, there's no point in going there right now.'
=>
He explained that there was no point in going there at that moment. “He explained that at that moment there was no point in going there.

Recommend(advise)

She said, “You’d better stay at home.” - She said: “You better stay at home.”
=>
She recommended that we stayed at home. - She advised us to stay at home.

Prove(prove)

He said, “See, the system works.” - He said: “You see, the system works.”
=>
He proved that the system worked. - He proved that the system works.

Insist(insist)

They said, “You need to be present at the meeting.” “They said, 'You must attend the meeting.'
=>
They insisted that I need to be present at the meeting. - They insisted that I should attend the meeting.

Regret(regret)

She said, “If only I could go on a vacation this year.” - She said: “If only I could go on holiday this year...”
=>
She regretted that she couldn’t go on a vacation this year. - She regretted that she would not be able to go on vacation this year.

State(approve)

Witness said, “I have never seen the young man before.” - The witness said: “I have never seen this young man before.”
=>
The witness stated that he had never seen the young man before. - The witness claimed that he had never seen this young man before.

Promise(promise)

Dad said, “I will be back no later than eight o’clock.” - Dad said: “I’ll be back no later than 8 o’clock.”
=>
Dad promised that he would be back no later than eight o’clock. - Dad promised that he would return no later than 8 o’clock.

Suggest(suggest)

He said, “Shall we spend the evening together?” - He said: “Shall we spend the evening together?”
=>
He suggested that they spent the evening together. - He suggested spending the evening together.

Assert(approve)

Scientists said, “Nuclear power is a safe and non-polluting kind of energy.” - Scientists said: “Nuclear energy is a safe and environmentally friendly form of energy.”
=>
The scientists asserted that nuclear power was a safe and non-polluting kind of energy. - Scientists have argued that nuclear energy is a safe and environmentally friendly form of energy.

Contend(declare)

Astronomers said, “The Earth may be much younger than previously thought.” - Astronomers said: “The Earth may be much younger than previously thought.”
=>
Some astronomers contend that the Earth may be much younger than previously thought. - Some astronomers argue that the Earth may be much younger than previously thought.

Interrogative sentence

General issues

General questions in indirect speech are attached to the main clause using the conjunctions if or whether. The word order of an interrogative sentence changes to the word order of a declarative sentence.

Examples

She asked, “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” - She asked: “Do you have plans for the weekend?”
=>
She asked if I had any plans for the weekend. - She asked if I had plans for the weekend.

They asked, “Will you visit us tomorrow?” - They asked: “Will you come to us tomorrow?”
=>
They asked whether we would visit them the next day. - They asked if we would come to them the next day.

She asked, “Can you give them a call?” - She asked: “Can you call them?”
=>
She asked if I could give them a call. - She asked if I could call them.

When translating answers to general questions into indirect speech, the words yes and no are omitted.

Examples

She asked, “Do you want another cup of tea?” - She asked: “Do you want another cup of tea?”
I said, “No, I don't.” - I answered: “No, I don’t want to.”
=> She asked if I wanted another cup of tea. - She asked if I would like another cup of tea.
I answered that I didn't. - I answered that I didn't want to.

Special questions

Special questions begin with the question words what (what), when (when), how (how), why (why), where (where), which (which). When translating special questions into indirect speech, the word order is the same as in a narrative sentence, and the question word is used to attach a subordinate clause to the main one.

Examples

She asked, “What time does the train arrive?” - She asked: “What time does the train arrive?”
=>
She asked what time the train arrived. - She asked what time the train arrives.

He asked, “When did you come?” - He asked: “When did you come?”
=>
He asked when I had come. - He asked when I arrived.

I asked him, “How old are you?” - I asked him: “How old are you?”
=>
I asked him how old he was. - I asked how old he was.

She asks, “Where will you go?” - She asks: “Where are you going?”
=>
She asks where we will go. - She asks where we will go.

Imperative mood in indirect speech

If sentences in direct speech are imperative, then inindirect speech in EnglishThese sentences are translated using an infinitive verb.

Example

Mom said, “Go home!” - Mom said: “Go home!”
=>
Mom said to go home. - Mom said to go home.

If the sentence in the imperative mood is negative, then the negative particle not is placed before the infinitive.

Example

She said to me, “Don’t touch my clothes.” “She told me: “Don’t touch my things.”
=>
She asked me not to touch her clothes. - She asked me not to touch her things.

If direct speech expresses an order, then the verb to say is replaced by the verbs to tell, to order.

Examples

The officer said, “Don’t move!” - The officer said: “Don’t move!”
=>
The officer ordered not to move. - The officer ordered not to move.

He said, “Listen to what I am saying!” - He said: “Listen to what I say!”
=>
He told me to listen to what he was saying. - He told me to listen to what he said.

If direct speech expresses a request, then the verb to say is replaced by the verb to ask.

Example

Mother said, “Be careful!” - Mom said: “Be careful!”
=>
Mother asked to be careful. - Mom asked to be careful.

In a subordinate clause in direct speech, it is possible to use incentive words that express an order or request. When translated into indirect speech, they are not preserved.

She said, “Please, don't laugh at him!” - She said: " Please , don't laugh at him!
=>
She asked not to laugh at him. - She asked not to laugh at him.

Conveying the author's words without usingindirect speech in English

In some cases, it is possible to convey the words of another person not using indirect speech structures, but in an alternative way.

Examples

He said, “Hello everyone!” - He said: “Hello everyone!”
=>
He greeted everyone. - He said hello to everyone.

She said, “Yes.” - She said: “Yes.”
=>
She agreed. / She confirmed. - She agreed. / She confirmed.

She says, “No.” - She says: “No.”
=>
She doesn’t agree (disagrees). / She denies. - She doesn't agree. She denies.

He said, “I don’t want to answer.” - He said: “I don’t want to answer.”
=>
He refused to answer. - He refused to answer.