Indirect Speech Review

When reporting the words spoken by a person, a speaker or writer has two options:

Report the Speech Directly (called Direct Speech)
- A form of reporting in which the exact words of the speaker are recorded.
- In English, a speech act which is direct is marked with quotation marks.
Report the Speech Indirectly (called Indirect Speech)
- A form of reporting in which the words of the speaker are paraphrased or described.
- In English, an act of speech which is indirect is never marked with quotation marks.

The following example demonstrates this difference, using one type of indirect speech (the statement):

Direct Statement vs. Indirect Statement

Direct Statement

The general said, "We will attack at dawn."

Indirect Statement

The general said that we would attack at dawn.

Below is a review of the three main types of indirect speech: statements, questions and commands. Please review this material carefully before continuing in the course.

Indirect Speech Acts
Type	Structure	Direct Version - English	Indirect Version - English	Latin
Statement	Reports a statement Accusative subject + infinitive verb	He says, "I did it."	He says that he did it.	Dicit se id fecisse.
Question	Reports a question Interrogative + subjunctive verb	He wonders, "Who did it?"	He wonders who did it.	Miratur quis id fecerit.
Command	Reports a command ut/ne + subjunctive verb	He says, "Let them do it."	He tells us to do it.	Imperat nobis ut id faciamus.