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ESL forum > Ask for help > Reported Speech into Direct Speech    

Reported Speech into Direct Speech



butterfly.pt
Portugal

Reported Speech into Direct Speech
 
Hello everyone!!!
 
I`m quite puzzled with a grammar question and I need your help.
 
How do I make Direct Speech sentences into Indirect Speech, like for instance in the following example:
 
              
                  Kitty said that she was very happy.
 
Thanks for your help!!!

10 Feb 2011      





imanito
Morocco

you just have to reverse the rule. 

kitty said,"I am very happy."

when the reporting verb, which is "said" in this case, is in the past, the tense changes,for example, John said,"I bought a car yesterday." so the indirect form of this sentence is : John said that he had bought a car the day before. 
so the rule here is : simple past becomes past perfect. and if they give you the indirect form first and they tell you to change it into direct form, you reverse the rule; that is, past perfect becomes simple past.

for further understanding, check this article http://www.english-for-students.com/IndirecttoDirectSpeech.html


10 Feb 2011     



butterfly.pt
Portugal

Thanks a bunch, Imanito!

Your explanation really helped me :) I`m really grateful for your help!!!!

10 Feb 2011