What is Direct and Indirect Speech with Examples?

Direct and indirect speech are two different ways of reporting spoken or written language. Let's delve into the details and provide some examples.

Direct Speech

Direct speech refers to the exact words someone said, often (but not always) enclosed in quotation marks. It is also known as quoted speech or direct discourse. This method is useful when you want to convey someone's words verbatim.
For example:
Sarah said, "I'm feeling very happy today.""It's a beautiful day," commented John.In these examples, the words within the quotation marks are exactly what the speaker said.

Indirect Speech

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech or indirect discourse, is when you report what someone said, but not in their exact words. You're paraphrasing their words. When you use indirect speech, you don't use quotation marks.
For example:
Sarah said that she was feeling very happy that day.John commented that it was a beautiful day.In these examples, you're reporting the essence of what the speaker said, but not using their exact words.
It's also worth noting that in indirect speech, verb tenses, pronouns, and words expressing time and place may need to change to reflect the shift in perspective.
Here is an example:
Direct speech: He said, "I am going to the store now."Indirect speech: He said that he was going to the store then.
Notice how "am" changed to "was" and "now" changed to "then". This is because the time and context have shifted from when the speaker originally spoke to when the speaker's words were reported.
Click here if you want to read more about direct and indirect speech.