Indirect speech
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, indirect or reported speech (also indirect discourse; Latin
) is a way of reporting a statement or question. A reported question is called an indirect question. Unlike direct speech
, indirect speech does not phrase the statement or question the way the original speaker did; instead, certain grammatical categories
are changed. In addition, indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation mark
s.
Person
is changed when the person speaking and the person quoting the speech are different.
In English
, tense
is changed. In other languages, mood
is altered. Latin
switches from indicative to the infinitive
(statement) or the subjunctive
(question).
) is changed. There are two reference points: the point in time and the person currently speaking. A change of time causes a change in tense, and a change in speaker may cause a change in person.
In the first sentence, the reference point changes from present to past: the original speaker sees the rain pouring down, but the narrator is referring to a past event.
In the second and third sentence, the reference point changes from one person to another. In the third example, the reference point moves from the person who intends to come to the party to the one throwing the party.
This explanation, however, cannot be generalised. It does not account for the change of mood in Latin and German. In Japanese
, among other languages, the speaker is free to change the pronoun or leave it as is.
can express indirect statements and indirect questions. An indirect statement or question can serve in the place of the direct object of a verb related to thought or communication.
An indirect statement is expressed by changing the case of the subject noun phrase from nominative to accusative and by replacing the main verb with an infinitive (without changing its voice or tense).
In the case of predication via a copula
(typically esse),the case of the predicate adjective or noun changes from nominative to accusative.
An indirect question is expressed by changing the mood of the main verb from indicative to subjunctive. It is normally appropriate to retain the word that introduces the question.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, indirect or reported speech (also indirect discourse; Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) is a way of reporting a statement or question. A reported question is called an indirect question. Unlike direct speech
Direct speech
Direct or quoted speech is a sentence that reports speech or thought in its original form, as phrased by the first speaker. It is usually enclosed in quotation marks...
, indirect speech does not phrase the statement or question the way the original speaker did; instead, certain grammatical categories
Grammatical category
A grammatical category is a semantic distinction which is reflected in a morphological paradigm. Grammatical categories can have one or more exponents. For instance, the feature [number] has the exponents [singular] and [plural] in English and many other languages...
are changed. In addition, indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation mark
Quotation mark
Quotation marks or inverted commas are punctuation marks at the beginning and end of a quotation, direct speech, literal title or name. Quotation marks can also be used to indicate a different meaning of a word or phrase than the one typically associated with it and are often used to express irony...
s.
Person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
is changed when the person speaking and the person quoting the speech are different.
In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
is changed. In other languages, mood
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
is altered. Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
switches from indicative to the infinitive
Infinitive
In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives...
(statement) or the subjunctive
Subjunctive mood
In grammar, the subjunctive mood is a verb mood typically used in subordinate clauses to express various states of irreality such as wish, emotion, possibility, judgment, opinion, necessity, or action that has not yet occurred....
(question).
Reference point
Grammatical forms may change when the reference point (origoOrigo
In pragmatics, the origo is the reference point on which deictic relationships are based. In most deictic systems, the origo identifies with the current speaker . For instance, if the speaker, John, were to say "This is now my fish", then John would be the origo, and the deictic word "my" would be...
) is changed. There are two reference points: the point in time and the person currently speaking. A change of time causes a change in tense, and a change in speaker may cause a change in person.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech | Altered grammatical categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It hard." | He said that it hard. | |
| 2. | " the ceiling blue." | He said that the ceiling blue. | , |
| 3. | " will come to party." | He says that will come to party. | (twice) |
In the first sentence, the reference point changes from present to past: the original speaker sees the rain pouring down, but the narrator is referring to a past event.
In the second and third sentence, the reference point changes from one person to another. In the third example, the reference point moves from the person who intends to come to the party to the one throwing the party.
This explanation, however, cannot be generalised. It does not account for the change of mood in Latin and German. In Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, among other languages, the speaker is free to change the pronoun or leave it as is.
Latin
Latin grammarLatin grammar
The grammar of Latin, like that of other ancient Indo-European languages, is highly inflected; consequently, it allows for a large degree of flexibility in choosing word order...
can express indirect statements and indirect questions. An indirect statement or question can serve in the place of the direct object of a verb related to thought or communication.
An indirect statement is expressed by changing the case of the subject noun phrase from nominative to accusative and by replacing the main verb with an infinitive (without changing its voice or tense).
- Ego amo libertatem.
- Dicit me amare libertatem.
- Rex dedit omnibus leges.
- Credo regem dedisse omnibus leges.
- Videbimus permulta cras.
- Speras nos videturus esse permulta cras.
- Tertium non datur.
- Docuit philosophus tertium non dari.
- In Senatu imperator interfectus est.
- Audivi imperatorem in Senatu interfectum esse.
In the case of predication via a copula
Copula
In linguistics, a copula is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate . The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a link or tie that connects two different things.A copula is often a verb or a verb-like word, though this is not universally the case...
(typically esse),the case of the predicate adjective or noun changes from nominative to accusative.
- Ego sum felix.
- Dicit me esse felicem.
An indirect question is expressed by changing the mood of the main verb from indicative to subjunctive. It is normally appropriate to retain the word that introduces the question.