Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech with Tenses • Englishilm

Direct and indirect speech helps us report what someone said in two ways. In direct speech, we use the speaker’s exact words with quotation marks. In indirect speech, we convey the meaning of the statement while making necessary changes to tense, pronouns, and word order. Understanding these differences is essential for effective communication in English. In this lesson, you will find 100 examples of direct and indirect speech across different tenses to improve your learning.

Table of Contents

Direct and Indirect with Tenses

Present Simple Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Verb + Object
Indirect: Subject + Says that + Object + Verb (Changes if required)

Examples:

Direct: She says, “I like ice cream.”
Indirect: She says that she likes ice cream.
Direct: They say, “We play football.”
Indirect: They say that they play football.

Present Continuous Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Is/Am/Are + Verb + ing
Indirect: Subject + Says that + Object + Is/Am/Are + Verb + ing

Examples:

Direct: He says, “I am watching TV.”
Indirect: He says that he is watching TV.
Direct: They say, “We are studying English.”
Indirect: They say that they are studying English.

Present Perfect Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Has/Have + Past Participle
Indirect: Subject + Says that + Object + Has/Have + Past Participle

Examples:

Direct: She says, “I have finished my homework.”
Indirect: She says that she has finished her homework.
Direct: They say, “We have won the match.”
Indirect: They say that they have won the match.

Past Simple Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Past Verb + Object
Indirect: Subject + Said that + Object + Past Perfect Verb

Examples:

Direct: He said, “I ate an apple.”
Indirect: He said that he had eaten an apple.
Direct: She said, “I visited my grandmother.”
Indirect: She said that she had visited her grandmother.

Past Continuous Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Was/Were + Verb + ing
Indirect: Subject + Said that + Object + Was/Were + Verb + ing

Examples:

Direct: He said, “I was reading a book.”
Indirect: He said that he was reading a book.
Direct: They said, “We were watching a movie.”
Indirect: They said that they were watching a movie.

Future Simple Tense

Structure:

Direct: Subject + Will + Verb
Indirect: Subject + Said that + Object + Would + Verb

Examples:

Direct: She said, “I will go to school.”
Indirect: She said that she would go to school.
Direct: They said, “We will travel to London.”
Indirect: They said that they would travel to London.

Tense Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech

Tense	Direct Structure	Indirect Structure	Direct Sentence	Indirect Sentence
Present Simple	Subject + Verb + Object	Subject + Says that + Object + Verb (Changes if required)	“I like ice cream.”	She says that she likes ice cream.
Present Continuous	Subject + Is/Am/Are + Verb + ing	Subject + Says that + Object + Is/Am/Are + Verb + ing	“I am watching TV.”	He says that he is watching TV.
Present Perfect	Subject + Has/Have + Past Participle	Subject + Says that + Object + Has/Have + Past Participle	“I have finished my homework.”	She says that she has finished her homework.
Past Simple	Subject + Past Verb + Object	Subject + Said that + Object + Past Perfect Verb	“I ate an apple.”	He said that he had eaten an apple.
Past Continuous	Subject + Was/Were + Verb + ing	Subject + Said that + Object + Was/Were + Verb + ing	“I was reading a book.”	He said that he was reading a book.
Future Simple	Subject + Will + Verb	Subject + Said that + Object + Would + Verb	“I will go to school.”	She said that she would go to school.

Pronoun Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Pronoun	Indirect Speech Pronoun
I	He/She
We	They
You	I/We/They (depends on context)
He	He
She	She
They	They
My	His/Her
Our	Their
Your	My/Our/Their (depends on context)
His/Her/Their	His/Her/Their (remains the same)

Word Order Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Word Order	Indirect Speech Word Order
Subject + Verb + Object	Subject + Said that + Object + Verb (Changes according to tense)
“Do you like apples?”	He asked if I liked apples.
“Where are you going?”	She asked where I was going.
“Close the door!”	He told me to close the door.
“Don’t talk!”	She told us not to talk.

100 Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Here’s a list of 100 example sentences using Direct and Indirect Speech.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“I am happy,” she said.	She said that she was happy.
“He is playing football,” John said.	John said that he was playing football.
“We will go to the park,” they said.	They said that they would go to the park.
“She can solve this problem,” he said.	He said that she could solve that problem.
“I have finished my work,” she said.	She said that she had finished her work.
“They are watching a movie,” she said.	She said that they were watching a movie.
“You must complete the task,” the teacher said.	The teacher said that we had to complete the task.
“I saw a lion in the zoo,” he said.	He said that he had seen a lion in the zoo.
“She may come to the party,” he said.	He said that she might come to the party.
“I was reading a book,” she said.	She said that she had been reading a book.
“We will meet tomorrow,” he said.	He said that they would meet the next day.
“She had already left,” they said.	They said that she had already left.
“I do my homework daily,” she said.	She said that she did her homework daily.
“You should eat healthy food,” the doctor said.	The doctor said that I should eat healthy food.
“I shall return soon,” he said.	He said that he would return soon.
“She was waiting for me,” he said.	He said that she had been waiting for him.
“I like chocolate,” she said.	She said that she liked chocolate.
“We have won the match,” they said.	They said that they had won the match.
“I will help you,” she said.	She said that she would help me.
“I had completed the project,” he said.	He said that he had completed the project.
“She writes poems,” he said.	He said that she wrote poems.
“I cannot hear you,” she said.	She said that she could not hear me.
“They might visit us,” he said.	He said that they might visit them.
“I am learning French,” he said.	He said that he was learning French.
“We were talking about you,” she said.	She said that they had been talking about me.
“I need some help,” he said.	He said that he needed some help.
“She does not like tea,” he said.	He said that she did not like tea.
“I may travel next month,” she said.	She said that she might travel the next month.
“They have gone home,” he said.	He said that they had gone home.
“She used to live here,” he said.	He said that she used to live there.
“You were my best friend,” she said.	She said that I had been her best friend.
“I have never been to London,” he said.	He said that he had never been to London.
“We shall overcome this problem,” they said.	They said that they would overcome this problem.
“She is reading a novel,” he said.	He said that she was reading a novel.
“They were playing outside,” she said.	She said that they had been playing outside.
“He must follow the rules,” she said.	She said that he had to follow the rules.
“I am feeling cold,” he said.	He said that he was feeling cold.
“We were enjoying the party,” they said.	They said that they had been enjoying the party.
“She had lost her keys,” he said.	He said that she had lost her keys.
“I will call you later,” she said.	She said that she would call me later.
“You must be on time,” the manager said.	The manager said that I had to be on time.
“He is a good singer,” she said.	She said that he was a good singer.
“I used to visit my grandma,” she said.	She said that she used to visit her grandma.
“They might be coming soon,” he said.	He said that they might be coming soon.
“I don’t understand this,” she said.	She said that she did not understand that.
“We saw a rainbow,” they said.	They said that they had seen a rainbow.
“She had been waiting for an hour,” he said.	He said that she had been waiting for an hour.
“I do not know the answer,” he said.	He said that he did not know the answer.
“We will leave early,” she said.	She said that they would leave early.
“They should respect elders,” he said.	He said that they should respect elders.
“I can solve this puzzle,” she said.	She said that she could solve that puzzle.
“We must try harder,” they said.	They said that they had to try harder.
“I might go to the beach,” he said.	He said that he might go to the beach.
“She was not at home,” he said.	He said that she had not been at home.
“I have never seen such a view,” she said.	She said that she had never seen such a view.
“He had already eaten lunch,” they said.	They said that he had already eaten lunch.
“I will be traveling next week,” she said.	She said that she would be traveling the next week.
“They are building a new house,” he said.	He said that they were building a new house.
“We need more time,” she said.	She said that they needed more time.
“She must complete her work,” he said.	He said that she had to complete her work.
“I have not met him before,” she said.	She said that she had not met him before.
“They were singing a song,” he said.	He said that they had been singing a song.
“She cannot swim,” he said.	He said that she could not swim.
“I was hoping to see you,” she said.	She said that she had been hoping to see me.