Reported speech versus direct speech
When you are talking to someone you are usually using direct speech. We use it every day and without realizing it. It is the simplest style of speech. On the other hand, the indirect style appears when we talk about what someone else has said. Let's look at the details of one and the other. Direct Speech When we want to report exactly what another person has said, we use the direct style. EXAMPLES: "I am going to London next week" she said "Do you have a pen i could borrow" he asked "Alice said, "I love to dance" Reported Speech Indirect style, unlike direct style, does not use quotation marks and does not need to be word for word. In general, when indirect style is used, the verb tense changes. Present Simple ---> Past Simple EXAMPLES: "He is American" She said he was American. "I am happy to see you" Mary said that she was happy to see me. He asked, “Are you busy tonight?” He asked me if I was busy that night. Pre...