Two Parts of Direct Speech: Narration | English Class 8 PDF Download

There are two ways of reproducing the words of a speaker:

• You can reproduce the actual words of the speaker, or 
• You can give only the substance or gist of his speech in your own words; e.g., 
  • Rohan said, “My father is watching a movie”.
  • Rohan said that his father was watching a movie.

In the first sentence, we give the exact words of the speaker. This is called Direct speech.
 In the second sentence, we do not reproduce the exact words of the speaker. Instead, we give the gist of what he said. This is called Indirect speech.

TWO PARTS OF DIRECT SPEECH

The actual words of the speaker which are put within inverted commas are called Reported Speech. The verb that introduces the reported speech is called Reporting Verb. 
 Let’s understand this through an example:

Important points about Direct Speech:
 1. The direct speech is always placed within inverted commas.
 2. The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
 3. A comma is placed after the reporting verb to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Important points about Indirect Speech: 
 1. No inverted commas are used in indirect speech.
 2. No comma is placed after said.
 3. The reported speech is generally introduced by the conjunction that.
 4. The tense of the verb in the reported speech is changed from the present to the past. Personal pronouns, possessive adjectives and words denoting nearness of time and position also change; as,
 Setu said, “I will go to meet my friend tomorrow.”
 Setu said that he would go to meet his friend the next day.