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If you were an eyewitness when someone said
something, we would use direct speech or indirect speech to pass on the
information to someone else. Indirect speech is also called reported
speech. Example:
Direct speech:
Lamin said, "Everybody knows I am
here."
Indirect speech:
Lamin said that everybody knew he was
there.
Since the first statement is Lamin's exact words, quotation
marks are used to enclose his words. Note the other punctuation marks.
In the second statement, Lamin's words have been modified. It no
longer looks like his exact words. It appears someone is now reporting
indirectly what Lamin said. See, for example, how the I has become he, and
how the knows has become knew. See also that the quotation marks have
disappeared.
A direct speech requires quotation marks; an indirect
speech doesn't require them.
DIRECT SPEECH
There are four ways
direct speech can be written. Each has its punctuation
requirements.
1. Speaker - Statement
Here the
speaker is identified before the statement is revealed. Example:
Musa
said, "Each of my friends will come."
Samuel asked, "Who has taken my
book?"
A comma is used after said. The first word within the quotation
mark starts with a capital letter. Also note that the full stop ending the
sentence is inside the quotation marks.
It is possible to use two or
more sentences within the quotation marks.
Musa said, "Each of my
friends will come. I am sure of that."
2.
Statement - Speaker
Here the statement is given, and then the speaker
is identified.
"Nobody knows the answer," said Marion.
The comma
separating the statement and the speaker is inside the quotation mark (not
under it). Note:
"I went to school today," said Miatta.
"Why did
you go to school?" Saidu asked.
"Don't ask her that question!" Alex
shouted.
3. One Sentence Interrupted by a Speaker
In this case
a single sentence is split into two halves and the speaker finds himself
between the two parts of the sentence.
"These are some of the pens,"
said Olive, "that were taken from me."
Note that the first word inside
the second quotation isn't capitalised. The two sentences below carry the
same message:
"I know," said Umaru, "that you will come."
Umaru
said, "I know that you will come."
4. Two Sentences Divided by a
Speaker
Here the speaker is placed between two or more sentences he has
uttered.
"We have spoken with him," said Abu. "Next
week, we shall
speak with his brother."
The direct speech is two separate sentences,
so there is a capital letter and a full stop for each. Quotation marks
open and close on both sentences.
You can write several sentences
within the quotation mark:
"I came here last week," said John. "Your
mum said you were out. She asked me to wait for you, but I was in a
hurry."
Special Words and Phrases
Quotation marks can be used to
draw attention to a word or phrase which is a foreign word, a slang, a
contradiction, or an ordinary expression which has been used ironically or
in some other arbitrary way.
I bought a "lappa" for my sister.
The
thief said he was an "honest" man.
He believes his wife is the most
beautiful woman in the world.
She didn't use the word "foolish".
Your friend didn't steal the money; he simply "took it without your
permission".
Note how the four different types of quotation marks
have been used here to give life to this story. Note also that quotation
marks can be used within quotation marks.
Once upon a time a foreigner
wanted to join the army but couldn't speak English.
A citizen who was a
friend of his offered to help him.
"It is easy," said the citizen in a
language both of them understood.
"How easy is it?" asked the foreign.
"Please tell me."
"Easy," the man said again. "Just slip into the
training camp at night, and in the morning be prepared to answer three
questions."
The foreign said, "What questions are they? I'm ready to
slip into the camp tonight."
"They are: 'How old are you?', 'How long
have you been in the army?', and, 'Do you like the job or the condition of
service?' "
"So what are the answers to these question?"
"Easy,"
the citizen said. "Just say '30 years' for the first question, 'two weeks'
for the second question, and 'both' for the third.
"I didn't know,"
said the foreigner, "that it was so easy to join the army."
Like a
mantra the foreigner started reciting the three answers: "30 years, two
weeks, both; 30 years, two weeks, both."
The training session started
very early in the morning, and the new recruits were lined up for
inspection. The training instructor stated to shout his questions. To the
delight of the foreigner, who was among them, he heard some of the
recruits giving three answers to the questions.
When the instructor
came to him, the foreigner appeared disoriented, in the wrong attire and
with a bushy beard.
The instructor took two steps back and examined him
with suspicion.
"You!" the instructor shouted. "How long have you been
in the army?"
"Thirty years," the foreigner replied.
"Wha-a-a-t ?"
the instructor was shocked and dumbfounded. "Even I, the training
instructor, have not taken fifteen years in the army, and you are talking
about 30 years. Besides, see how young you are. Well, if you say you've
taken 30 years in the army, now, how old are you?"
"Two weeks," said
the foreigner.
"Two weeks!" the instructor was getting very angry. He
took a few more steps backwards. He seemed to be refusing to believe his
ears.
"Two weeks!" the instructor re-echoed. "So you say you've taken
30 years in the army, but you are only two weeks old. Is that your age -
two weeks? Look here, man, are you fooling me or fooling
yourself?"
"Both," the foreigner replied.
By now all those around,
including the recruits, were almost falling on their belly with laughter.
The training instructor, however, was not amused. He immediately ordered
the man's arrest.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions
a) i. Did
the instructor laugh when the others were laughing?
ii. Quote the verb
phrase that supports your answer.
b) Why did the foreigner memorise the
answers instead of the questions.
c) Why was the training instructor
suspicious as soon as he saw the foreigner?
d) How long has the
instructor been in the army?
e) Give two reasons why the instructor
thought the foreigner could not have taken 30 years in the army.
f)
What figure of speech is the expression "like a mantra".
g) In the
second to last sentence, state the grammatical name and function of: The
training instructor
h) For each of the following words find another
word or phrase that means the same and which can replace it in the
passage.
i) reciting ii) attire iii) dumbfounded iv)
re-echoed
EXERCISE 8
Punctuate the following sentences
1.
amadu said I havent seen marys book
2. hell have to wait until im
finished said alie
3. yes said bintu im ready to wait for them
4 All
I know said Alusine is that Ill leave today.
5. my friends came he said
it was a great day.
6. excuse me said the nervous man he was carrying a
torch yes said the shop assistant he was hardly looking up from the
magazine which he was reading the man said I bought the torch from you
this morning here is the receipt he handed the receipt over the
counter
INDIRECT SPEECH
It is equally important to know someone's
statement is being quoted indirectly. This is called indirect speech or
reported speech. See the two sentences below:
Lamin said, "We are ready
to go tomorrow."
Lamin said they were ready to go the next day.
To
make indirect speech effective, we must make changes
to:
1. Relevant pronouns
2. Verb
tenses
3. Words of nearness of
place
4. Words of nearness of time
1. Relevant
Pronouns
In pronouns generally, the 2nd person singular should be
changed to the 3rd person singular. The 1st person plural should be
changed to the 3rd person plural. Example:
I ���.becomes�.. He, she,
it
We ��������They
Us ��������.Them
Me �������.. Him, her,
it
Mine ������... His, hers, its
Ours ������....Theirs
My
������.� His, her, its
Myself �����.... Himself, herself,
itself
Ourselves ����.. Themselves
Albert said, "I know myself
better."
Albert said e knew himself better.
Sonah said, "We are
going to our new house."
Sonah said that they were going to their new
house.
Alimamy said, "My belief is that we are just deceiving
ourselves."
Alimamy said his belief was that they were just deceiving
themselves.
2. Verb Tenses
Generally when a direct speech is
changed into an indirect speech, the verbs in the reported speech go one
step into the past.
This means simple present becomes simple past, and
simple past sometimes becomes past perfect. The following changes are
observed:
Am, is ��. was` can't � couldn't
Are
��..� were isn't �wasn't
Have, has ..
had aren't � weren't
Do, does � did
haven't � hadn't
Shall, will ... would hasn't
�hadn't
Can ���. Could don't � didn't
May ���.
might doesn't � didn't
Must ��� had
to won't � wouldn't
Had ���.had mustn't �didn't have
to
Peter said, "I know all the answers."
Peter said he knew all the
answers.
Adama said, "My brother likes the play."
Adama said that
her brother liked the play.
Memuna said, "Things are not
easy."
Memuna said that things were not very easy.
"It doesn't mean
anything to me," said Francis.
Francis said it didn't mean anything to
him.
Musu said, "I can do the work if I am paid."
Musu said that she
could do the work if she was paid.
"She's gone to school," said
John.
John said she'd gone to school.
Amina said, "I must see Isha
before I leave."
Amina said she had to see Isha before she left
When
you are reporting an event which has not changed (or which is always
true), then you can leave the verbs in the present form.
"The world is
round," said Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith said the world is round.
3.
Words of Nearness of Place
This �. becomes �. That
These ������.
Those
Hear ������� There
"I want this chair close to me," said
Isha.
Isha said she wanted that chair close to her.
Mohamed said, "I
will stay here."
Mohamed said he would stay there.
Zainab said,
"These books are ours."
Zainab said that those books were
theirs.
4. Words of Nearness of Time
We effect changes with time
when enough time has elapsed to make the changes necessary.
Now
��becomes��. Then
Today �������.. that day
Tomorrow ����the next
day, the day after
Yesterday ����the previous day
Last night
����.the previous night
Last week ����the previous week
Next week
����the week after
Ago �������before
Alhaji said, "I want to go
now."
Alhaji said that he wanted to go then.
"Today is my birthday,"
said Mary.
Mary said that day was her birthday.
"I saw you here last
night, Amie," said David.
David told Amie that he had seen her there
the previous night.
Ansu said,"Tomorrow I will take this cat
away."
Ansu said that on next day, he would take that cat way.
"Two
days ago," said Isata, "my brother came to see me."
Isata said that her
brother came to see her two days before.
QUESTION
Special care is
needed when you report a question. In most cases the verb "asked" is used
instead of "said". You should also know that a direct question is in a
question form and requires a question mark. But an indirect question is in
a statement form and requires no question mark.
Fatmata asked, "Have
they gone out?"
Fatmata asked if they had gone out.
Alex asked, "Is
the earth round?"
Alex asked if the earth is round.
Observe the
relationship between the subject (S) and the auxiliary verb (AV)
Direct
Question: AV + S will she?
Indirect Question: S + AV she will
Tamba
asked, "Will she come?"
Tamba asked if she would come.
"Do they live
here?" asked Ahmed.
Ahmed asked if they lived there.
Ahmed wanted to
know if they lived there.
"Lucy, are you ready to go to Bo?" Abu
asked.
Abu asked Lucy whether she was ready to go to Bo.
"Where did
you go, Abu," asked Binty.
Binty asked Abu where he had gone.
Mother
asked me, "Are you ready?"
Mother asked me if I was ready.
Lucy
asked, "Did you come yesterday?"
Lucy asked if I had come the day
before.
"Will it rain today?" Amie asked.
Amie wondered whether it
would rain that day.
COMMAND
When a direct speech is in the form of
a command, we use an infinitive to report it.
"Sorie, put on the
light," Abu said.
Abu told Sorie to put on the light.
"Sorie, don't
put on the light," Abu said.
Abu told Sorie not to put on the
light.
(Officer to Soldier) : "Don't move!"
The officer ordered the
soldier not to move
(Manager to secretary): Write a letter to our
shareholders.
The manager directed the secretary to write a letter to
their shareholders.
REQUEST
A request is usually introduced by the
verb "asked". There is no need for "please".
"John, take my book to
school, please," said the teacher.
The teacher asked John to take his
book to school.
"Thank you," said Joseph.
Joseph thanked
him.
"Well done, John," said Peter.
Peter congratulated
John.
Alternative
There are alternatives to SAID,ASKED,TOLD and
other commonly used words in reported speech.
Said - told, replied,
remarked, maintained, argued, shouted, declared, announced, informed,
stated, agreed, reiterated
Requested - asked, implored, begged
Asked
- inquired, wondered
Ordered - told, directed,
commanded
Punctuate and then turn to reported speech
1. marie
met tejan just outside the rokel commercial bank how are you marie said
tejan so you've come to take some money from the bank no marie replied I
have no money in the bank
2. a little boy asked his father daddy
how much does it cost to get married and the father replied I don't know
son im still paying for it.
Punctuate the Following
while he was
standing there and feeling very happy the god mercury suddenly appeared
what is wrong he asked my axe has fallen into the water and I cannot see
it mercury dived to the water at once and the next moment he brought up a
gold axe is this your axe he asked no the man replied it is not. SECHN
Entrance
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