Indirect speech

In grammar, indirect or reported speech (also indirect discourse; Latin ōratiō oblīqua) 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.^[1] In addition, indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.
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).

Grammatical forms may change when the reference point (origo) 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 is raining hard."	He said that it was raining hard.	tense
2.	"I have painted the ceiling blue."	He said that he had painted the ceiling blue.	person, tense
3.	"I will come to your party."	He says that he will come to my party.	person (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, among other languages, the speaker is free to change the pronoun or leave it as is.

Examples

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 (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.

Comparison between direct, indirect and free indirect speech

• Quoted or direct speech:

He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. "And just what pleasure have I found, since I came into this world?" he asked.

• Reported or normal indirect speech:

He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. He asked himself what pleasure he had found since he came into the world.

• Free indirect speech:

He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. And just what pleasure had he found, since he came into this world?

[edit] See also

• Sequence of tenses
• Direct speech
• Free indirect speech