1. Identify the Speaker and Listener:
* Who is speaking? (This will become the subject of your introductory verb).
* Who are they speaking to? (This might be implied or explicitly stated in the original sentence).
2. Choose an Appropriate Introductory Verb:
* Think about the tone of the original speech:
* Informative: *say, tell, state, explain, remark, point out, mention, add*
* Opinion/Belief: *think, believe, assume, agree, disagree, doubt, claim, insist*
* Request/Suggestion: *ask, request, suggest, recommend, propose, advise*
* Complaint/Criticism: *complain, criticize, accuse, blame, warn, threaten*
* Exclamation: *exclaim, shout, cry, whisper, murmur, gasp*
3. Change Pronouns and Time References:
* Pronouns: Adjust pronouns to match the new speaker (e.g., "I" becomes "he/she," "you" becomes "they").
* Time References:
* Present tense: Generally stays the same, but may need to be shifted to the past if it's referring to an event that's already happened.
* Past tense: Change to the past perfect tense (e.g., "I saw" becomes "He had seen").
* Future tense: Change to the conditional tense (e.g., "I will go" becomes "He would go").
4. Change Tenses (If Necessary):
* Direct Speech: Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Future Simple.
* Indirect Speech (Introductory Verb in Present Tense): Usually, you change the tense one step back (e.g., Present Simple becomes Past Simple, Past Simple becomes Past Perfect). However, there are exceptions:
* Present Perfect: Often stays as Present Perfect in indirect speech.
* Future Tense: Usually changes to the conditional tense.
5. Change the Structure and Punctuation:
* Direct Speech: Uses quotation marks and punctuation within the quotation marks.
* Indirect Speech: Does not use quotation marks. The introductory verb and the indirect speech form a single sentence.
Examples:
Direct Speech: "I saw the dog in the park," she said.
Indirect Speech: She says she saw the dog in the park.
Direct Speech: "We will go to the beach tomorrow," they said.
Indirect Speech: They say they will go to the beach tomorrow.
Direct Speech: "I have been working on this project for hours," he explained.
Indirect Speech: He explains he has been working on this project for hours.
Direct Speech: "I went to the store yesterday," she told me.
Indirect Speech: She told me she had gone to the store the previous day.
Direct Speech: "Don't touch the vase!" he warned.
Indirect Speech: He warns me not to touch the vase.
Key Point: The specific adjustments you make to the tense will depend on the context of the original sentence and the intended meaning of the indirect speech.