Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

INTRODUCTION

488

Representations of speech are ways of reporting one’s own or another person’s

speech. Speech reports are normally divided into direct and indirect reports. 

Direct reports

A direct report consists of a reporting clause and a reported clause. The reporting

clause contains a verb indicating speech, such as ask, demand, say, shout, tell.

The reported clause represents or attempts to recreate the exact words someone

used, as they occurred at the moment of speaking, with the same pronouns,

tenses, clause types, etc. which the original speaker used. The reported clause is

separated by punctuation from the reporting clause, usually by means of commas

and speech marks (normally single or double inverted commas):