6 POINTS TO CONSIDER IN "REPORTED SPEECH"

 Maya said, "I feel like eating pancakes."

Maya said that she felt like eating pancakes.

Have you noticed any difference in these two sentences?

YES! There is  a difference.

The first sentence is "DIRECT SPEECH" while the second sentence is "REPORTED SPEECH".

While reporting direct speech, there are few things to keep in mind:

*Remove the quotation marks from the direct speech

*Verbs like say, tell announce, answer, explain, reply, suggest are used in reported speech but say and tell are the most common.

Example : Nick replied that he liked pancakes too.

*After mentioning the subject or the speaker followed by one of the above -mentioned verbs, usually the word that is used. In some cases it can be omitted.

Example : You promised (that) you wouldn't be late.

*In reported speech, the verb tense changes to the past.

*In reported speech the first person always changes to the third.

* Change in place. "Here" becomes "there" or the name of any specific place.