Direct and indirect speech worksheets There are two different ways of writing what someone has said, known as direct and indirect speech. These can cause confusion for children especially when converting speech from direct to indirect and vice versa. Direct speech uses the exact words spoken, which are placed inside quotation marks (speech marks). e.g. “What time does the match start?” asked Jim. Using indirect speech is a way to write what has been said, usually in the past. It does not have to use the words actually spoken, although may well do. e.g. Jim asked what time the match started. Reporting verbs such as ask, say, tell are often used in indirect speech. Quotation marks are not used in indirect speech. We have just published two sets of worksheets which clearly explain the differences between direct and indirect speech together with plenty of practice on changing from one to the other. They can be found in our English section under Punctuation, together with many other great resources on quotation marks etc. Go to Direct and Indirect Speech worksheets