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Quoting speech and thoughts

Structure of direct speech

We use 'direct speech' when we wish to report what someone has said by quoting the actual words used. We can also use direct speech for quoting thoughts. Sometimes a speaker quotes their own thinking as if they were speaking, for example when a speaker says, I said to myself, "I must find out what happened." This is often called 'thinking aloud'.

The typical structure of direct speech is a complex sentence (or clause complex) made up of two parts: a 'quoting clause' and a 'quoted clause' (ie the quote or quotation itself):

Granny Gong asked,
quoting clause

"GrumpyGhost, did you come through the door?"
quoted clause

"This looks like a job for Granny Gong!"
quoted clause

thought Miss Lee.
quoting clause

The quotation is indicated by quotation marks (also called 'inverted commas') that enclose the quoted words.

The quoting clause may precede or follow the quoted clause:

Granny said, "I don't believe you!"
quoting clause quoted clause

"I don't believe you!" Granny said.
quoted clause quoting clause

If the quoting clause follows the quoted clause, the order of noun and verb expressing the speaker and the process of speaking in the quoting clause (Granny said) may be reversed with some verbs, most commonly with say:

"I don't believe you!" said Granny.
quoted clause quoting clause

This order is possible if the speaker is expressed by a noun, but not when it is expressed by a pronoun (except in poetic English):

"I don't believe you!" said she.
quoted clause quoting clause

The quoting clause may also be enclosed inside the quoted clause:

"GrumpyGhost,"
quoted clause ...

she said,
quoting clause

"how did you get into our apartment?"
... quoted clause

Features of direct speech

Here is a brief summary of the main features of direct speech:

Punctuation
		comma or colon after the quoting clause:
		Bozo asked his friend, "Where ...?" or Bozo asked his friend: "Where ...?"
		quoted clause enclosed in inverted commas (single or double):
		"Where has Miss Lee gone?" or 'Where has Miss Lee gone?'
		upper case initial for the first word of the quoted clause:
		"Where has Miss Lee gone?"

Grammar
		tense of the actual spoken words is unchanged in the quoted clause:
		Scene: Ricky is talking to Bozo and asks him where he went. past simple Ricky asks Bozo: "Where did* you go?"* past simple Scene: Ricky is talking to Bozo and asks him what he is doing. present continuous Ricky asks Bozo: "What are* you doing?"* present continuous
		normal word order for clause type is retained in the quoted clause:
		declarative (Statement), eg "Mr Gong is working late today." Subject Finite
		interrogative (Question), eg "Is Mr Gong working late today?" Finite Subject
		imperative (Command), eg "Be quiet!" Finite
		pronoun used in the actual spoken words is also used in quoted clause:
		Bozo asks his friend, "Where have you* been?"*

Alternative terms
PrimeGram	Other grammars
clause	simple sentence
clause complex	sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence
quoting	direct speech
reporting	indirect speech

Tell me more ...

Punctuating direct speech
Saying and thinking verbs in direct speech
Uses of direct speech