Direct and indirect speech

Use reported speech every time you want to inform or communicate what another person has said.

It can be used in two ways. 

1. Direct speech

You use direct speech to communicate exactly what another person has said.

In this case, the information the person has said must be indicated between quotation marks (" "), and it has to be as literal as possible:

This afternoon, the president of the company said, "The production has increased the last month. Congratulations!".

2. Indirect speech

In this form of speech, the quotation marks are not necessary, and the message doesn't have to be literal. 

Keep in mind:

• Usually, the verbal tense changes, and reporting verbs like say or tell are used.
• That  is used in affirmative and negative sentences to introduce what another person has said.

For example:

"The president of the company told us that the production increased in the last month."

Now, let's see how a sentence can change according to the type of speech we use:

• Direct speech: "Helena is a famous artist," he told me.
  
  
• Indirect speech: He said that Helena is a famous artist.