HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH IN ENGLISH (A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS TO VIETNAMESE) Name of student: Đỗ Hươ ương Giang Date of birth: 19/05/1992 Class: K 18- BPD 1.2 Supervisor: M.A Nguyễn ễn Thị Th Hồng Minh Ha Noi – 2015 SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS & And A Adverbial Ncl Noun clause O Object Od Direct object Oi Indirect object P Predicator S Subject V Verb Wh – question Question word Ex Example i.e That is etc Et cetera + Plus ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At this stage of research accomplishment, I would like hereby to extend my profound gratitude to my supervisor Mrs.Nguyễn Hồng Minh from whom I have received enormous kindness and guidance Also, I am very grateful to all the teachers at the English Faculty and Modern Languages of Hanoi Open University for their interesting and useful lectures which have built in me a firm foundation with immense ideas for the fulfillment of this paper In particular, my special thanks go to my parents who have, as it always goes, encouraged and supported me so much in all respects Last but no least, I should also express many thanks to my dear friends who have shared with me a lot during my studies and my research work as well Hanoi, May 2015 Student Supervisor Đỗ Hương Giang Nguyen Thi Hong Minh TABLE OF CONTENT PART I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………….1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY…………………………… …………… AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY…………… ………… ….1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY………… ……………………………… ……… RESEARCH QUESTIONS…………………………………………………….2 METHODS OF THE STUDY……………… ………………… ……… DESIGN OF THE STUDY……………………………………… ……….… PART II: DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………… … CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………….………… ……5 1.1 Definition……………………………………………………………… ………5 1.2 The study of direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese …………………………………………………………………………………….……6 1.2.1The study of direct and indirect speech in English…………… …6 1.2.2The study of direct and indirect speech in Vietnamese…….…… … 1.3 Some basic differences and similarities in indirect speech of some particular kinds of sentences in English and Vietnamese………… …… …8 1.3.1 Some basic differences…………………………………………….…… 1.3.2 Some basic similarities…………………………………………… ….….13 1.3.2.1 Function of the indirect speech…………………………………… …13 1.3.2.2 Reporting verbs…………………………………………………… … 13 1.3.2.3 The change of pronoun from direct to indirect speech…………….15 1.4 An overview of changing direct into indirect speech in English…… 15 1.4.1 The use of punctuation marks…………………………………….…… 15 1.4.2 Say, tell, and alternative introductory verbs……………………… …18 1.4.3 Questions in indirect speech… 19 1.4.4 Commands, requests, advice and suggestion in indirect speech……………………………………………………………………… ………23 CHAPTER 2: DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE .26 2.1 Reported speech in Vietnamese structures……………… ……….…….26 2.1.1 Suggestions, requests an commands……………………….…….… …26 2.1.2 Question ………………… …………………………………… ……… 27 2.2 Changes from direct speech to indirect speech in English……… .29 2.2.1 Changes of clause types……………… ……………………… … …29 2.2.2 Changes in Verb forms (tenses) …………….……………… …….… 33 2.2.3 Tense changes necessary 34 2.2.4 Auxiliary verbs in indirect speech …………………………………… 39 2.2.4.1 Might, ought to, should, and would used to in direct speech…… 39 2.3.4.2 Could in indirect speech………………………………………… … 41 2.3.4.3 Must and needn’t in indirect speech 42 2.3.4.5 Changes of pronouns and possessive adjectives…………… ……44 2.3.6 Word order and structure in indirect questions …………….…….… 47 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS……………….… ……49 3.1 The result……………………………………………………………………………….49 3.2 Discussions…………………………… ………………………………………… .54 3.2.1The questionare 54 3.2.2The mini-test .54 3.3 Suggestions……………………………………….……………………………………55 PART III: CONCLUTION………………………………………………………… 58 Recapitulation…………………………………………………………… ……………58 Limitation of the study…………………………………………………… …………59 REFERENCES…………………………………………….………………… …………60 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, the need of learning foreign languages, especially learning English in our society is in great demand because of the integration of Vietnam in globalization English has become the most widely - used language all over the world It has often been referred to a “global language” and used internationally in business, political, cultural relation and education as well However, as an English student, in process of learning English, I realized that one of the big problems Vietnamese students often encounter when they learn English is learners often use the habits of his native language structure to the foreign language word by word, there is a majority of difficulty in learning a structure of a foreign language To Vietnamese learners, English grammar is rather complex, direct & indirect speech appears to be one of the most difficult criteria, particularly the way to change direct to indirect speech In the process of learning English grammar, learners always face a lot of difficulties such as: tense changes, possessive adjective changes, changes of personal pronouns, adverbials of time and place, etc Therefore, to help the learners clearly understand how to change direct speech to indirect speech and use indirect speech in writing as well as in speaking correctly, “A study on direct and indirect speech in English ( a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese)” is chosen as the topic of the research paper Aims and objectives of the study The main aims of the thesis are to: - Present main features of direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese structures ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) - Try to point out some similarities and differences between changing direct into indirect speech in English and Vietnamese structures - Help learners understand how to form direct and indirect speech, use it correctly as well - Describe and classify all the cases of changing direct to indirect speech - Predict common errors of Vietnamese students when using direct and indirect speech in English structure and suggest a set of exercises for teaching and learning the English direct and indirect speech to Vietnamese learners Scope of the study - The objective of the study is the direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese structures - This thesis will concentrated itself within changes from direct to indirect structures in only, especially in English structure and the errors which Vietnamese students often make Research questions - What is the direct and indirect speech of English and Vietnamese structure? - What are the changes of direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese structures? - What are some similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese direct and indirect speech structures? ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) - Which errors Vietnamese students often make when changing direc into in direct speech in English? Methods of the study - The main methods of this thesis are description, comparison and contrastive analysis - We have considered English as the basic language of the study and Vietnamese is the language to be compared Design of the report The study is divided into three main parts: Part One: The introduction dealing with the rationale of the topic, the aims and the scope of the study, and the outline of the paper Part Two: The development includes three chapters: - Chapter : Literature view Chapter is the theoretical background knowledge of the study In this chapter, emphasis is laid on the definition of direct speech & indirect speech in English, their basic forms and functions in grammar, besides a quirk overview of changing from Direct to indirect speech about the use of punctuation marks; say, tell, and alternative introductory verbs; question in indirect speech; commands, requests, advice and suggestions in indirect speech - Chapter 2: Direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese Chapter is the main part of the study, describes the changes from direct speech to indirect speech This chapter deals with four problems : ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) - Changes of clause types - Changes in verb forms - Changes in use of pointer words - Auxiliary verbs in indirect speech Chapter 3: Findings and suggestions Chapter is the last part of the research paper It focuses on some errors made by Vietnamese learners & solutions suggested to overcome the problems Part Three: Conclusion It is the Conclusion of the whole study in which I summarize all the matters discussed on the two previous parts, show reference used in the research paper and some exercises for practicing well ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Table1: Percentage of true and wrong answer in 10 questions Q1 31 False answer (FA) 69 Q2 40 60 40-60 Q7 92 92-8 Q3 89 11 89-11 Q8 65 35 65-35 Q4 36 64 36-64 Q9 77 23 77-23 Q5 41 59 41-59 Q10 75 25 75-25 Question True answer (Q) (TA) % 31-69 Question True answer False (Q) answer (TA) (FA) Q6 85 15 % 85-15 100 90 80 70 60 TA 50 FA 40 30 20 10 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Chart1: Percentage of true and wrong answer in 10 questions ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18 K18-BPD1.2 49 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Table 2: The average percentage of the students’ incorrect answers Sections Count (C) Percentage (%) Reporting verb 319/700 46% Pronouns 79/900 8.7% Tenses 201/700 29% Modal verbs 37/100 37% Adverbs 19/200 9.5% Mixed types 315/500 63% Pronouns Adverbs Tenses mistake Modal verbs Reporting verb Mixed types 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Chart 2: Mistakes in changing direct into indirect speech Chart indicates the order of ascending difficulty of the six elements that need to change in reported speech From the result of the survey, the mixed types and reporting verb are more difficult element accounting for 46% of the total ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 50 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) mistakes and mixed types are the most difficult one accounting for 63% of the total mistakes In addition, the chart also shows that according to the survey, adverbs are more difficult than pronouns but they are easier than tenses and modal verbs Hence, changing in mixed types and reporting verbs are the students’ main weakness Table 3: The types of reported speech in which the students make mistakes most Options Count (C) Percentage (%) A Statements 19/200 9.5% B Conditional 59/100 59% C Questions 15/100 15% D Exclamations 64/100 64% E Mixed types 257/500 51.4% sentence ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 51 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Mistakes Statements Questions Mixed types Mistakes Conditional sentences Exclamations 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Chart 3: Types of reported speech in which the students make mistakes most As shown in chart 3,, the students make mistakes in all the five types of reported speech Nevertheless, the highest propor proportion tion of making mistakes lies in exclamation (64%), conditional sentences( sentences(59%) and mixed types(51.4%) Questions and statements make up 15 % and 9.5 % of the student’s mistakes mistakes Therefore, changing ing exclamation is the students’ biggest problems ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18 K18-BPD1.2 52 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) 3.2 Discussions 3.2.1 The questionnaire Based on the results collected from the questionnaire, the researcher knows that reported speech is a big problem among the students One of the reasons is the students’ weakness in English grammar and especially the grammar points relating to changing into reported speech The students didn’t have a lot of chances to practice reported speech is another reason Most of the students think that mixed types and questions and are quite difficult It was the special cases of these elements that confused them much Among the types of reported speech, exclamations are what the students feared most because they had to deal with a lot of things when changing exclamation to reported speech Thus, they often made errors on this grammar point Many students didn’t really identify their errors of reported speech by themselves Fortunately, they have secured a lot of help from their teachers and their friends A few of them have made the most of the Internet, an unlimited and useful source of knowledge when used properly In short, the students have a positive attitude in learning reported speech, but for the above-mentioned reasons, they still have trouble dealing with it 3.2.2 The mini-test After collecting the data from the mini-test given to the students and making charts, the researcher sees that the students have made errors in all the sections of reported speech tested such as reporting verbs, pronouns, adjectives, tenses, modal verbs and adverbs By comparing the percentages of the students’ incorrect answers arranged in ascending order shown in charts, we can come to ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 53 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) the conclusion that mixed types are the most difficult part for the students, the second most difficult part for them is reporting verbs, and the third most difficult one is modal verbs Also, we can say that according to the students, adverbs are more difficult than pronouns but they are easier than tenses and modal verbs The least difficult part is pronouns These results quite suit the ideas drawn from the questionnaire The researcher, therefore, finds it necessary to find out suitable solutions to help the students use reported speech better 3.3 Suggestions Through analyzing the data collected from the questionnaire and the mini-test, the researcher found out that the students made errors in all sections especially in exceptions, tenses, modal verbs and questions Therefore, some solutions aimed at helping students make progress in reported speech are suggested as follows Types of learner’s mistake No Type Punctuation mark Finding Suggestion When learners change direct To avoid this error, questions into indirect Vietnamese learners should questions they still put pay more attention to the question mark at the end of form of indirect questions the indirect questions Let’s and learn by heart the rule of look the example : using punctuation marks in Ex : He asked me, “Are you indirect questions tired?” ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 54 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) (1) → He asked me if I was tired? (incorrect) (2) → He asked me if I was tired (correct) Word order The inversion in the direct It is important to note that question changes back to the form of verb tense will statement word order The be changed when we back – auxiliaries disappear in shift into indirect speech So, indirect questions But in learners should learn by fact many learners make heart not only common but mistakes in this point also special rules of tense Ex: “Where is my hat?” She changes asked him (1)→ She asked him where was her hat (incorrect) (2)→ She asked him where her hat was.( correct) Tense changes This error often occurs in This error doesn’t happen if changing indirect into direct learners mention to tenses in speech because of direct speech interference of the mother tongue For instance, He said that he liked England The changing is incorrect if ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 55 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) that is → He said, “I liked England” But it is → He said, “I like England” changes of pointer The cause of this error Therefore, my suggestion for words happens similarly with ones this problem is that learners above also get a good hold Ex : He said that he would of the changing rules of come to England the next pointer words from indirect week If learners back – to direct speech shift into → He said, „I will come England the next week‟ That is wrong answer The correct is → He said, „I will come England next week‟ ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 56 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS An error in using reported speech may sometimes bring about misunderstanding whose consequence is rather bad In addition, reported speech is a grammar point which is often included in tests or examinations in school However, reported speech is also a grammar point in which students often make errors These reasons urged the researcher to the thesis entitled: “A study on direct and indirect speech in English ( a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese)” aimed at having a clearer picture and more specific figures of the students ‘common errors of reported speech and suggesting some simple but feasible solutions to this problem And, a quick overview of changing from direct to indirect speech is also discussed in the chapter I to help learners have further understanding about them Particularly, the most important purpose that my study directs toward is giving out changes from direct to indirect speech through three main ways: changes of clause types, verb forms and pointer words; together with three other ways: transferred negation, mixed types & free in direct speech In each case of changing, this study supplied the analysis, common rules as well as examples to illustrate Furthermore, to help learners overcome the confusion and difficulties in the process of changing direct to indirect speech, common errors are mentioned in this graduation paper so that learners can realize those mistakes and correct their shortcomings as well as possible In short, I have summed up what presented in my graduation paper with the hope that it will be useful for all language learners The thesis consists of three chapters The first chapter is for the literature review ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 57 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) of reported speech Then, I give some rules in changing direct into indirect speech in chapter two The third one contains the questionnaire and the mini-test The last one includes the results, discussions and suggestions Besides, after the three chapters is conclusion and limitations of the research Through the results of the questionnaire and the mini-test, the researcher recognized that most of the students made errors in all the sections of reported speech such as reporting verbs, pronouns, adjectives, tenses, modal verbs, adverbs, exceptions and all types of reported speech Among them, tenses, adjectives and reporting verbs puzzled the students most As a fourth-year student with the experience gained from my four – year student practice, I have tried my best to find out and suggest solutions to the students Because when students study in university, they pay much attention in studying communication English and other subjects Thus, they lose their attention in grammar and make mistakes There are four solutions for the students as mentioned in the suggestions of the research ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 58 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) REFERENCES English materials Alexander, L G (1988).Longman English Grammar Longman Group U K Ltd Brown, G and Yule, G (1994) Language, linguistic and literature Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Collin, C (1990).English Grammar Collin Birmingham University Eckersley, C E and Eckersley, J M (1960).Comprehensive English Grammar Longman Green and Co Ltd Florian Coulmas (1986) Direct and indirect speech Walter de Gruyere and Co,Berlin Frank, M (1986).Modern English a practical reference guide.Prentice – Hall – INC – Englewood CHfs, New Jersey Freeborn, D A (1987) A course book in English Grammar Macmillan Education Graver, B D (1986) Advanced English Practice Oxford University Press Hartley, B and Viney, P R (2005) Streamline English Connection Oxford University Press 10 Hewings, M (2002) Advanced Grammar in Use NXB Tre 11 Murphy, R (1998) English Grammar in Use NXB Da Nang 12 Murphy, R (2000) English Grammar in Use NXB Thanh Nien ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 59 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) 13 Quirk, R and Green Baum, S (1973) A University Grammar of English (Workbook) NXB Giao Thong Van Tai 14 Quirk, R et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar Of The English Language Longman Group Ltd 15 Swam, M (1989) Practical English Usage Oxford University Press 16 Thomson, A J and Martinet, A V (1985) A Practical English Grammar NXB Da Nang 17 Yule, G (1998) Explaining English Grammar Oxford University Press 18 John A Lucy (1993) Reflexive Language Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Vietnamese materials Bùi Đức Tịnh (1952) Văn phạm Việt Nam P Văn Tươi, Sài Gòn Bulteau, B (1950) Cours d'annamite Larouse, Paris Bưxtrov, I.X.; Nguyễn Tài Cẩn & Xtankêvich N.V (1975) Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt Nxb Nauka (tiếng Nga) Cadiere, L (1958) Syntaxe de la langue Vietnamienne Ecole FranVaise d' Extreme Orient, Paris Cao Xuân Hạo (1991) Tiếng Việt – Sơ thảo ngữ pháp chức (tập 1) Nxb Khoa học Xã hội, Tp Hồ Chí Minh Cao Xuân Hạo (2001) Tiếng Việt – Văn Việt – Người Việt Nxb Trẻ Diệp Quang Ban (2000) Thử điểm qua việc nghiên cứu ngữ pháp tiếng Việt nửa kỉ qua T/c Ngôn ngữ, số 9/2000, trang 41–47 ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 60 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Diệp Quang Ban (1984) Bàn vấn đề thành phần câu ứng dụng vào tiếng Việt In Những vấn đề ngữ pháp tiếng Việt (Lưu Vân Lăng chủ biên) Nxb Khoa học Xã hội Diệp Quang Ban (1989), Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt phổ thông, 2.NXB Giáo Dục 10.Diệp Quang Ban & Thung, (2000), Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt, NXB Giáo Dục Sources from Internet 1.http://www.english-for-students.com/DirecttoIndirectSpeech.html http://www.english-the-international-language.com/repsp.html http://www.esl.about.com/od/grammarintermediate/a/reported_speech.htm http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/reported-speech http://www.grammaring.com/the-difference-between-direct-and-indirectspeech 6.http://www.hulya.cankaya.edu.tr/ingilizece4.htmhttp://www.grammaring.com/t he-difference-between-direct-and-indirect-speec ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 61 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) APPENDIX A Rewrite following sentences so that the meaning stay the same “If I were you, I wouldn’t buy this car” → He “Shall I carry your suitcase, Lan?” said Nam → Nam…………………………………………………………………………… “Jim’s arriving at our house tomorrow.‟ →She told me ………………………………………………………………… … Alice said, “How nice the house is!” → Alice I said “If you can lend me the money I needn’t go to the bank → I said that “What were you doing when I phoned you yesterday” Joe asked Marry → Joe asked Marry B Choose the correct answer Ann………………….and left A Said good bye C told me good bye B said me good bye D Good bye me “I didn’t witness that accident.” A He denied not having witness that accident B He denied having witness that accident C He denied not having witnessing that accident D He denied not had witnessed that accident ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 62 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) “Don’t touch that flower.” The old lady said to the boy A The old lady wanted the boy not touching that flower B The old lady insisted the boy on touching that flower C The old lady warned the boy against touching that flower D The old lady congratulated the boy on touching that flower 10 “Let’s go on a picnic holiday” Mary said A Mary suggested going on a picnic holiday B Mary wanted us to go on a picnic holiday c Mary invited us to go on a picnic holiday D Marry allowed us to go on a picnic holiday KEY ANSWER He advised me not to buy that car Nam offered to carry Lan’s suitcase She told me Jim was arriving at their house the following / next day Alice exclaimed that it was a nice house I said that if he could lend me some money, I needn’t go to the bank Joe asked Mary what she had been doing when she had called him the day before A B A 10 A ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 63 [...]... Germanic languages Swedish, German, Dutch, and English, the Indo-Iranian language Bengali, and Mandarin Chinese In the book direct and indirect speech (studies and monographs) of Florian ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 6 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Coulmas, which refer to approaches direct and indirect speech quite outside linguistics in a narrow... meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact word ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 5 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) 1.2 The study of direct and indirect speech in English and Vietnamese 1.2.1 The study of direct and indirect speech in Vietnamese In Vietnamese, people do not pay much attention in direct and indirect speech, they.. .A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition Grammar in general, and direct and in direct speech in specific, is believed to be a key and essential area of the development in a native language and in a second of foreign language as well Hence, they have been varieties of definitions of direct. .. full stop (. ), question marks (? ) and exclamation mark (! ) They may be single ( …’), or double ( ” ) and are placed high above the base line at the beginning and end of each quotation ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 15 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) (L.G Alexander, p284) Ex: Jack said, ‘My friend visited my new house yesterday.’ Or: Jack said, “My... He told me/he ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 18 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) - Say and tell with indirect speech Say and tell someone + optional that can introduce indirect statements We never use comma after say or tell someone Ex: Jack said (that)/told me (that) his wife had gone with him to the show If we need to mention the listener, tell + indirect. .. that reported speech is one of those phenomena whose proper treatment necessarily transcends departmental boundaries,etc However in my graduation paper, I will pay concern in linguistics and in language use of direct and indirect speech ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 7 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) 1.3 Some basic differences and similarities in indirect. .. an affirmative suggestion is often reported by some phrase such as opposed the idea / was against it / objected so that we could report Ex: John suggested going to cinema but Carol was against it ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 25 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) CHAPTER 2: DIRECT AND INDIRECT IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 2.1.Reported speech in Vietnamese... reporting verbs such as ask oneself, think and wonder when they are used to describe direct thoughts” in “free indirect speech Ex: So that was the last time I saw her, he thought How about her husband, he wondered ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 17 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) 1.4.2 Say, tell, and alternative introductory verbs - Say with direct speech. .. they had gone to that cinema for several times.” cinema for several times Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous David said,” I have been living in Los David said that he had been living in Angeles for ten years.” Los Angeles for ten years ĐỖ HƯƠNG GIANG |K18-BPD1.2 8 A study on direct and indirect speech in English (a contrastive analysis to Vietnamese) Past simple Past perfect They said,”... types In chapter I, an overview of changing from direct to indirect speech in English is given Now, let us have a look at it clearly and systematically Clause type Direct speech Indirect speech Statements In the direct sentence, we That clause In the indirect need to use quotation marks sentence, quotation marks The position of subject and disappear and we use “that” to reporting verb is changeable connect