• Both direct and indirect quotations use the same verb said to introduce the quote, but in the case of direct quotation, said is separated from the quoted material by a comma.. Compare
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6 The carpet had been badly faded by the sun
7 The material had been snagged by a splinter
8 A new plan was being developed by Roberta
9 The entire project has been coordinated by a special task force
10 The idea was critiqued by the entire staff
11 The clock was wound up by my grandfather once a week
12 The rocks were lifted onto the truck by a loader
13 The rocket had been launched by a team from NASA
14 Unfortunately, the house had been badly neglected by the previous owners
15 The pool is being cleaned by a neighbor’s son
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Indirect Quotation
There are two forms of quotation: direct and indirect Direct quotation uses quotation marks
to signal that we are repeating someone’s words exactly as the person said or wrote them In this
chapter we will discuss how to correctly use indirect quotation—quotation without the use of
quotation marks An indirect quotation is putting someone else’s words into your own sentence
While indirect quotation allows a certain amount of freedom in how the writer reports the words
of someone else, this freedom of expression does not release the writer from full responsibility for
accurately reporting the content of what is being reported
Indirect quotations consist of a verb of reporting followed by a noun clause beginning with
that (a that clause—see Chapter 7) For example:
Pinker argues that the brains of mammals follow a common general plan.
In this example, the that clause is the object of the verb argues.
Indirect quotation is very different from direct quotation To see the differences, compare the following quotes:
Direct: Tom said, “My parents are going to Malta this summer.”
Indirect: Tom said that his parents were going to Malta this summer
If you look closely, you will see a number of differences between the two types of quotations
• The most obvious and important difference is the use of quotation marks If a quota-tion is in quotaquota-tion marks, it is a direct quote If it is not in quotaquota-tion marks, it is an indirect
quotation
• Both direct and indirect quotations use the same verb said to introduce the quote, but in the case of direct quotation, said is separated from the quoted material by a comma No comma
is used in the indirect quote
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• The indirect quotation uses that to introduce the quoted material Direct quotation can-not use that in this manner.
• In the direct quotation, the quoted material begins with a capital letter; in the indirect quotation, the paraphrased material begins with a lowercase letter
• The tenses in the two quotations are different The direct quotation is in the present tense
The indirect quotation is in the past tense
• There is a difference in pronouns The my in the direct quotation shifts to his in the
indi-rect quotation
The use of that is especially signifi cant because sometimes it is the only way we can tell the
difference between direct and indirect quotation For example, could you use quotation marks
with the following sentence?
Bill said that his parents had enjoyed their trip to Malta
The answer is that you could not because that signals an indirect quotation We can never use
that with direct quotation One of the characteristics of that clauses (including that clauses used
in indirect quotation) is that we may optionally delete that However, deleting that in indirect
quotation is a really bad idea because that is one of the best ways to distinguish direct and
indi-rect quotation Accordingly, in the following discussion, we will always retain that in indiindi-rect
quotation
Compare the following direct and indirect quotations:
Direct: She said, “I am going home soon.”
Indirect: She said that she was going home soon.
The direct quotation is in the present progressive tense (am going) In the indirect quotation, the verb has shifted to the past progressive tense (was going) The standard name for this is
back-shifting Moving from direct quotation to indirect quotation involves a surprisingly elaborate set
of backshifts from present tenses to past tenses, and from past tenses to past perfect tenses The
basic rule is this:
Present tenses ⇒ past tenses Past tenses ⇒ past perfect tenses Here are some examples of present tenses backshifting to past tenses:
Present tense ⇒ past tense
Direct: He said, “I have to go.”
Indirect: He said that he had to go.
Trang 4Present progressive ⇒ past progressive
Direct: He said, “I am leaving soon.”
Indirect: He said that he was leaving soon.
Present perfect ⇒ past perfect
Direct: He said, “We have been gone a long time.”
Indirect: He said that they had been gone a long time.
Present modal ⇒ past modal
Direct: They said, “We will see him tomorrow.”
Indirect: They said that they would see him tomorrow.
Exercise 15.1
Convert the following direct quotations to indirect quotations Be sure to use that in the indirect
quotations
Jim said, “The computer paper is stored in the bottom drawer.”
Jim said that the computer paper was stored in the bottom drawer.
1 Alice said, “The company hosts the annual meeting in Las Vegas this year.”
2 Tom said, “Francine has decided to move to Chicago.”
3 I said, “Tom will meet us as soon as possible.”
4 Ralph said, “Everyone has enjoyed the visit.”
5 The TV said, “The storm may move up the coastline.”
6 My mom said, “Everyone is looking forward to meeting Barbara.”
7 Bill said, “The keys are kept next to the backdoor.”
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8 Terry said, “We can still get reservations for the weekend.”
9 The contractor said, “The electricians will fi nish the wiring Friday.”
10 I said, “I know you are right.”
Here are some examples of backshifted past tenses:
Past tense ⇒ past perfect tense
Direct: I said, “I was a little disappointed.”
Indirect: I said that I had been a little disappointed.
Past progressive ⇒ past perfect progressive
Direct: She said, “I was looking forward to it.”
Indirect: She said that she had been looking forward to it.
Past perfect: no change possible because sentence is already in past perfect tense
Direct: They said, “Bill had made a reservation.”
Indirect: They said that Bill had made a reservation.
Past modal: no change possible because there are no past perfect modals
Direct: We said, “Sam would take care of it.”
Indirect: We said that Sam would take care of it.
Exercise 15.2
Convert the following direct quotations to indirect quotations Be sure to use that in the indirect
quotations
She said, “Ron already fi lled out the forms.”
She said that Ron had already fi lled out the forms.
1 He said, “They have really done a great job.”
2 I said, “We were busy all afternoon.”
Trang 63 Rudy said, “We saw a terrifi c movie Saturday.”
4 Mom said, “The rain was pouring down all afternoon.”
5 The mechanic said, “Jack was working on our car.”
6 The bank said, “The check has been deposited already.”
7 Alice said, “They have already made plans for dinner.”
8 He said, “We helped our kids move into their new apartment.”
9 Marion said, “I was watching TV when you called.”
10 Francis said, “Bob pulled a muscle exercising.”
Indirect quotation requires a number of adjustments in the reference of fi rst and second per-son pronouns Here are the most common shifts that may cause problems for nonnative speakers:
First person to third
Direct: He said, “I will introduce Sally to the group at lunch.”
Indirect: He said that he would introduce Sally to the group at lunch.
Second person to third
Direct: She said, “You are making a big mistake.”
Indirect: She said that he/she was making a big mistake.
We see the same kind of shift in refl exive and possessive pronouns For example:
First person to third
Direct: He said, “I just cut myself on my arm.”
Indirect: He said that he had just cut himself on his arm.
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Second person to third
Direct: She said, “You made a fool of yourself in your memo.”
Indirect: She said that he/she had made a fool of himself/herself in his/her memo.
Exercise 15.3
Convert the following direct quotations to indirect quotations
Sue said, “I am worried about meeting my deadline.”
Sue said that she was worried about meeting her deadline.
1 He said, “I may be able to arrange a meeting with my manager.”
2 I said, “It was a good idea to talk to you.”
3 The postman said, “You need to mail your package before fi ve.”
4 Bob said, “The paint in my living room is drying properly.”
5 Jane said, “I was just talking to my mother.”
6 He said, “I will be staying at home tomorrow.”
7 She told Paul, “You can count on me.”
8 Ruth told me, “I am not ready to get rid of my car yet.”
9 Alice told her son, “You have been staying up too late talking to your friends.”
10 My wife reminded me, “I am having dinner with my friend after work.”