WISE WEDNESDAY GRAMMAR: SYNTAX (INDIRECT DISCOURSE)

Part 3.

SYNTAX.

INDIRECT DISCOURSE.

447. Direct discourse-that is, a direct quotation or a direct question-means the identical words the writer or speaker used; as,-

"I hope you have not killed him?" said Amyas. -Kingsley.

Indirect discourse means reported speech,-the thoughts of a writer or speaker put in the words of the one reporting them.

Two samples of indirect discourse.

448. Indirect discourse may be of two kinds:-

(1) Following the thoughts and also the exact words as far as consistent with the rules of logical sequence of verbs.

(2) Merely a concise representation of the original words, not attempting to follow the entire quotation.

The following examples of both are from De Quincey:-

1. Reyes remarked that it was not in his power to oblige the clerk as to that, but that he could oblige him by cutting his throat.

Direct.

His exact words were, "I cannot oblige you. .., but I can oblige you by cutting yourthroat."

Indirect.

Her prudence whispered eternally, that safety there was none for her until she had laid the Atlantic between herself and St. Sebastian's.

Direct.

She thought to herself, "Safety there is none for me until I have laid," etc.

Summary of the expressions.

2. Then he laid bare the unparalleled ingratitude of such a step. Oh, the unseen treasure that had been spent upon that girl! Oh, the untold sums of money that he had sunk in that unhappy speculation!

Direct synopsis.

The substance of his lamentation was, "Oh, unseen treasure has been spent upon that girl! Untold sums of money have I sunk," etc.

449. From these illustrations will be readily seen the grammatical changes made in transferring from direct to indirect discourse. Remember the following facts:-

(1) Usually the main, introductory verb is in the past tense.

(2) The indirect quotation is usually introduced by that, and the indirect question bywhether or if, or regular interrogatives.

(3) Verbs in the present-tense form are changed to the past-tense form. This includes the auxiliaries be, have, will, etc. The past tense is sometimes changed to the past perfect.

(4) The pronouns of the first and second persons are all changed to the third person. Sometimes it is clearer to introduce the antecedent of the pronoun instead.

Other examples of indirect discourse have been given in Part I., under interrogative pronouns, interrogative adverbs, and the subjunctive mood of verbs.

Exercise.

Rewrite the following extract from Irving's "Sketch Book," and change it to a direct quotation:-

He assured the company that it was a fact, handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Catskill Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings; that it was affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew of the Half-moon, being permitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his enterprise, and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the great city called by his name; that his father had once seen them in their old Dutch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow of the mountain; and that he himself had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like distant peals of thunder.

Reference

An English Grammar 1896 by W. M. Baskervill & J. W. Sewell

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