直述句和轉述句經常讓英語學習者感到困惑。我們先來定義這兩者，再從例句觀察如何敘述某人說過的話，最後再學如何改寫直述句和轉述句。
對於「他說了什麼？」的問句，您可以用兩種方式來回答：
- 重複說過的話（直述句）
- 轉述說過的話（間接敘述或轉述句）
直述句
直述句是重複或引用他人說過的每個字。當我們在寫作中使用直述句時，會在引用的字句前後標上雙引號，並完整引用他人說過的話。我們會轉述某人在「此刻」講的話（例如在講電話時），或在稍後把先前的對話轉告他人。
舉例
- She says, "What time will you be home?"
- She said, "What time will you be home?" and I said, "I don't know! "
- "There's a fly in my soup!" screamed Simone.
- John said, "There's an elephant outside the window."
轉述句
轉述句通常用來談過去的事，因此我們通常會改變句子的時態。我們會用 say、tell、ask 等轉述詞，並用 that 來引導要轉述的話，不加引號。
She said, "I saw him." (直述句) = She said that she had seen him. (轉述句)
「that」可以省略：
She told him that she was happy. = She told him she was happy.
「say」和「tell」
當句中沒有受詞時，用「say」：
He said that he was tired.
當談到誰跟誰講了話，一律用「tell」（即間接受詞）：
He told me that he was tired.
「talk」和「speak」
用這些動詞來描述交談的動作：
He talked to us.
She was speaking on the telephone.
在這些動詞後面加「about」來指談論的事：
He talked (to us) about his parents.