Note the lines below:
1) The judge asked:
– Something to declare?
2) The judge asked if there was anything to declare.
3) Then, the judge would conduct the session and try as fast as he could to make the conciliation. Right now I have a full schedule! He didn't know if he could resolve this situation. I hope I can!
It is possible to see that there are differences in the organization of the speeches above, isn't it? In the first case, there is a direct reference to the speech of the interlocutor or character, that is, an attempt is made to faithfully reproduce how the speech is expressed. In the second, it is clear that this reference takes on an indirect aspect, that is, there is no exact description of what was said. And, finally, in the third case, we see that there is the presence of two linguistic models, direct and indirect, in which there is, to the at the same time, a faithful description of the interlocutor's speech, as well as an indirect reference to it within the same speech. These three ways of referring to the words or thoughts of interlocutors are called
direct speech, indirect speech and free indirect speech, and each of them has specific characteristics that we are going to analyze now.Direct speech
It is the one in which we faithfully reproduce our words and those of our interlocutor in a dialogue. During the construction of this type of discourse, it is common to use declarative verbs, that can be: said, answered, affirmed, pondered, suggested, asked, inquired, etc.
Example:
– Why are you so late? she asked him nervously with her hands on her hips and her feet hitting the floor.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
– I was in a meeting with the board. She retorted, trying to disguise her alcoholic breath.
– Was it an alcohol-fueled meeting? He replied ironically to his wife.
Indirect speech
It is the one in which the interlocutor's speech is incorporated into the narrator's speech. It is also common to use declarative verbs, which start the speech, and the lines, in general, appear as substantive subordinate clauses.
Example:
He asked him why he had arrived so late.
He retorted that he had been in a meeting with the board.
She asked wryly if he had gone to an alcohol-fueled meeting.
Attention! Note the change in tense in the transformation from direct to indirect speech, from past tense perfect for past tense more-than-perfect.
Free indirect speech
It is the junction of direct speech and indirect speech, that is, there is a proximity between the narrator and the character without separating the lines of both. Thus, there is the use of direct speech and indirect speech in the same utterance, keeping the interrogations and exclamations in their original form.
Example:
His nervous wife with her hands on her hips and her feet tapping the floor was waiting for him at home. Why are you late? She hastened to answer it, disguising her alcoholic breath, saying that she had been in a board meeting. However, she, realizing his intention, replied ironically if it had been an alcohol-soaked meeting.
Free indirect speech has been widely used in modern literature.
By Mariana Rigonatto
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
RIGONATTO, Mariana. "What is direct, indirect and free indirect speech?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/portugues/o-que-e-discurso-direto-indireto-indireto-livre.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.