In the first part of the programme on direct speech, Yang Li and Emily introduce the concept of direct speech and indirect speech.

They also give you some exercise to practice in turning indirect speech into indirect speech.

What’s direct speech? 所谓直接引语就是直接引述别人的原话，用括号引起来。在汉语中我们称之为引语霍语录。

What’s indirect speech? 所谓间接引语就是用自己的话来转别人的话，不用引号。

间接引语有两种表达 indirect speech 或 reported speech.

Rebecca said that she was going to the North Pole to see the northern lights and Father Christmas

Why is it important? Turning direct speech into an indirect one is a basic skill for communication. We do that all the time in our first language. But when it comes to using a foreign language like English it may be tricky.

There are quite a few basic rules you should follow. Today we’ll focus on three of those: tenses 时态, modal verbs 情态动词 and pronouns 人称代词。

Listen to the programme and see if you can do the exercise towards the end of the programme. Good luck!

If you have a question about English, email our team at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We may answer it on this programme.

Glossary 词汇

concept 概念

direct speech 直接引语

indict speech 间接引语

communication 交流

When it comes to…轮到…的时候

tricky 容易出错的