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? 所謂直接引語就是直接引述別人的原話，用括號引起來。在漢語中我們稱之為引語霍語錄。

What’s indirect speech? 所謂間接引語就是用自己的話來轉(zhuǎn)別人的話，不用引號。

間接引語有兩種表達 indirect speech 或 reported speech.

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 時態(tài), modal verbs 情態(tài)動詞 and pronouns 人稱代詞。

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 詞匯

concept 概念

direct speech 直接引語

indict speech 間接引語

communication 交流

When it comes to…輪到…的時候

tricky 容易出錯的