Direct and indirect speech are two ways of reporting what someone said. Direct speech repeats the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports the words spoken in our own words. Here are some key differences between direct and indirect speech:

Direct Speech

• Quotes the exact words spoken
• Placed between quotation marks
• No change in the words spoken
• Used to report something being said now or in the past

Indirect Speech

• Reports the words spoken in our own words
• No quotation marks
• Tense of the words spoken is usually changed to reflect that it was said in the past
• Reporting verbs like say, tell, ask are used to introduce the reported words

To convert a sentence from direct to indirect speech, various factors are considered, such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place, pronouns, and tenses. The following rules should be followed while converting indirect speech to direct speech:

• Use the reporting verb such as say, said to in its correct tense
• Put a comma before the statement, and the first letter of the statement should be in capital letter
• Insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark, and full stop based on the mood of the sentence
• Remove the conjunctions like that, to, if, or whether wherever necessary

Overall, direct and indirect speech are important concepts to understand for effective communication and writing in English.