Definition of indirect speech
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It is the other term of reported speech
Indirect speech is a means of expressing the content of statements, questions or other utterances, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech. For example, He said "I'm coming" is direct speech, whereas He said (that) he was coming is indirect speech. Indirect speech should not be confused with indirect speech acts.
In grammar, indirect speech often makes use of certain syntactic structures such as content clauses ("that" clauses, such as (that) he was coming), and sometimes infinitive phrases. References to questions in indirect speech frequently take the form of interrogative content clauses, also called indirect questions (such as whether he was coming)....Indirect speech is speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person's actual words: for example, 'They said you didn't like it', 'I asked him what his plans were', and 'Citizens complained about the smoke'.....
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