直接引语是直接引述别人的原话，原话用有引号，而间接引语是引述别人的话，不用引号。

间接引语在多数情况下构成宾语从句。

直接引语改为间接引语时，引述动词是现在时，则间接引语中的动词、时间、时态的形式不变。

关键要掌握下列“三要素”。

要素一：陈述句的间接引语——连接词用that，在口语中可省略。

引述动词用said, told, ,等。

例如： 1) He said: “I’ve left my book in my room.”→ He told me that he had left his book in his room. 2) She said: “He will be busy.”→ She said that he would be busy. 要素二： 疑问句的间接引语。

一般疑问句后连接词用if或whether，而引述选择疑问句时只能用whether，引述动词用asked，没有间接引语的可以加一个间接宾语me, him等，例如： She said to Tom, “Can you help me?”→ She asked Tom if /whether he could help her. 1) She asked, “Is this book yours or his?”→ She asked me whether that book was mine or his. 2) 特殊疑问句用原句中的疑问词作连接词，改为陈述语序。

例如： The teacher asked, “how did you repair it?” → The teacher asked me how I had repaired it. 要素三：祈使句的间接引语——采用“动词+宾语+不定式”结构。

told 即 asked sb. (not) to do sth. ordered warned 注意：引语中的呼语可改成宾语。

引语中的please 去掉，动词改为 ask 1) The teacher said to the students, “Don’t waste your time.” → The teacher told the students not to waste their time. 2) The mother said, “Tom, get up early, please.”→ The mother asked Tom to get up early. “五不变” 在直接引语变间接引语时，还要注意以下五种不变的特殊情况。

1． 直接引语如果是客观真理，谚（习）语，变间接引语时时态不变。

例如： The teacher said, “The earth goes round the sun.”→ The teacher said that the earth goes round the sun. My father said, “Practice makes perfect.”→ My father said practice makes perfect. 2. 直接引语中被引述的部分是反复出现的，习惯性的动作或说话时情况仍然存在的，变间接引语时，时态保持不变，例如： The boy said to us, “ I usually get up at six every day.”→ The boy told us he usually gets up at six every day. He said, “We are still students.’→ He said they are still students. 3． 直接引语如果有明确的表示过去的时间状语，时态不变。

例如： He said to me, “I was born in 1978.”→ He told me that he was born in 1978. The engineer said, “I was at college in 1967.”→ The engineer said he was at college in 1967. 4．直接引语中凡有When， since，while 引导的从句，在变为间接引语时，只改变主句时态，从句的时态不变。

例如： He said, “I have studied English since I was a boy.” → He said he had studied English since he was a boy. She said, “I read the book while I was waiting for a bus.→ She said she had read the book while she was waiting for a bus. Mr. Green said to them, “Joe told me all about his story when he asked for a job.”→ Mr. Green told them Joe had told him all about his story when he asked for a job. 5．如果直接引语中引述部分含有insist, suggest, demand等引导的虚拟宾语从句，变间接引语时，引语中的主从句时态都不变。

例如： He said, “We insisted that she start immediately.→ He said they (had) insisted that she start immediately. She said, “He demanded that the girl leave at once.”→ She said he demanded that the girl leave at once. 另外，如果说话人转述自己的话，人称则可不变. 例如： I said to him, “I have finished it.”→I told him I had finished it. 如果就在当地转述, here不必变为there，come不必改为go，如果就在当天转述，则today, yesterday, tomorrow等状语也不必变化。

例如： She said to us, I’ll come here tomorrow.”→ She told us she would come here tomorrow.。