Indirect Statement Or Reported Speech

Look at the following “The enemy are approaching!” The mother is using direct speech.

mater, “hostes, “ inquit, “appropinquant!” This is direct speech because she is speaking it.

Look at the following The mother said that the enemy were approaching. The newspaper uses reported or indirect speech.

Direct or Indirect speech? “The toast is ready.” –direct The mother said that the toast was ready. –indirect The father said that he liked fishing. –indirect “I like fishing.” –direct “Dinner is served.” –direct The waiter replied that dinner was served. –indirect

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere.

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere. VERB of SAYING or THINKING

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere. This is what the person originally said.

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere. The subject of the statement goes into the ACCUSATIVE case

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere. The verb goes into the INFINITIVE

Accusative and Infinitive servus dixit canem e villa currere. The slave said the dog to run out of the house Or in better English, The slave said that the dog was running out of the house.

Some more examples ancilla clamabat villam ardere. –Literally: The slave girl shouted the house to be on fire. The slave girl shouted that the house was on fire. dominus dixit servum aquam ferre. –Literally: The master said the slave to bring water. The master said that the slave was brining water. mater respondit servum e villa currere. –Literally: The mother replied the slave to be running from the house. The mother replied that the slave was running from the house. Notice how in English we translate a present infinitive by a past tense.

Some examples with Perfect infinitives civis audiebat imperatorem cecidisse. –Literally: The citizen heard the emperor to have fallen. –The citizen heard that the emperor had fallen. milites putabant hostes in silvas festinavisse. –Literally: The soldiers thought the enemy to have hurried into the woods. –The soldiers thought that the enemy had hurried into the woods. fur cognovit mercatorem pecuniam sub terra celavisse. –Literally: The thief realised the merchant to have hidden money under the ground. –The thief realised that the merchant had hidden money under the ground. rex nesciebat reginam venenum in poculo posuisse. –Literally: The king did not know the queen to have put poison in the goblet. –The king did not know that the queen had put poison in the cup.

Some examples with future infinitives mercator dixit nautas ad insulam desertam navigaturos esse. –Literally: The merchant said the sailors going to sail to the desert island. –The merchant said that the sailors would sail to the desert island. medicus cognovit dominum aegerrimum futurum esse. –Literally: The doctor realised the master going to be very sick. –The doctor realised that the master would be very sick. imperator nescivit filium suum e villa mane discessurum esse. –The emperor did not know his own son going to depart from the house in the morning. –The emperor did not know that his own son would depart from the house in the morning.