ABSTRACT
An important function in language is to report what other people have said. This may be done by reproducing the exact words expressed by the speaker (direct speech) or, more often, by reporting his or her words in an indirect way (indirect speech). Direct speech, introduced by a verb such as dizer ‘to say’, is commonly found in fiction writing in the form of dialogue: 1
- Vamos para casa – disse Antônia.
‘Let’s go home,’ said Antonia.
