Cara Mengubah Direct Speech Menjadi Indirect Speech

Ketika menceritakan ulang perkataan seseorang, kita punya dua pilihan: mengutip kata-katanya persis (direct speech) atau menyampaikan maksudnya dengan kalimat sendiri (indirect speech). Dalam bahasa Inggris, perubahan dari bentuk pertama ke bentuk kedua melibatkan aturan yang cukup rinci, mulai dari tense, kata ganti, hingga keterangan waktu dan tempat. Yuk, pelajari cara mengubah direct speech menjadi indirect speech langkah demi langkah.

Apa Itu Direct dan Indirect Speech?

• Direct speech menyampaikan kata-kata pembicara persis seperti yang diucapkan, ditulis di dalam tanda kutip. Contoh: She said, “I exercise every day.”
• Indirect speech (disebut juga reported speech) menyampaikan isi ucapan tanpa kutipan langsung, biasanya dalam klausa yang dihubungkan dengan that, dengan penyesuaian pada kata ganti, tense, dan keterangan waktu atau tempat. Contoh: She said that she exercised every day.

Tiga Perubahan Utama

Menurut berbagai materi tata bahasa, konversi direct ke indirect speech pada dasarnya membutuhkan tiga penyesuaian:

1. Kata ganti (pronoun) disesuaikan dengan sudut pandang pelapor.
2. Tense digeser mundur (backshift) bila kata kerja pelapor berada dalam bentuk lampau.
3. Keterangan waktu dan tempat disesuaikan dengan konteks pelaporan.

1. Perubahan Kata Ganti

Kata ganti berubah mengikuti siapa yang berbicara dan siapa yang melaporkan.

• Direct: Tom said, “I like my job.”
• Indirect: Tom said that he liked his job.

2. Perubahan Tense (Backshift)

Jika kata kerja pelapor (reporting verb) seperti said berada dalam bentuk lampau, tense di dalam kutipan umumnya bergeser satu tingkat ke belakang:

• Simple present → simple past “I like it.” → He said he liked it.
• Present continuous → past continuous “I am working.” → She said she was working.
• Simple past → past perfect “I saw her.” → He said he had seen her.
• Present perfect → past perfect “I have finished.” → She said she had finished.
• Will → would “I will call you.” → He said he would call me.
• Can → could “I can swim.” → She said she could swim.
• May → might “I may come.” → He said he might come.
• Must → had to “I must go.” → She said she had to go.

Kata kerja modal could, should, would, might, ought to, used to pada umumnya tidak berubah.

Kapan Tense Tidak Perlu Digeser?

• Bila kata kerja pelapor dalam bentuk simple present atau future. Contoh: He says, “I am tired.” → He says that he is tired.
• Bila isi ucapan adalah kebenaran umum atau fakta yang masih berlaku. Contoh: The teacher said, “The earth goes around the sun.” → The teacher said that the earth goes around the sun.

3. Perubahan Keterangan Waktu dan Tempat

Keterangan waktu dan tempat berubah menyesuaikan saat melaporkan:

• now → then
• today → that day
• tonight → that night
• yesterday → the day before / the previous day
• tomorrow → the next day / the following day
• last week → the week before / the previous week
• next month → the following month
• ago → before
• here → there
• this → that
• these → those

Contoh: He said, “I saw my sister at the cinema today.” → He said that he had seen his sister at the cinema that day.

Jenis Kalimat dan Cara Mengubahnya

Pernyataan (Statements)

Gunakan said that atau told + objek + that. Kata that sering dapat dihilangkan.

• “I am busy today,” he said. → He said (that) he was busy that day.
• “We will help you,” they told me. → They told me (that) they would help me.

Pertanyaan Ya/Tidak (Yes/No Questions)

Gunakan asked + if/whether. Susunan kata berubah menjadi susunan kalimat pernyataan (bukan susunan pertanyaan), dan tanda tanya dihilangkan.

• “Do you like coffee?” she asked. → She asked if I liked coffee.
• “Have you finished?” he asked. → He asked whether I had finished.

Pertanyaan dengan Kata Tanya (Wh-Questions)

Gunakan kata tanya yang sama (what, where, why, when, how) tanpa tambahan that, dengan susunan kata pernyataan. Hilangkan do/does/did.

• “Where do you live?” he asked. → He asked where I lived.
• “Why is she crying?” they asked. → They asked why she was crying.

Kesalahan umum adalah mempertahankan susunan pertanyaan, misalnya He asked where was she. Bentuk yang benar adalah He asked where she was.

Perintah dan Permintaan (Commands and Requests)

Gunakan told/asked + objek + to-infinitive. Untuk bentuk larangan, gunakan not to.

• “Close the door,” she said. → She told me to close the door.
• “Please help me,” he said. → He asked me to help him.
• “Don’t go there,” she said. → She told me not to go there.

Pada perintah dan permintaan, perubahan terutama terjadi pada kata ganti serta keterangan waktu dan tempat; tense tidak perlu digeser.

Pilihan Reporting Verb

Selain said, told, dan asked, ada banyak reporting verb yang memberi nuansa lebih tepat, seperti replied, explained, admitted, suggested, advised, warned, promised, dan requested.

• “You should see a doctor,” he said. → He advised me to see a doctor.
• “I’ll be there at six,” she said. → She promised to be there at six.

Kesalahan yang Sering Terjadi

• Lupa mengubah kata ganti saat tense sudah diubah.
• Memakai that sebelum pertanyaan, padahal seharusnya if/whether atau kata tanya.
• Mempertahankan susunan kata pertanyaan pada reported question.
• Tidak mengubah keterangan waktu dan tempat.
• Mencampur direct dan indirect speech dalam satu kalimat.

Latihan Singkat

Ubah ke indirect speech:

1. She said, “I am tired.” → She said that she was tired.
2. He asked, “Where do you work?” → He asked where I worked.
3. The teacher said, “Open your books.” → The teacher told us to open our books.
4. Ann said, “I will call you tomorrow.” → Ann said that she would call me the next day.

Penutup

Mengubah direct speech menjadi indirect speech pada dasarnya adalah menyesuaikan tiga hal: kata ganti, tense, dan keterangan waktu atau tempat, serta memperhatikan jenis kalimatnya (pernyataan, pertanyaan, atau perintah). Dengan memahami pola dan berlatih secara rutin, kamu dapat melaporkan ucapan orang lain dalam bahasa Inggris dengan tepat dan alami.