Indirect speech, also known as reported speech or indirect discourse, is the reporting of someone else's words without quoting them directly. In indirect speech, the speaker's words are paraphrased or summarized, usually without the use of quotation marks. Indirect speech often involves a change in verb tense, pronouns, and sometimes word order to reflect that the words are being reported rather than spoken directly. It is commonly used in writing to relay conversations, statements, or thoughts expressed by others. For example, instead of directly quoting someone as saying "I am going to the store," indirect speech might report it as "He said that he was going to the store."