Direct speech is used to report exactly what someone said, word-for-word, like a quotation. In Turkish, the word Diye acts as a bridge between the quoted sentence and the reporting verb (said, asked, answered).
Sentence Structure:
[Speaker] + [Listener + to (-A)] + ["The Quote"] + Diye + [Reporting Verb]
Diye: Functioning as "saying" or "thus".
Sordu: Asked.
Cevap verdi: Answered / Replied.
Practical Examples:
Speaker & Listener | The Quote | Reporting Part | Translation |
Ahmet, pastacıya | "Pasta var mı?" | diye sordu. | Ahmet asked the baker, "Is there cake?". |
Pastacı, Ahmet’e | "Pasta var" | diye cevap verdi. | The baker replied to Ahmet, "There is cake". |
Martin, Susanna’ya | "Sınav var mı?" | diye sordu. | Martin asked Susanna, "Is there an exam?". |