Direct speech with "be like" and "go" | Learn English | Canguro English

Join Pili and I as we discover a new way to use direct speech instead of using the boring old verb "say". Perfect for your informal English! See you in class!

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Today I would like to talk an important feature of colloquial English that isn't taught very much in the classroom, and it's using like and go to introduce direct speech.

INDIRECT VS DIRECT SPEECH
First we need to understand the difference between indirect and direct speech. Indirect speech is when we don't repeat exactly what the person said, but we summarise or generalise about what the person said using our own words. Direct speech is when we repeat exactly what the person said. Now, like and go are special because it combines both; we repeat what people say, but we can use our own words.

CONSTRUCTION
The construction is very simple and combines the verb to be + like + "quotation", or go (+ object) + "quotation". For example:

He said "I love pizza".
He was like "I love pizza".
He goes "I love pizza".
Was he like "I love pizza"?

So, if we already have a lot of verbs that we can use for this like add, admit, complain, deny, point out, promise, remark, observe, so what are the advantages of using go or like? There are lots, for example:

- Can be used to imitate the speaker
- Can emphasise that the person said exactly that thing
- Can be used for an imaginary conversation
- Can be used for internal thoughts
- Can be used to report internal emotional states

There are three situations in which we can use this construction:

Realistic - Yesterday Mike was like "I love pizza".
Hypothetical - If I met god I would be like "where have you been?"
Situational - Don't ask me to act because I'm like terrified.

Note that it can only be used before the quotation, and not after, for example this is not correct:

"I love pizza" he was like.

USAGE
This is a very colloquial construction, and so wouldn't be used in formal situations, and also never in writing. But, in nearly all conversation this is a very common feature. Now you might think that this is a recent development in English, and a lot of language purists might tell you never to use it, but actually it's been around since the 1950s, first only used as "like, wow", and then by the 1980s it was in common usage.

Like and say are equally accepted by younger speakers, but the older generation have a strong preference for say. This is probably because this construction has only been in common usage since the 80s, so it will probably only become more common with time.

Hopefully that will help you to sound a little bit more cool when you speak English, thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe. See you in class!

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