free indirect speech

free indirect speech (fri indirekte tale, dekt tale): a way of rendering speech (or thought) in writing. Free indirect speech has many of the grammatical features of indirect speech (backshifted tense, use of third person instead of first person pronouns, etc.), but does not consist of a reporting clause followed by a that-clause or an indirect question. Free indirect speech thus looks less like reported speech, and often conveys a greater sense of immediacy than indirect speech. Free indirect speech is typical of fiction. E.g. She looked around the room. The floor would be a problem, of course. The carpet would have to go.