有一读者问：高中英语第二册中有这样一句话：
(1)How I wish I had been able to say the rules without a mistake.
这里为什么不用wished? 而在同一课第一段中有一句：
(2)How I regretted the hours when I had played and should have studied.
它用的却是regretted，这又是为什么呢？
上述句（2）之所以用过去一般时regretted, 我想你是理解的。这是因为它指的是作者少年时代在“最后一课”上的时刻。句（1）之所以用现在一般时则是因为它是一个不用引号的直接引语，即一种自言自语。它实际上等于：
(3)“How I wish I had been able to say the rules without a mistake,” I said to myself.
这种不用引号的直接引语，在语法上，叫做自由直接引语。自由直接引语和一般直接引语一样，也必须是一字不改地引述别人或自己的话，所不同者只是不用引号而已。自由直接引语常用来具体而生动地描绘人的心理活动。再如：
(4)And I told this God, whoever or wherever He was, that I would gladly go on with things as they were. I don't mind the suffering, sir. I don't mind knowing, as long as Jenny doesn't know. Did you hear me, God, sir? I'll do anything you want. （摘自外语教学与研究出版社出版的《爱情故事》[Love Story ]）
有时可有引述动词，如：
(5)In a way, we won the title at the World Championships because we didn't expect to win—we didn't feel much pressure. After we made the quarterfinals, we thought if we win again, that's fine, if we don't, we've already achieved our goal. （有引述动词thought）
既然有自由直接引语，自然也有自由间接引语。由于它与本题无关，因而就不细说它了。有兴趣者可查阅拙编《高级英语语法》有关部分。
