Thank you both of you
I thought that "say" could not be a reporting verb for commands. I had been told to use a different reporting verb for commands (tell, recommend, ask, suggest, beg, etc.). I had been taught the structure:
Direct speech:
"Eat healthier food," said the doctor
Indirect speeech:
The doctor told me to eat healthier food.
Is there any difference between this one and
"The doctor said to eat healthier food"? Is one more frequent or formal or colloquial than the other? Can you introduce the addresee in this second structure? For example, could you write this:
Direct Speech:
"Be quiet, children," said their mother.
Indirect Speech:
Their mother said the children to be quiet