маўляў

Reported Words with Маўляў

Level 5Sounds Like maŭlâŭ

Маўляў tells what someone said or meant, in paraphrase: Ён махнуў рукой: маўляў, усё роўна. (He waved his hand, as if to say it did not matter.)

How It Works

Маўляў passes on someone else's words or thoughts without quoting them exactly. It works like English as if to say, saying or he says. It is common in stories and lively conversation.

  • A gesture or look: Ён махнуў рукой: маўляў, усё роўна. (He waved his hand, as if to say it did not matter.) Яна ўсміхнулася, маўляў, не хвалюйся.
  • An excuse or claim: Сусед адмовіўся дапамагчы, маўляў, у яго няма часу. (The neighbour refused to help, saying he had no time.)

The words after маўляў can keep the original speaker's point of view, almost like a quotation without quotation marks: Ён усё адкладае, маўляў, паспею заўтра. (He keeps putting it off: I will manage tomorrow, he says.) The speaker often sounds a little doubtful or amused.

Punctuation. The official rules list маўляў among words that name the source of a statement, so it is set off with commas, like other parenthetical words. After a description of a gesture, a colon or a comma can come before it.

Not a verb. Маўляў ends in -ў like a past-tense verb, but it does not change and cannot take a што clause. To say he said that..., use сказаў, што. Compare нібыта, which marks a claim as doubtful, and reported speech for neutral reporting.

Examples (5)

  1. Ён махнуў рукой: маўляў, усё роўна.

    He waved his hand, as if to say it did not matter.

    Word by Word: He waved hand: as-if-to-say, all equal.

  2. Алесь паказаў на гадзіннік, маўляў, спазняемся.

    Ales pointed at his watch, as if to say we were late.

    Word by Word: Ales pointed at watch, as-if-to-say, we-are-late.

  3. Сусед адмовіўся дапамагчы, маўляў, у яго няма часу.

    The neighbour refused to help, saying he had no time.

    Word by Word: Neighbour refused to-help, saying, at him no time.

  4. Яна ўсміхнулася, маўляў, не хвалюйся.

    She smiled as if to say: do not worry.

    Word by Word: She smiled, as-if-to-say, not worry.

  5. Ён усё адкладае, маўляў, паспею заўтра.

    He keeps putting it off: I will manage tomorrow, he says.

    Word by Word: He all postpones, saying, I-will-manage tomorrow.

    The paraphrase keeps his own I.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating маўляў as a verb of saying.

    Ён маўляў, што стаміўся.
    Ён сказаў, што стаміўся.

    Маўляў looks like a past-tense verb, but it is a particle and cannot take a што clause. Use сказаў or казаў, or write Ён, маўляў, стаміўся.

  • Leaving out the commas.

    Ён махнуў рукой маўляў усё роўна.
    Ён махнуў рукой, маўляў, усё роўна.

    Маўляў names whose words follow, so the rules set it off with commas on both sides.

How It Connects

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маўляўLevel 5Reported Words with Маўляў

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Reported маўляў needs reported speech and parenthetical words.

Words in This Pattern

маўляў