Reported Speech
«Я прыйду» becomes Яна сказала, што прыйдзе (She said she would come). Belarusian keeps the future where English shifts to would.
How It Works
Direct speech quotes the exact words, with a colon and quotation marks: Ён сказаў: «Я стаміўся». Reported speech turns those words into a clause after the verb of saying, with a comma and no quotation marks.
1. Statements: што. Ён сказаў: «Я стаміўся». → Ён сказаў, што стаміўся. (He said that he was tired.) See content clauses with што.
2. Yes-no questions: ці. Мама спытала: «Ты зрабіў урокі?» → Мама спытала, ці я зрабіў урокі. See indirect yes-no questions.
3. Questions with a question word: keep it. «Дзе ты жывеш?» → Сябар спытаў, дзе я жыву. See indirect questions with question words.
4. Requests and commands: каб + past tense. «Зачыніце акно» → Настаўніца папрасіла, каб мы зачынілі акно. See каб with the past tense.
Keep the tense. English moves the verb back in time: will becomes would, and am becomes was. Belarusian keeps the tense that was actually used:
- «Я прыйду» → Яна сказала, што прыйдзе. (She said she would come.)
- «Я жыву ў Гродне» → Ён сказаў, што жыве ў Гродне. (He said he lived in Hrodna.)
- «Я жыў у Гродне» → Ён сказаў, што жыў у Гродне. (He said he had lived in Hrodna.)
Change the person. Pronouns, possessives and verb endings follow the new point of view: «Гэта мая кніга» → Яна сказала, што гэта яе кніга. Words like тут and заўтра may also change if the place or day is different.
Vocatives, interjections and emotional particles are usually dropped. For quoting loosely in speech, see маўляў.
Examples (6)
- Ён сказаў, што стаміўся.
He said that he was tired.
Word by Word: He said, that got-tired.
Direct speech: «Я стаміўся».
- Яна сказала, што прыйдзе заўтра.
She said that she would come tomorrow.
Word by Word: She said, that will-come tomorrow.
Direct speech: «Я прыйду заўтра». The future stays.
- Мама спытала, ці я зрабіў урокі.
Mom asked whether I had done my homework.
Word by Word: Mom asked, whether I did lessons.
Direct speech: «Ты зрабіў урокі?»
- Сябар спытаў, дзе я жыву.
My friend asked where I lived.
Word by Word: Friend asked, where I live.
Direct speech: «Дзе ты жывеш?» The present stays.
- Настаўніца папрасіла, каб мы зачынілі акно.
The teacher asked us to close the window.
Word by Word: Teacher asked, so-that we closed window.
Direct speech: «Зачыніце акно».
- Яна сказала, што гэта яе кніга.
She said that it was her book.
Word by Word: She said, that this her book.
Direct speech: «Гэта мая кніга».
Common Mistakes
Shifting the tense back as in English.
Яна сказала, што прыйшла.Яна сказала, што прыйдзе.If she said «Я прыйду» (I will come), the report keeps the future. Прыйшла would mean she said she had already arrived.
Keeping the original speaker's pronoun.
Ён сказаў, што я стаміўся.Ён сказаў, што стаміўся.He was talking about himself. With я, the sentence means that he said I was tired.
Reporting a command with што and an imperative.
Мама сказала, што вярніся рана.Мама сказала, каб я вярнуўся рана.A reported command or request uses каб and a past-tense verb that agrees with the person who must act.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reported speech needs indirect questions.
Related Patterns
- што in Content ClausesContent Clauses with Што
The што-clause used for reported statements.
Level 3 - каб + Past TenseIndirect Commands and Wishes with Каб
How reported requests and commands are built.
Level 4 - маўляўReported Words with Маўляў
A spoken way to pass on someone's words without a full clause.
Level 5 - Commas in Complex Sentences
The comma before the reported clause.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Reported Speech in Bubblegum
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