گفت که
Reporting What Someone Said
The person changes, and a request becomes the subjunctive. The tense stays as it was when the speaker spoke.
How It Works
| Kind | Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|---|
| statement | او گفت: «فردا می‌آیم.» | او گفت که فردا می‌آید. |
| past | فرید گفت: «دیروز رفتم.» | فرید گفت که دیروز رفت. |
| request | مادرم گفت: «زود بیا.» | مادرم گفت که زود بیایم. |
English moves the verb back: she said she would come. Dari keeps the speaker's own tense, so the same sentence is او گفت که می‌آید.
The same که joins every report, whether the speaker made a statement or asked for something.
The person changes to fit the new speaker. If Farid says «من می‌روم» (I am going), you report that Farid said he is going: فرید گفت که می‌رود.
A request or an order becomes the subjunctive: «بیا» becomes بیایم when the one who was asked reports it. The question mark and the quotation marks go away in reported speech.
To say who was told, put به before the person: مریم به من گفت که امروز مریض است (Maryam told me she is sick today).
Examples (5)
- فرید گفت که دیروز به بازار رفت.
Farid said he went to the bazaar yesterday.
The verb رفت stays in the past, and the ending changes from I to he.
- مریم گفت که امروز مریض است.
Maryam said she is sick today.
است stays in the present, the tense Maryam used.
- مادرم گفت که زود به خانه بیایم.
My mother told me to come home early.
A reported request uses the subjunctive بیایم.
- معلم گفت که امتحان فردا نیست.
The teacher said the exam is not tomorrow.
نیست stays in the present.
- همسایه‌ها گفتند که فردا برف می‌بارد.
The neighbors said it will snow tomorrow.
می‌بارد stays in the present, and گفتند is the plural verb for the neighbors.
Common Mistakes
Keeping a command as a command inside reported speech.
مادرم گفت که زود به خانه بیا.مادرم گفت که زود به خانه بیایم.A reported request is the subjunctive for the person who was told. Here that person is the speaker, so بیا becomes بیایم.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reporting keeps the speaker's tense and joins with که, so که after a thought comes first.
Related Patterns
- پرسید که آیاReporting Questions
پرسید که turns a question into part of a sentence.
Level 4 - The Present Subjunctive
A reported request uses this form.
Level 3 - Tracking Nested Reports
One report can sit inside another.
Level 6 - گفته است و گفته شده استReported Facts in the News
News uses گفته است for what someone has said.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice گفت که in Bubblegum
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