Tracking Nested Reports

Level 6

Dari does not move the tense back: what someone says now stays in the present inside a report.

How It Works

News and long narration stack reports: A said that B had said that C was ready. Take the layers one at a time.

LayerWho speaksDari
1the principalمدیر گفت که
2the teachersمعلمان به او گفته‌اند که
3the contentشاگردان آماده نیستند

Each layer keeps the tense of the words as the speaker said them. If the teachers said the students are not ready, the clause stays آماده نیستند. A perfect (گفته‌اند) or a past perfect (گفته بود) shows that a report happened earlier.

Pronouns shift to the new point of view. Maryam said I will come; the report says مریم گفت که او می‌آید. When two people could be او, use a name or خودش.

A habit of saying uses the imperfect: می‌گفت که (used to say that). A question inside a report uses پرسید که آیا.

Where to meet it: long news stories and school reports, where the writer says what an official said that a committee decided. Read the که words as steps. A writer may start a new sentence for a long layer, but each layer keeps its own که.

Examples (5)

  1. مدیر مکتب گفت که معلمان به او گفته‌اند که شاگردان برای امتحان آماده نیستند.

    The school principal said that the teachers had told him that the students are not ready for the exam.

    Two که words open two layers, and گفته‌اند marks the inner report as earlier.

  2. مریم به من گفت که مادرش به او گفته بود که تا شام برمی‌گردد.

    Maryam told me that her mother had told her that she would be back by dinner.

    گفته بود puts the inner report earlier, and برمی‌گردد keeps the mother’s own tense.

  3. معلم ما گفت که در کتاب نوشته شده است که این شهر دو هزار سال پیش ساخته شد.

    Our teacher said that the book says that this city was built two thousand years ago.

    The book is the second speaker, shown with نوشته شده است که.

  4. پدرکلانم همیشه می‌گفت که مردم می‌گویند که کار امروز را به فردا نباید گذاشت.

    My grandfather always said that people say that you should not leave today’s work for tomorrow.

    می‌گفت marks a habit, and the proverb stays in its own tense.

  5. داکتر صاحب گفت که مریض به پرستار گفته است که درد کمتر شده است.

    The doctor said that the patient has told the nurse that the pain has gone down.

    Each report uses its own perfect: گفته است and شده است.

Common Mistakes

  • Changing the pronoun but not the verb ending.

    مریم به من گفت که او فردا می‌آیم.
    مریم به من گفت که او فردا می‌آید.

    When من becomes او, the verb ending changes too: می‌آید.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Tracking Nested ReportsLevel 6

Learn This First

A report can sit inside another and uses doubt words.

Words in This Pattern

که