Reporting What Someone Said

Level 4

Finnish uses the conjunction että (that) to report speech. Unlike English, Finnish does not shift the tense into the past when reporting something said in the past. You must also always use a comma before että.

How It Works

Reported speech (indirect discourse) allows you to relay what someone else said without quoting them directly. The structure depends on the type of sentence being reported.

1. Reporting Statements (että)
To report a statement, use the conjunction että (that). Unlike English, Finnish does not 'backshift' tenses. If the original speaker used the present tense, the report stays in the present tense.

  • Original: 'Olen väsynyt.' (I am tired.)
  • Reported: Hän sanoi, että hän on väsynyt. (He said he was tired.)

2. Reporting Questions
To report a question, you do not use 'että'. Instead, you use the original question word (like mikä or milloin) or the suffix -ko/-kö attached to the verb. These are known as reported questions.

  • Original: 'Missä avaimet ovat?' (Where are the keys?)
  • Reported: Hän kysyi, missä avaimet ovat. (He asked where the keys were.)

3. Reporting Commands and Requests
Commands are usually reported using a reporting verb followed by the -maan/-mään form or a conditional clause.

  • Original: 'Tule tänne!' (Come here!)
  • Reported: Hän käski minua tulemaan sinne. (He told me to come there.)

4. Deictic Shifts
While tenses stay the same, you must update references to people, time, and place:

  • Pronouns: Minä (I) becomes hän (he/she).
  • Time: Tänään (today) might become sinä päivänä (that day).
  • Place: Täällä (here) becomes siellä (there).

5. Punctuation
In written Finnish, a comma is mandatory before the subordinate clause (before että, jos, or question words).

Examples (5)

  1. Matti sanoi, että hän on väsynyt.

    Matti said that he is (was) tired.

    Word by Word: Matti said, that he is tired.

    Notice that 'on' (is) remains in the present tense because Matti used the present tense when he spoke.

  2. Liisa kertoi, että hän tulee huomenna.

    Liisa said that she is coming tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Liisa told, that she comes tomorrow.

    Finnish uses the present tense for future intentions, so 'tulee' is kept in the reported version.

  3. Luulin, että sinä olet töissä.

    I thought that you were at work.

    Word by Word: I-thought, that you are at-work.

    Even with the verb 'luulla' (to think), the reported clause uses the present tense 'olet' to reflect the state at that time.

  4. He sanoivat, että he eivät tienneet vastausta.

    They said that they didn't know the answer.

    Word by Word: They said, that they not knew answer.

    If the original statement was in the past ('We didn't know'), the reported speech stays in the past.

  5. Tiesin, että aurinko paistaa.

    I knew that the sun was shining.

    Word by Word: I-knew, that sun shines.

    The present tense 'paistaa' is used because the sun was shining at the moment of knowing.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the past tense by habit from English.

    Different MeaningHän sanoi, että hän oli sairas.
    Hän sanoi, että hän on sairas.

    'Hän sanoi, että hän oli sairas' is a good sentence, but it says he was sick earlier. If he said 'I am sick', Finnish usually keeps the tense of what he said: 'Hän sanoi, että hän on sairas.'

  • Omitting the comma before 'että'.

    Sanoin että tulen pian.
    Sanoin, että tulen pian.

    In Finnish, a comma is always required before the subordinating conjunction 'että'.

  • Using 'minä' when Pekka talks about himself.

    Different MeaningPekka sanoi, että minä olen iloinen.
    Pekka sanoi, että hän on iloinen.

    'Pekka sanoi, että minä olen iloinen' is a good sentence, but it means Pekka said that I am happy. If Pekka is talking about himself, 'minä' becomes 'hän': 'Pekka sanoi, että hän on iloinen.'

How It Connects

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Reporting What Someone SaidLevel 4

Learn This First

To report what someone said in Finnish, you need to be comfortable with the conjunction 'että' and understand that Finnish does not use 'backshifting' of tenses; the tense used by the original speaker is preserved inside the reported clause.

Words in This Pattern

että