Reported Speech with Time/Place Shifts

Level 4

When a reporting verb (like disse or ha detto) is in the past, the reported statement usually shifts its 'anchor' to match that past perspective. This involves changing verb tenses (e.g., Present → Imperfect), pronouns (1st → 3rd), and time/place words (e.g., 'today' → 'that day').

How It Works

In Italian, discorso indiretto (reported speech) requires specific transformations when the main verb is in a past tense (e.g., passato prossimo, passato prossimo, imperfetto, or passato remoto).

1. Verb Tense and Mood Shifts:

Presente → Imperfetto: Studio molto becomes Disse che studiava molto.
Passato Prossimo/Remoto → Trapassato Prossimo: Ho mangiato becomes Disse che aveva mangiato.
Futuro → Condizionale Passato: This is the 'future-in-the-past'. Partirò becomes Disse che sarebbe partito.
Congiuntivo Presente → Congiuntivo Imperfetto: Credo che sia tardi becomes Disse che credeva che fosse tardi.
Imperativo → di + Infinito: Fallo! becomes Mi disse di farlo.
Venire → Andare: The verb venire often shifts to andare if the movement is no longer toward the person reporting.

2. Time and Place Shifts:
Because the reporting happens later, time markers must change:

Oggi (today) → quel giorno (that day)
Ieri (yesterday) → il giorno prima / il giorno precedente
Domani (tomorrow) → il giorno dopo / l'indomani
Ora/Adesso (now) → allora
Fa (ago) → prima
Fra/Tra (in/from now) → dopo
Qui/Qua (here) → lì/là (there)

3. Demonstratives and Pronouns:

Questo → Quello: Prendi questo libro becomes Disse di prendere quel libro.
Pronouns: First and second person pronouns usually shift to the third person. Mio padre è qui becomes Disse che suo padre era là.

Note: If the reporting verb is in the present (e.g., Dice che...), these shifts do not occur. The shifts are only triggered by a past reporting frame.

Examples (6)

«Vengo qui oggi.» → Marco ha detto che andava là quel giorno.
"I am coming here today." → Marco said he was going there that day.
Word by Word: I come here today. → Marco has said that he went there that day.
The present 'vengo' shifts to the imperfect 'andava' (because the movement is no longer toward the speaker), 'qui' shifts to 'là', and 'oggi' shifts to 'quel giorno'.
«Ho già visto questo film ieri.» → Mi ha risposto che aveva già visto quel film il giorno prima.
"I already saw this movie yesterday." → He replied to me that he had already seen that movie the day before.
Word by Word: I have already seen this film yesterday. → To me he has replied that he had already seen that film the day before.
The passato prossimo shifts to the trapassato prossimo, 'questo' becomes 'quel', and 'ieri' becomes 'il giorno prima'.
«Ti chiamerò domani.» → Lei mi ha promesso che mi avrebbe chiamato il giorno dopo.
"I will call you tomorrow." → She promised me that she would call me the next day.
Word by Word: You I will call tomorrow. → She to me has promised that me she would have called the day after.
The future 'chiamerò' shifts to the condizionale passato to express a future action relative to the past promise.
«Siamo partiti due giorni fa.» → Dissero che erano partiti due giorni prima.
"We left two days ago." → They said they had left two days earlier.
Word by Word: We are left two days ago. → They said that they were left two days before.
The time marker 'fa' (ago) shifts to 'prima' (before/earlier) when reporting from the past.
«Vai via subito!» → Mi ha ordinato di andare via subito.
"Go away immediately!" → He ordered me to go away immediately.
Word by Word: Go away immediately! → To me he has ordered of to go away immediately.
The imperative 'vai' shifts to 'di + infinito' (di andare) when reported as a command in the past.
«Spero che tu sia felice.» → Disse che sperava che io fossi felice.
"I hope you are happy." → He said he hoped I was happy.
Word by Word: I hope that you be happy. → He said that he hoped that I were happy.
The present subjunctive 'sia' shifts to the imperfect subjunctive 'fossi' following the past reporting verb 'disse'.

Common Mistakes

Using the Present Conditional for 'future-in-the-past'.
Ha detto che verrebbe domani.
Ha detto che sarebbe venuto il giorno dopo.
In English, we use 'would come'. In Italian, when reporting a future action from a past verb, you must use the Condizionale Passato (sarebbe venuto), not the Present Conditional.
Forgetting to shift time markers like 'ieri' or 'domani'.
Due settimane fa, mi ha detto che arrivava domani.
Due settimane fa, mi ha detto che arrivava il giorno dopo.
If the reporting happened in the past, 'domani' is no longer 'tomorrow' for the person listening now. You must use 'il giorno dopo' or 'l'indomani'.
Applying shifts when the reporting verb is in the present.
Dice che l'indomani arriva.
Dice che domani arriva.
If the main verb is 'dice' (present), no shifts are needed. The speaker's 'now' is still the reporter's 'now'.

How It Connects

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Reported Speech with Time/Place ShiftsLevel 4

Learn This First

To learn reported speech with time and place shifts, you must first understand the basic mechanics of reporting speech from a past viewpoint, including the necessary tense changes. Additionally, you need to be familiar with how the past conditional is used to represent the future from a past perspective, and how spatial and temporal markers (like 'here' vs 'there' or 'today' vs 'that day') must be adjusted to reflect the speaker's new context.

Sources

Practice Reported Speech with Time/Place Shifts in Bubblegum

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