Reported Speech With kad
Report someone's words with kad (that) and keep their tense: „Sergu.“ → Jis sakė, kad serga (He said that he was ill, literally that he is ill).
How It Works
1. The pattern. Saying verb + comma + kad + the original statement, with pronouns and verb person adjusted:
- „Aš sergu.“ → Jis sakė, kad serga. (He said he was ill.)
- „Atvažiuosiu.“ → Ji rašė, kad atvažiuos. (She wrote that she would come.)
- „Man patinka Vilnius.“ → Petras pasakė, kad jam patinka Vilnius. (Petras said that he liked Vilnius.)
2. Keep the tense. Choose the tense the speaker used:
- present = at the time of speaking: Jis sakė, kad serga (he was ill then).
- past = before the speaking: Jis sakė, kad sirgo (he had been ill).
- future = after the speaking: Ji rašė, kad atvažiuos (she would come).
3. Change the person. When reporting another person, aš becomes jis or ji, man becomes jam or jai, and the verb ending follows: pavargau → pavargo.
4. Questions and requests. A reported yes-no question uses ar: Jis paklausė, ar aš namie. A reported request or order uses kad with the conditional: Mama paprašė, kad nupirkčiau duonos (Mom asked me to buy bread). This is why the conditional after kad does not mean would in a report.
5. Other ways to report. In formal writing, jog can replace kad. Lithuanian also has special forms that show information is second-hand: esą and the reported mood.
Examples (6)
- Jis sakė, kad serga.
He said that he was ill.
Word by Word: He said, that is-ill.
The present serga means he was ill at the time he said it.
- Ji rašė, kad atvažiuos.
She wrote that she would come.
The future stays future: atvažiuos.
- Mama sakė, kad jau pavalgė.
Mom said that she had already eaten.
The past tense shows the eating happened before she spoke.
- Petras pasakė, kad jam patinka Vilnius.
Petras said that he liked Vilnius.
Man in the original becomes jam.
- Jie sako, kad rytoj lis.
They say it will rain tomorrow.
Lis is the future of lyti.
- Ji man parašė, kad vėluoja.
She texted me that she was running late.
Vėluoja stays in the present.
Common Mistakes
Shifting the tense back as in English.
Jis sakė, kad sirgo.Jis sakė, kad serga.Jis sakė, kad sirgo is correct Lithuanian, but it means he had been ill before. To report that he was ill when he spoke, keep the present serga.
Turning will into the conditional because English says would.
Ji rašė, kad atvažiuotų.Ji rašė, kad atvažiuos.Kad with the conditional reports a request: Ji rašė, kad atvažiuotų means she wrote asking someone to come. To report her plan, keep the future atvažiuos.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reported speech with kad adjusts viewpoint without automatically shifting the verb's tense back.
- kadContent Clauses with Kad
Know kad introducing the content of speech or thought.
Level 2 - Future -s-The Future Tense
Recognize future forms whose time reference is retained in reported speech.
Level 3 - Past -oSimple Past in -o
Recognize a past-tense reporting verb without imposing an English-style tense shift.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Indirect Questions With arIndirect Yes-No Questions
Reported yes-no questions use ar instead of kad.
Level 3 - kad + conditionalPurpose and Requests with Kad
Kad with the conditional reports requests and purposes.
Level 4 - jogFormal That with Jog
Jog is a formal synonym of kad.
Level 5 - esąReported Information with Esą
Esą marks what someone else claims.
Level 5 - Reported Mood With Participles
Participle forms that report information without a saying verb.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Reported Speech With kad in Bubblegum
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