Reporting What Someone Said
Report a statement with дека: Рече дека доаѓа. (He said he was coming.) Unlike English, the verb usually stays in the tense the speaker used.
How It Works
From direct to reported.
- „Доаѓам.“ → Рече дека доаѓа. (He said he was coming.)
- „Ќе дојдеме во сабота.“ → Рекоа дека ќе дојдат во сабота. (They said they would come on Saturday.)
- „Не знам ништо.“ → Вели дека не знае ништо. (He says he doesn't know anything.)
Three steps. Put дека after the reporting verb. Change the person to fit, as in English: сум becomes е, доаѓам becomes доаѓа. Keep the tense: the present stays present and ќе stays ќе, even after a past verb such as рече. Unlike English "that", дека is not left out.
Reporting verbs. Вели (says), рече and кажа (said), одговори (answered), објасни (explained). Add a short pronoun for the listener: Ми рече дека... (He told me that...), Ѝ кажав дека... (I told her that...).
A past event. If the speaker told you about something that already happened, you can keep the aorist: Ми рече дека го заврши проектот. You can also use the l-form, Ми рече дека го завршил проектот, which passes the news on without vouching for it. See the aorist and the l-form.
Questions and requests. A reported yes-or-no question uses дали: Ме праша дали сум слободен. A reported request uses да instead of дека: Ми рече да дојдам. See reporting a request.
Writing direct speech. Macedonian quotation marks open low and close high: Марко рече: „Уморен сум.“ In everyday speech, оти sometimes replaces дека, but дека is the standard choice in writing.
Examples (5)
- Рече дека доаѓа.
He said he was coming.
Word by Word: Said that comes.
His words were „Доаѓам.“ The present tense stays.
- Марија ми кажа дека е уморна.
Marija told me she was tired.
Word by Word: Marija to-me told that is tired.
- Рекоа дека ќе дојдат во сабота.
They said they would come on Saturday.
Word by Word: They-said that will they-come on Saturday.
- Вели дека не знае ништо.
He says he doesn't know anything.
Word by Word: Says that not knows nothing.
- Ми рече дека го заврши проектот.
He told me he finished the project.
Word by Word: To-me said that it finished project-the.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out дека, as English can leave out "that".
Марија рече е уморна.Марија рече дека е уморна.A reported statement needs дека (or colloquial оти). It cannot be dropped the way "that" can in English.
Keeping the speaker's own person.
Марија рече дека сум уморна. (meaning: she said she was tired)Марија рече дека е уморна.Her words „Уморна сум.“ change to fit the report: сум becomes е. Дека сум уморна would mean that I am tired.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reporting what someone said builds on дека.
Related Patterns
- кажи му даReporting a Request
A reported command or request uses да instead of дека: Ми рече да дојдам.
Level 4 - дали in Reported QuestionsReporting a Yes or No Question
Reports a yes-or-no question: Ме праша дали сум слободен.
Level 3 - Questions Inside a Sentence
Reports a question with a question word: Ме праша каде живеам.
Level 3 - Seen or Heard About
Explains the choice between Рече дека го заврши and Рече дека го завршил for a past event.
Level 4 - оти / декаОти and Дека
Оти can replace дека in everyday speech; дека is the standard written choice.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Reporting What Someone Said in Bubblegum
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