Relative Time Across Clauses
English changes "is" to "was" after "he said". Macedonian does not: Ми рече дека е болен. means "He told me he was sick", with the present е.
How It Works
Two clocks. The main verb (рече, мислеше, знаеше, се чинеше) places the story in the past. The verb in the дека-clause is then measured from that past moment, as if you were standing there.
- Same time: present. Мислев дека си дома. (I thought you were home.) Вчера Марко рече дека не оди никаде. (Yesterday Marko said he wasn't going anywhere.)
- Later: ќе + present. Ми вети дека ќе дојде на свадбата. (She promised me she would come to the wedding.) English uses "would" here, but Macedonian keeps ќе.
- Earlier: a past form. Не знаев дека веќе го продале станот. (I didn't know they had already sold the flat.) The l-form fits here because the speaker learned about the sale later; see the l-form. To state an earlier event as a plain fact, use the aorist: Ми кажа дека го продадоа станот. (He told me they had sold the flat.) See the aorist and the l-form.
Why this matters for English speakers. English moves every verb one step back: "is" becomes "was" and "will" becomes "would". Copying that into Macedonian changes the meaning. A past form in the дека-clause usually places the event before the main one, and би turns a plan into a possibility: Рече дека би дошла means she would come if something made it possible.
Where you meet it. The rule works with verbs of saying, thinking, knowing and seeming, and it is the basis of reported speech. In speech, дека is sometimes left out: Рече ќе дојде. (He said he would come.)
Examples (6)
- Ми рече дека е болен.
He told me he was sick.
Word by Word: To-me he-said that is sick.
The present е: he was sick at the time he said it.
- Мислев дека си дома.
I thought you were home.
Word by Word: I-thought that you-are at-home.
- Вчера Марко рече дека не оди никаде.
Yesterday Marko said he wasn't going anywhere.
Word by Word: Yesterday Marko said that not goes nowhere.
- Ми вети дека ќе дојде на свадбата.
She promised me she would come to the wedding.
Word by Word: To-me she-promised that will she-comes to wedding-the.
Later than the promise: ќе + present.
- Не знаев дека веќе го продале станот.
I didn't know they had already sold the flat.
Word by Word: Not I-knew that already it sold flat-the.
Earlier than knowing: the l-form, because the speaker found out about it later.
- Се чинеше дека сите спијат.
It seemed that everyone was asleep.
Word by Word: It-seemed that all sleep.
Common Mistakes
Using би for English "would" in reported speech.
Рече дека би дошла на свадбата. (meaning: she promised to come)Рече дека ќе дојде на свадбата.After a past verb, something that comes later still takes ќе. Би makes it a possibility that depends on something else, not a plan.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Relative time combines reported speech and time clauses.
Related Patterns
- декаSaying That
The main word that introduces these clauses.
Level 3 - мисли дека / мисли на / мисли заSaying What You Think
A common main verb before a дека-clause.
Level 3 - ќе + Present TenseThe Future with Ќе
Ќе marks something later, even inside a past story.
Level 2 - би + L-FormThe Conditional with Би
Би makes a possibility, not a plan, so it does not replace English would in reported speech.
Level 3 - Free Indirect Discourse
Literary prose mixes a character's own time with the narrator's.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice Relative Time Across Clauses in Bubblegum
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