Indirect Speech Transformation

Level 4

Direct Speech: "I am here." → Indirect Speech: He said that he was there.

How It Works

Discurso Indireto is used to report information without quoting the speaker word-for-word. It functions as a subordinate clause, usually introduced by a reporting verb (verbo de elocução) like dizer (to say), perguntar (to ask), or afirmar (to state).

1. The Connectors:

  • Use que for statements: Ele disse que...
  • Use se for yes/no questions: Ela perguntou se...
  • Use question words (quem, onde, como) for WH-questions: Ele perguntou onde eu morava.

2. Tense Shifts (The Sequence of Tenses):
If the reporting verb is in the past (e.g., disse), the following shifts occur:

3. Deictic Shifts:
You must also change pronouns and adverbs to match the new perspective:

  • Eu (I) → Ele/Ela (He/She)
  • Aqui (Here) → Ali/Lá (There)
  • Hoje (Today) → Naquele dia (That day)
  • Amanhã (Tomorrow) → No dia seguinte (The next day)

Examples (4)

  1. Direto: "Eu estou com fome", disse a Maria. / Indireto: A Maria disse que estava com fome.

    Direct: "I am hungry," Maria said. / Indirect: Maria said she was hungry.

    Word by Word: Direct: "I am with hunger," said the Maria. / Indirect: The Maria said that was with hunger.

    The present tense 'estou' shifts to the imperfect 'estava' because the reporting verb 'disse' is in the past.

  2. Direto: "Você viu o filme?", perguntou ele. / Indireto: Ele perguntou se eu tinha visto o filme.

    Direct: "Did you see the movie?", he asked. / Indirect: He asked if I had seen the movie.

    Word by Word: Direct: "You saw the movie?", asked he. / Indirect: He asked if I had seen the movie.

    The Pretérito Perfeito 'viu' shifts to the Mais-que-Perfeito 'tinha visto' in indirect speech.

  3. Direto: "Nós iremos amanhã", afirmaram eles. / Indireto: Eles afirmaram que iriam no dia seguinte.

    Direct: "We will go tomorrow," they stated. / Indirect: They stated they would go the next day.

    Word by Word: Direct: "We will go tomorrow," stated they. / Indirect: They stated that would go in the day following.

    The future 'iremos' becomes the conditional 'iriam', and the adverb 'amanhã' changes to 'no dia seguinte'.

  4. Direto: "Não façam barulho!", ordenou o professor. / Indireto: O professor ordenou que não fizessem barulho.

    Direct: "Don't make noise!", the teacher ordered. / Indirect: The teacher ordered them not to make noise.

    Word by Word: Direct: "Not make noise!", ordered the teacher. / Indirect: The teacher ordered that not made noise.

    Imperative commands shift to the Imperfeito do Subjuntivo (fizessem) in indirect speech.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to shift the verb tense when the reporting verb is in the past.

    Ele disse que vai à festa ontem.
    Ele disse que ia à festa ontem.

    If you use 'disse' (past), you cannot use 'vai' (present). You must shift it to 'ia' (imperfect) to maintain the correct sequence of tenses.

  • Keeping the original time markers like 'today' or 'here'.

    Ela disse que chegou aqui hoje (reported two days later).
    Ela disse que tinha chegado ali naquele dia.

    If you are reporting the speech later or in a different place, 'here' and 'today' no longer make sense; they must become 'there' and 'that day'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Indirect Speech TransformationLevel 4