disse que viria/que tinha vindo

Reported Speech Examples

Level 4

When you report a past statement using a verb like 'disse' (said), the tenses in the reported clause must shift backward to maintain temporal logic.

How It Works

This process is known as transposição de tempos verbais (tense transposition). When the reporting verb is in the past, the original words must be adjusted to reflect a past perspective.

Key Shifts:

  • Present → Imperfect: 'Eu vou' (I am going) becomes 'Ele disse que ia' (He said he was going). This uses the imperfect tense.
  • Future → Conditional: 'Eu virei' (I will come) becomes 'Ele disse que viria' (He said he would come). This uses the conditional tense.
  • Preterite → Pluperfect: 'Eu vim' (I came) becomes 'Ele disse que tinha vindo' (He said he had come). This uses the compound pluperfect.

Deictic and Adverbial Shifts:
Reported speech also requires changing markers of time and place to maintain logic: hoje (today) becomes naquele dia; amanhã (tomorrow) becomes no dia seguinte; and aqui (here) becomes lá (there). Additionally, verbs of movement like vir (to come) often shift to ir (to go) if the reporter is not at the destination.

Register Note:
While the conditional (viria) is standard in formal writing, in both Brazilian and European Portuguese informal registers, speakers frequently use the imperfect tense to express the conditional (e.g., 'disse que vinha').

Examples (4)

  1. Ele disse que viria à festa.

    He said that he would come to the party.

    Word by Word: He said that [he] would-come to-the party.

    The original statement was 'Eu virei' (I will come). Because 'disse' is in the past, the future shifts to the conditional 'viria'.

  2. Ela contou que já tinha lido o livro.

    She told [me] that she had already read the book.

    Word by Word: She told that [she] already had read the book.

    The original statement was 'Eu li' (I read). It shifts to the compound pluperfect 'tinha lido' to show it happened before she spoke.

  3. O João disse que chegava às oito.

    João said he would arrive at eight.

    Word by Word: The João said that [he] arrived at eight.

    In colloquial speech, the imperfect 'chegava' is often used instead of the conditional 'chegaria' when reporting a future intention.

  4. Eles afirmaram que o projeto estaria pronto no dia seguinte.

    They affirmed that the project would be ready the following day.

    Word by Word: They affirmed that the project would-be ready in-the day following.

    Note how 'amanhã' (tomorrow) also shifts to 'no dia seguinte' (the following day) in reported speech.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the original future tense after a past reporting verb.

    Ele disse que virá amanhã.
    Ele disse que viria no dia seguinte.

    Unless the event is still in the future relative to right now, you must shift 'virá' to 'viria' when reporting a past conversation.

  • Using the simple pluperfect in casual conversation.

    Ela disse que viera cedo.
    Ela disse que tinha vindo cedo.

    While 'viera' is grammatically correct, it sounds extremely formal or archaic. Use 'tinha vindo' for a natural sound.

  • Omitting the conjunction 'que'.

    Ele disse ele vinha.
    Ele disse que ele vinha.

    Unlike English, where you can say 'He said he was coming', Portuguese requires the word 'que' (that).

How It Connects

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

disse que viria/que tinha vindoLevel 4Reported Speech Examples

Learn This First

To understand how verb tenses shift in reported speech, you first need to be comfortable with the past tense of the reporting verb 'dizer', as well as the conditional and past perfect tenses, which represent the shifted forms of the future and past tenses respectively.