Indirect Speech

Level 5

To report what someone said, use a reporting verb like 'decir' or 'preguntar' followed by 'que', and then adjust the original statement's tense, pronouns, and time/place words to fit the new context.

How It Works

Indirect speech (or reported speech) is how we talk about what someone else said without using a direct quote. The main reporting verb is often decir (to say/tell), but others like preguntar (to ask), contar (to tell), or explicar (to explain) are also common.

When the reporting verb is in a past tense (like the preterite or imperfect), a series of changes, known as 'backshifting', typically occurs. This follows the sequence of tenses.

1. Tense Shifts (Backshifting)
The verb tense in the original statement moves 'back' in time.

  • Present Indicative → Imperfect Indicative
    Direct: "Estoy ocupado." → Indirect: Dijo que estaba ocupado.
  • Preterite → Pluperfect (Past Perfect)
    Direct: "Compré el coche." → Indirect: Dijo que había comprado el coche.
  • Future → Conditional
    Direct: "Viajaré a España." → Indirect: Dijo que viajaría a España.
  • Present Perfect → Pluperfect (Past Perfect)
    Direct: "He terminado la tarea." → Indirect: Dijo que había terminado la tarea.
  • Imperative (Command) → Imperfect Subjunctive
    Direct: "Cierra la puerta." → Indirect: Dijo que cerrara la puerta.

2. Changes in Pronouns and Possessives
Pronouns and possessives change to reflect the speaker's new perspective.
Direct: Ana dijo: "Yo necesito mi libro."
Indirect: Ana dijo que ella necesitaba su libro.

3. Changes in Adverbs of Time and Place
Words indicating time and location are adjusted.

  • hoy → ese día (that day)
  • ayer → el día anterior (the day before)
  • mañana → al día siguiente (the next day)
  • aquí → allí (there)
  • este/esta → ese/esa (that)

Direct: Carlos dijo: "Vengo mañana."
Indirect: Carlos dijo que venía al día siguiente.

4. Reporting Questions

  • Yes/No Questions: Use preguntar si...
    Direct: "¿Vienes a la fiesta?" → Indirect: Me preguntó si venía a la fiesta.
  • Information Questions: Use preguntar + question word (qué, cuándo, dónde, etc.). Note that the question word does not trigger subject-verb inversion in the indirect question.
    Direct: "¿Dónde está la estación?" → Indirect: Preguntó dónde estaba la estación.

Note: If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., 'dice que...'), no tense shift is necessary. The original tense is maintained.

Examples (5)

  1. Directo: "Tengo frío." -> Indirecto: Ella dijo que tenía frío.

    Direct: "I'm cold." -> Indirect: She said that she was cold.

    The present tense 'tengo' shifts back to the imperfect tense 'tenía'.

  2. Directo: "Llegaré mañana." -> Indirecto: Él anunció que llegaría al día siguiente.

    Direct: "I will arrive tomorrow." -> Indirect: He announced that he would arrive the next day.

    The future tense 'llegaré' becomes the conditional 'llegaría', and 'mañana' changes to 'al día siguiente'.

  3. Directo: "Hicimos la reserva ayer." -> Indirecto: Dijeron que habían hecho la reserva el día anterior.

    Direct: "We made the reservation yesterday." -> Indirect: They said that they had made the reservation the day before.

    The preterite 'hicimos' shifts to the pluperfect 'habían hecho', and 'ayer' becomes 'el día anterior'.

  4. Directo: "¿Qué quieres comer?" -> Indirecto: Me preguntó qué quería comer.

    Direct: "What do you want to eat?" -> Indirect: He asked me what I wanted to eat.

    To report a question, the question word is kept, and the verb tense shifts from present ('quieres') to imperfect ('quería').

  5. Directo: "¡No hagas ruido!" -> Indirecto: Me pidió que no hiciera ruido.

    Direct: "Don't make noise!" -> Indirect: He asked me not to make noise.

    A negative command ('no hagas') is reported using the imperfect subjunctive ('hiciera').

Common Mistakes

  • Backshifting is the usual rule when the reported content is no longer current.

    Different MeaningAyer, mi amigo dijo que está enfermo.
    Ayer, mi amigo dijo que estaba enfermo.

    Ayer, mi amigo dijo que está enfermo is correct when he is still sick now. When the situation is over or is told as a past scene, shift to the imperfect: dijo que estaba enfermo.

  • Not changing adverbs of time and place to match the new perspective.

    Different MeaningLa semana pasada, ella dijo que vendrá mañana.
    La semana pasada, ella dijo que vendría al día siguiente.

    From the perspective of last week, mañana is a different day from mañana today. When the time reference moves with the story, mañana usually becomes al día siguiente. If you are speaking about a day that is still ahead, mañana stays.

  • Using 'que' instead of 'si' to report a yes/no question.

    Él me preguntó que yo tenía hambre.
    Él me preguntó si yo tenía hambre.

    For yes/no questions (original: "¿Tienes hambre?"), the correct conjunction is 'si' (if/whether), not 'que' (that).

How It Connects

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Indirect SpeechLevel 5

Learn This First

To learn reported speech (estilo indirecto), you must understand how to shift tenses backward in time. This requires a strong grasp of past tenses (Imperfect, Preterite, and Pluperfect) and the conditional, as well as the rules for sequence of tenses. Additionally, you need to know how to handle indirect commands using the subjunctive and how to adjust pronouns and demonstratives to reflect the new perspective of the speaker.

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