dijo que vendría/que había venido
Reported Speech Examples
When reporting speech in the past (e.g., 'He said that...'), the original verb tense shifts. Future becomes conditional, and present/preterite becomes pluperfect.
How It Works
In Spanish, when you report what someone said using a main verb in the past (like dijo, explicó, pensó), you must adjust the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause. This is known as the sequence of tenses.
1. Reporting a Future Action: Future → Conditional
If the original statement was about the future, the future tense changes to the conditional tense.
- Direct Speech: "Iré al cine mañana." (I will go to the movies tomorrow.)
- Reported Speech: Dijo que iría al cine al día siguiente. (He said that he would go to the movies the next day.)
The action of 'going' is still in the future relative to when he spoke, but it's in the past relative to when we are reporting it. The conditional expresses this 'future of the past'.
2. Reporting a Past Action: Preterite/Present Perfect → Pluperfect
If the original statement was about a past event (using the preterite or present perfect), it changes to the pluperfect (past perfect).
- Direct Speech (Preterite): "Compré el coche ayer." (I bought the car yesterday.)
- Reported Speech: Dijo que había comprado el coche el día anterior. (He said that he had bought the car the day before.)
- Direct Speech (Present Perfect): "He visto esa película." (I have seen that movie.)
- Reported Speech: Dijo que había visto esa película. (He said that he had seen that movie.)
The pluperfect is used because the action (buying, seeing) happened before the act of reporting (dijo). It's a 'past within the past'.
Other Common Tense Shifts:
- Present → Imperfect: "Estoy cansado." → Dijo que estaba cansado.
- Present Subjunctive → Imperfect Subjunctive: "Espero que vengas." → Dijo que esperaba que vinieras/vinieses.
Examples (4)
- Ella dijo que vendría a la fiesta.
She said that she would come to the party.
Word by Word: She said that would come to the party.
Original statement: "Vendré a la fiesta." (I will come to the party). The future tense 'vendré' changes to the conditional 'vendría' in reported speech.
- Me contaron que ya habían cenado.
They told me that they had already had dinner.
Word by Word: Me they told that already had had dinner.
Original statement: "Ya hemos cenado." (We have already had dinner). The present perfect 'hemos cenado' changes to the pluperfect 'habían cenado'.
- El profesor explicó que el examen había sido difícil.
The teacher explained that the exam had been difficult.
Word by Word: The teacher explained that the exam had been difficult.
Original statement: "El examen fue difícil." (The exam was difficult). The preterite 'fue' changes to the pluperfect 'había sido'.
- Creíamos que terminarías el trabajo a tiempo.
We thought that you would finish the work on time.
Word by Word: We believed that you would finish the work on time.
This reports a belief about a future event from a past perspective. Original thought: "Terminarás el trabajo a tiempo." (You will finish the work on time).
Common Mistakes
Not shifting the tense from future to conditional in reported speech.
Mi amigo dijo que me llamará mañana.Mi amigo dijo que me llamaría al día siguiente.After 'dijo', the future 'llamará' is possible when the call is still in the future for the speaker. In a story told in the past, the conditional 'llamaría' is the usual shift, and a time word like 'mañana' often changes to 'al día siguiente'.
Using the imperfect instead of the pluperfect for a completed past action.
Ella mencionó que veía esa película la semana pasada.Ella mencionó que había visto esa película la semana anterior.The original action was a single, completed event ('vi la película'). To report this past-in-the-past action, you must use the pluperfect ('había visto'). The imperfect ('veía') would imply she was in the middle of watching it or used to watch it repeatedly.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn this reported speech pattern, you must first understand how to use the preterite to set the past timeframe. You then need to know how to shift tenses: using the conditional to represent a future intention from a past perspective, and the pluperfect to represent a past action that happened before the reporting took place.
- dije/dijiste/dijo/dijimos/dijeronPreterite of Decir
The pattern uses the preterite of 'decir' (dijo) as the reporting verb to introduce the past context.
Level 2 - diría/haría/podría/pondría/querría/sabría/saldría/tendría/vendríaIrregular Conditional
The conditional tense (vendría) is required to express the 'future in the past' within reported speech.
Level 3 - había/habías/había/habíamos/habían + ParticiplePluperfect (Past Perfect)
The pluperfect (había venido) is required to express actions that occurred prior to the moment of speaking in the past.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- Sequence of Tenses (Past)
This pattern is a direct application of the rules for the sequence of tenses when the main clause is in a past tense.
Level 5 - -ía/-ías/-ía/-íamos/-íais/-ían (condicional)Conditional Tense
The conditional tense is essential for this pattern, as it's used to report a future action when the main reporting verb is in the past (e.g., 'dijo que vendría').
Level 3 - Indirect Speech
This is the broader grammatical category. The pattern 'dijo que vendría/había venido' provides specific, high-frequency examples of how reported speech transformations work.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice dijo que vendría/que había venido in Bubblegum
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