Reported speech

Level 3

Used to report speech. Direct: "Jag är trött." (I am tired.) → Indirect: Han sa att han var trött. (He said that he was tired.)

How It Works

Indirect speech (indirekt anföring) is how we report what someone else has said without quoting them directly. This often requires changes to verb tenses, pronouns, and word order.

1. Reporting Statements
Statements are typically introduced with verbs like säga (to say), berätta (to tell), or svara (to answer), followed by att (that). The reported statement becomes a subordinate clause, normally following the BIFF rule (adverbs like 'inte' come before the finite verb).

  • Direct: "Jag talar svenska." (I speak Swedish.)
  • Indirect: Hon sa att hon talade svenska. (She said that she spoke Swedish.)

Tense Shift (Tidsföljd)
When a past reporting event supplies the reference point, these are common tense correspondences:

  • Present → Past (Preteritum): är → var
  • Past (Preteritum) → commonly pluperfect: var → hade varit; preterite can also remain, depending on the temporal perspective
  • Future (ska) → Future in the past (skulle): ska → skulle

2. Reporting Questions
Reported questions normally use subordinate order, unlike the direct question patterns discussed under (V2 inversion). A direct yes/no question starts with its finite verb, while a question-word question normally places the question phrase first.

  • Yes/No Questions: Use fråga om (ask if/whether).
    Direct: "Gillar du kaffe?" (Do you like coffee?)
    Indirect: Han frågade om jag gillade kaffe. (He asked if I liked coffee.)
  • Wh-Questions: Use fråga or undra (wonder) followed by the question word (vad, var, när, etc.).
    Direct: "Var bor du?" (Where do you live?)
    Indirect: Hon frågade var jag bodde. (She asked where I lived.)

3. Reporting Commands & Requests
Commands and requests are reported using a verb like be någon att (ask someone to) or säga åt någon att (tell someone to), followed by the infinitive form of the verb.

  • Direct: "Stäng dörren!" (Close the door!)
  • Indirect: Han bad mig att stänga dörren. (He asked me to close the door.)

4. Changes in Pronouns and Adverbs
Pronouns and time/place adverbs often need to be changed to reflect the new perspective.

  • Pronouns: jag → han/hon, vi → de, etc.
  • Time/Place: här → där (here → there), idag → den dagen (today → that day), igår → dagen innan (yesterday → the day before).

Choices of Perspective
Hon sa att hon är från Sverige is grammatical: the reporter presents her origin as still current. Hon sa att hon var från Sverige is also possible and does not by itself imply that her origin has changed. Likewise, retain jag, här, or idag when the speaker, place, or day still matches the report. After some reporting verbs, att can be omitted: Hon sa hon var trött.

Word-Order Variation
Han sa att han inte hade tid is the ordinary subordinate pattern. Han sa att han hade inte tid is an established main-clause-order variant in reported/asserted att clauses, especially in speech; it is not an automatic error. This variation is restricted and does not make direct-question order the normal pattern inside reported questions. Reporting requests also includes infinitival constructions such as bad mig att städa, rather than always a finite subordinate clause.

Examples (6)

  1. Hon sa att hon var trött.

    She said that she was tired.

    Word by Word: She said that she was tired.

    The original Jag är trött is reported from the past reference point established by sa, so är becomes var. This is a normal choice, not an automatic requirement to backshift every present tense after sa.

  2. De berättade att de inte kunde komma på festen.

    They said that they could not come to the party.

    Word by Word: They told that they not could come to the-party.

    Direct speech: "Vi kan inte komma." The adverb 'inte' comes before the verb 'kunde' because this is a subordinate clause (BIFF rule).

  3. Han frågade om jag ville ha kaffe.

    He asked if I wanted coffee.

    Word by Word: He asked if I wanted have coffee.

    Reporting a yes/no question: "Vill du ha kaffe?" The conjunction 'om' (if/whether) is used, and the verb tense shifts from 'vill' to 'ville'.

  4. Jag undrade varför han var så sen.

    I wondered why he was so late.

    Word by Word: I wondered why he was so late.

    Reporting a wh-question: "Varför är du så sen?" The question word 'varför' introduces the subordinate clause, which does not have question word order.

  5. Mamma bad mig att städa mitt rum.

    Mom asked me to clean my room.

    Word by Word: Mom asked me to clean my room.

    Reporting a command: "Städa ditt rum!" The structure 'be (någon) att' + infinitive is used.

  6. Erik sa att han hade varit i London veckan innan.

    Erik said that he had been in London the week before.

    Word by Word: Erik said that he had been in London the-week before.

    The pluperfect places the London visit before Erik’s statement. An original preterite can also remain preterite with a suitable temporal perspective. Veckan innan refers to the week before the relevant past reference point; time expressions change only when the reporting context requires it.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'att' (that) to report a yes/no question.

    Han frågade att jag talade svenska.
    Han frågade om jag talade svenska.

    To report a yes/no question, you must use the conjunction 'om' (if/whether), not 'att'.

How It Connects

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Reported speechLevel 3

Learn This First

To learn indirect speech (reported speech) in Swedish, you need to understand how to shift tenses (e.g., present to past) and how to structure subordinate clauses. Specifically, you must be familiar with the 'BIFF rule' for word order in subordinate clauses and how to use 'att' to introduce the reported statement.

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