Indirect speech with що and no tense backshift

Level 5Sounds Like neprâma mova zí ŝo bez zsuvu času

Unlike English, Ukrainian does not use 'tense backshift' in indirect speech. If someone said 'I am working,' you report it as 'He said that he is working,' even if the reporting happened in the past.

How It Works

In English, we say 'He said he was busy' (shifting 'am' to 'was'). In Ukrainian, this 'backshift' does not exist.

1. Tense Preservation:

  • If the original statement was in the present tense, it stays in the present tense in the indirect clause: Він сказав, що працює (He said he is working).
  • If the original statement was in the future tense, it stays in the future: Вона обіцяла, що прийде (She promised she will come).
  • If the original statement was in the past tense, it stays in the past: Ми знали, що вони виїхали (We knew they had left).

2. Pronoun Changes:
While the tense stays the same, you must still change personal pronouns and verb endings to match the new subject (e.g., changing 'I' to 'he/she').

3. Punctuation:
A comma is always required before the conjunction що when it introduces indirect speech.

Examples (5)

  1. «Я живу в Києві», — сказав Андрій.

    "I live in Kyiv," said Andriy.

    Word by Word: "I live in Kyiv," — said Andriy.

    This is the original direct speech in the present tense.

  2. Андрій сказав, що живе в Києві.

    Andriy said that he lives (was living) in Kyiv.

    Word by Word: Andriy said, that [he] lives in Kyiv.

    Note that 'живе' is in the present tense because Andriy used the present tense originally. Using the past tense 'жив' here would imply he no longer lives there.

  3. Вона пообіцяла, що зателефонує завтра.

    She promised that she would call tomorrow.

    Word by Word: She promised, that [she] will-call tomorrow.

    The future tense 'зателефонує' is kept from the original promise 'Я зателефоную'.

  4. Ми бачили, що він дуже втомився.

    We saw that he was very tired.

    Word by Word: We saw, that he very got-tired.

    The past tense is used here because the state of being tired occurred before or at the moment of seeing.

  5. Він подумав, що вона його не чує.

    He thought that she didn't hear him.

    Word by Word: He thought, that she him not hears.

    The present tense 'чує' indicates the hearing (or lack thereof) was happening at the same time he was thinking.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the past tense for a state that was true while he spoke.

    Different MeaningВін сказав, що він був хворий.
    Він сказав, що він хворий.

    If you use the past tense 'був', it means he was sick before he spoke. To say he was sick at the time of speaking, use the present tense (or zero copula).

  • Keeping 'я' when Oleg is talking about himself.

    Different MeaningОлег сказав, що я запізнюся.
    Олег сказав, що він запізниться.

    Unless Oleg is literally saying that you (the listener) will be late, you must change 'I' to 'he' and adjust the verb ending accordingly.

How It Connects

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Indirect speech with що and no tense backshiftLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand indirect speech in Ukrainian, you first need to know how to form basic content clauses with the conjunction 'що'. You also need to be comfortable with the past tense for the reporting verb (e.g., 'he said') and the present tense for the reported action, as Ukrainian maintains the original tense of the speaker's words.

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