Reported Speech

Level 4

To pass on what someone said, use dweud + a that-clause. There is no separate word for "that": the clause does the job itself.

How It Works

How each kind of sentence changes

  • Present: "Dw i'n brysur." → Dwedodd hi ei bod hi'n brysur. — She said she was busy.
  • Imperfect: "Roedd hi'n oer." → Dwedodd e ei bod hi'n oer. — He said it was cold.
  • Past or perfect: "Dw i wedi gorffen." → Dwedodd e ei fod e wedi gorffen. — He said he had finished.
  • Future: "Bydda i yno." → Dwedodd e y byddai fe yno. (North: y basai fo yno) — He said he would be there.

Bod has no tense of its own. The main verb sets the time: Mae hi'n dweud ei bod hi'n brysur (She says she's busy), Dwedodd hi ei bod hi'n brysur (She said she was busy).

Formal past with i. Books and the news often report a finished event with i + subject + verb-noun: Dwedodd hi iddi fynd adref (She said she went home). Speech usually prefers ei bod hi wedi mynd adref.

Commands and requests

  • "Arhosa!" → Dwedodd hi wrtha i am aros. — She told me to wait. (see wrtha i)
  • "Wnei di helpu?" → Gofynnodd e i fi helpu. — He asked me to help. (see i + subject + verb-noun)

Questions: "Wyt ti'n barod?" → Gofynnodd hi a oeddwn i'n barod. — She asked if I was ready.

Spelling of "said". Writing has dywedodd; speech says dwedodd, and the North deudodd. In stories you will also meet meddai after a direct quotation: "Dw i wedi blino," meddai hi.

Examples (6)

  1. Dwedodd hi ei bod hi'n brysur.

    She said she was busy.

  2. Dwedodd e y byddai fe yno erbyn saith.

    He said he'd be there by seven.

  3. Mae Tom yn dweud ei fod e wedi colli'r bws.

    Tom says he's missed the bus.

  4. Dwedodd Mam wrtha i am aros yn y car.

    Mum told me to wait in the car.

  5. Deudodd o y basai fo'n ffonio.

    He said he would phone.

    Northern speech: deudodd, o and basai.

  6. Gofynnodd hi a oeddwn i'n barod.

    She asked if I was ready.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to put a future into a bod clause.

    Dwedodd e ei fod e'n bydd yno.
    Dwedodd e y byddai fe yno.

    Bod clauses cover "is" and "was" only. "Will" in the original becomes y + byddai ("would").

  • Using i instead of wrth with dweud.

    Dwedodd hi i fi am aros.
    Dwedodd hi wrtha i am aros.

    You tell something to someone with dweud wrth, then am + verb-noun for what they should do.

How It Connects

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

Reported SpeechLevel 4

Learn This First

Reported speech combines bod and y clauses with shifts of person.