Reported Speech — Direct to Indirect
Convert direct speech to indirect speech in Spanish: Dijo: "Tengo hambre" → Dijo que tenía hambre. Learn the tense back-shift rules, reporting verbs (dijo, preguntó, explicó, prometió), and how to handle questions in reported speech.
A lesson of Spanish B1 — Intermediate, in Complex Grammar, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to transform direct speech into reported (indirect) speech and understand how tenses and pronouns shift in the process.
What Is Reported Speech?
Reported speech (el estilo indirecto) is when you convey what someone else said without quoting them word-for-word. In English: She said she was tired (not She said: "I am tired"). In Spanish, similar shifts occur.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| "Tengo hambre." | Dijo que tenía hambre. |
| "I'm hungry." | He said he was hungry. |
The Reporting Verbs
Common verbs used to introduce reported speech:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| decir que… | to say that… |
| afirmar que… | to state/affirm that… |
| explicar que… | to explain that… |
| comentar que… | to comment/mention that… |
| añadir que… | to add that… |
| preguntar si… / preguntar qué/cuándo/dónde… | to ask if… / to ask what/when/where… |
| pedir que… | to ask/request that… (+ subjunctive) |
Tense Shifts: Present → Imperfect
When the reporting verb is in the past (dijo, preguntó, explicó…), the tense in the reported clause typically shifts back one step:
| Direct speech tense | Reported speech tense |
|---|---|
| Present (habla) | Imperfect (hablaba) |
| Future (hablará) | Conditional (hablaría) |
| Preterite (habló) | Pluperfect (había hablado) |
| Present subjunctive | Imperfect subjunctive |
Examples
| Direct | Reported |
|---|