Reporting what someone said: dijo que…
Pass on statements and questions, with the tense, pronoun and time changes.
Part of the free B1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is passing on what someone said without quoting their exact words: She said she was tired. In Spanish you join the reporting verb and the message with que, which can never be dropped.
Useful reporting verbs: decir (say, tell), contar (tell), explicar (explain), comentar (mention), contestar (answer), preguntar (ask).
Reporting in the present: no tense change
If the reporting verb is in the present (dice que), the message keeps its tense.
- Ana dice que está cansada.Ana says she's tired.
Reporting in the past: the tenses step back
When the reporting verb is in the past (dijo que, me contó que), the verbs in the message usually move one step back:
| She said | She said that… |
|---|---|
| present: Estoy cansada. | imperfect: estaba cansada |
| preterite or present perfect: He perdido el móvil. | pluperfect: había perdido el móvil (The pluperfect: había hablado) |
| future: Vendré mañana. | conditional: vendría al día siguiente (The conditional: politeness, advice, hypotheses) |
| ir a: Voy a llamar. | iba a: iba a llamar |
| imperfect: Vivía en Roma. | stays: vivía en Roma |
- Ana dijo que estaba cansada.Ana said she was tired.
- Luis me contó que había perdido el trabajo.Luis told me he had lost his job.
- El médico dijo que la herida se curaría pronto.The doctor said the wound would heal soon.
- Mis padres dijeron que iban a vender la casa.My parents said they were going to sell the house.
If what was said is still true, you may keep the present: Me dijo que vive en Lima (and she still does).
People, places and time words change too
- Pronouns and possessives: Estoy en mi casa → Dijo que estaba en su casa.
- hoy → ese día, mañana → al día siguiente, ayer → el día anterior, aquí → allí.
- Marta dijo que vendría al día siguiente.Marta said she would come the next day.
Reporting questions
Yes/no questions use si (if, whether, no accent). Questions with a question word keep the word and its accent.
- Me preguntó si quería un café.She asked me if I wanted a coffee.
- Le pregunté dónde vivía.I asked him where he lived.
Si (if) has no accent; sí (yes) does.
Reporting requests and orders
A command reported with a present verb takes the present subjunctive, as in The subjunctive for wishes and requests: quiero que, ojalá:
- Mi jefe dice que vayas a su despacho.My boss says you should go to his office.
Reporting orders in the past needs the imperfect subjunctive (dijo que fueras), which comes in Reported speech in full: questions, commands, tense shifts.
Common mistakes
Dijo estaba cansada: never drop que.- Me preguntó que si tenía hambre is very common in speech and is not wrong, but in writing Me preguntó si tenía hambre is neater.
Dijo que vendrá mañanaabout a day that is now past: use vendría al día siguiente.Le pregunté donde vivía: the question word keeps its accent: dónde.- Forgetting to change the person: "Tengo tu libro" → Dijo que tenía mi libro, not tu libro.
Practice
- 'Tengo hambre.' → Pablo dijo que _____ hambre.Options: tenía · tiene · tuvo · tendría
Show the answer
tenía — Present → imperfect after a past reporting verb.
- 'Voy a llegar tarde.' → Me dijo que _____ (ir) a llegar tarde.
Show the answer
iba — Ir a → iba a.
- 'Te llamaré.' → Juan me prometió que me _____ (llamar).
Show the answer
llamaría — Future → conditional: llamaría. Llamará is also possible if the call is still to come from today's point of view.
- 'He terminado el informe.' → Rosa dijo que _____ (terminar) el informe.
Show the answer
había terminado — Present perfect → pluperfect.