Ch 23 · Lesson 9Spanish · Chapter 23 · Lesson 9 · Grammar primer
Reported speech: que, people, time and place
is never dropped, yo becomes , becomes , and , and move to , and .
The short version
The
.
Why?Hide
English throws the conjunction away without noticing: he said he was tired. Spanish never does. is an , not a shortcut, and the same holds for , , and the rest. If there is a reporting verb, there is a after it.
.
Why?Hide
Report something on another day and the time words move with it: becomes , , , and becomes . The people move too: yo becomes , becomes .
Que is never dropped
English can leave out "that": he said he was tired. Spanish cannot. Every reporting verb takes :
.- He said he was tired..- He told me he had missed the train..- He answered that he knew nothing.
" " is a mistake, not a shortcut.
Yo becomes él: people and possessives
The reporter is not the speaker, so the people move to the reporter's point of view, and the possessives move with them:
| Said | Reported | English |
|---|---|---|
. | . | He said he was right. |
. | . | He said it was his car. |
. | . | He told me I didn't listen. |
. | . | He told me he'd call me. |
Hoy becomes aquel día: time and place
When the report is made on another day, or in another place, the time and place words move away from the original moment:
| Said | Reported |
|---|---|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
- ,
- ,
- ,
Ayer, el día anterior: yesterday, the day before. Hoy, aquel día: today, that day. Mañana, al día siguiente: tomorrow, the next day.
.-.- He said he was arriving the next day.
If he said it this morning and he really is arriving tomorrow, stays: .
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| is compulsory | |
| he is tired now: no shift | |
| used to: the imperfect stays | |
| the next day, seen from the past: conditional |
Going further: The backshift at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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