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0z\"\u002F>",true,{"id":46,"title":47,"author":48,"body":49,"cefrLevel":566,"date":48,"description":567,"exercises":568,"extension":673,"faqs":674,"gcseTier":684,"intro":685,"language":686,"lastUpdated":48,"meta":687,"navigation":44,"path":688,"seo":689,"stem":690,"verbSlugs":48,"__hash__":691},"pages\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-questions.md","Reported Questions and Commands in Spanish (me preguntó si, me dijo que viniera)",null,{"type":50,"value":51,"toc":556},"minimark",[52,57,71,82,87,94,126,147,169,173,184,222,225,241,247,251,267,296,303,323,346,364,368,424,428,450,464,477,496,508,517,521],[53,54,56],"h1",{"id":55},"reported-questions-and-commands-in-spanish","Reported Questions and Commands in Spanish",[58,59,60,65,66,70],"p",{},[61,62,64],"a",{"href":63},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-speech","Reported speech"," handled statements: ",[67,68,69],"strong",{},"dijo que estaba cansado",", with the tense sliding back one step. Questions and commands report the same way, with the same backshift, but each adds one move of its own. A question needs a word to introduce it; a command cannot keep its imperative and has to borrow the subjunctive. This page covers both.",[58,72,73,74,77,78,81],{},"Everything here assumes the backshift table from reported speech. If ",[67,75,76],{},"dijo que estaba"," and ",[67,79,80],{},"dijo que había llegado"," are not yet automatic, read that page first and come back.",[83,84,86],"h2",{"id":85},"reported-yesno-questions-si","Reported yes\u002Fno questions: si",[58,88,89,90,93],{},"A yes\u002Fno question - one that could be answered \"yes\" or \"no\" - is reported with ",[67,91,92],{},"si"," (whether \u002F if).",[95,96,97,108,117],"ul",{},[98,99,100,103,104,107],"li",{},[67,101,102],{},"\"¿Tienes hambre?\""," -> ",[67,105,106],{},"Me preguntó si tenía hambre."," (He asked me if I was hungry.)",[98,109,110,103,113,116],{},[67,111,112],{},"\"¿Quieres café?\"",[67,114,115],{},"Me preguntó si quería café."," (He asked me whether I wanted coffee.)",[98,118,119,103,122,125],{},[67,120,121],{},"\"¿Has terminado?\"",[67,123,124],{},"Me preguntó si había terminado."," (He asked me if I had finished.)",[58,127,128,129,132,133,136,137,132,140,143,144,146],{},"The verb backshifts exactly as in reported speech: ",[67,130,131],{},"tienes"," to ",[67,134,135],{},"tenía",", ",[67,138,139],{},"has terminado",[67,141,142],{},"había terminado",". The ",[67,145,92],{}," does the introducing, and the question mark disappears, because the reported version is no longer a direct question.",[58,148,149,150,152,153,155,156,160,161,164,165,168],{},"This ",[67,151,92],{}," is not the ",[67,154,92],{}," of ",[61,157,159],{"href":158},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fconditional","if-clauses","; it just means \"whether\". Context keeps them apart: ",[67,162,163],{},"Me preguntó si venía"," (he asked whether I was coming) versus ",[67,166,167],{},"Si vienes, te ayudo"," (if you come, I'll help you).",[83,170,172],{"id":171},"reported-open-questions-keep-the-question-word","Reported open questions: keep the question word",[58,174,175,176,179,180,183],{},"An open question - one that starts with a question word - keeps that word in the report. ",[67,177,178],{},"Qué, dónde, cuándo, por qué, quién, cómo, cuánto"," all carry straight over, and crucially they ",[67,181,182],{},"keep their written accent",", because they are still interrogative.",[95,185,186,195,204,213],{},[98,187,188,103,191,194],{},[67,189,190],{},"\"¿Dónde está el tren?\"",[67,192,193],{},"Me preguntó dónde estaba el tren."," (He asked me where the train was.)",[98,196,197,103,200,203],{},[67,198,199],{},"\"¿Por qué no has venido?\"",[67,201,202],{},"Me preguntó por qué no había venido."," (He asked me why I hadn't come.)",[98,205,206,103,209,212],{},[67,207,208],{},"\"¿Cuándo empieza la película?\"",[67,210,211],{},"Me preguntó cuándo empezaba la película."," (He asked me when the film started.)",[98,214,215,103,218,221],{},[67,216,217],{},"\"¿Qué quieres?\"",[67,219,220],{},"Me preguntó qué quería."," (He asked me what I wanted.)",[58,223,224],{},"The one thing that changes is word order. A direct question can invert subject and verb; the reported version drops the inversion and keeps the natural statement order.",[95,226,227],{},[98,228,229,230,233,234,236,237,240],{},"Direct: ",[67,231,232],{},"¿Dónde está el tren?"," Reported: ",[67,235,193],{}," - not ",[67,238,239],{},"dónde estaba el tren"," with any extra inversion.",[58,242,243,244],{},"So the rule for open reported questions is: ",[67,245,246],{},"keep the question word, keep its accent, drop the inversion, backshift the verb.",[83,248,250],{"id":249},"reported-commands-que-plus-the-imperfect-subjunctive","Reported commands: que plus the imperfect subjunctive",[58,252,253,254,257,258,261,262,266],{},"A command cannot be reported in the imperative - there is no ",[67,255,256],{},"\"me dijo ven\"",". Spanish turns the imperative into ",[67,259,260],{},"que"," plus the ",[61,263,265],{"href":264},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fimperfect-subjunctive-forms","imperfect subjunctive",".",[95,268,269,278,287],{},[98,270,271,103,274,277],{},[67,272,273],{},"\"¡Ven!\"",[67,275,276],{},"Me dijo que viniera."," (He told me to come.)",[98,279,280,103,283,286],{},[67,281,282],{},"\"¡Estudia más!\"",[67,284,285],{},"Me dijo que estudiara más."," (He told me to study more.)",[98,288,289,103,292,295],{},[67,290,291],{},"\"¡Siéntate!\"",[67,293,294],{},"Me dijo que me sentara."," (He told me to sit down.)",[58,297,298,299,302],{},"A negative command works the same way, with the ",[67,300,301],{},"no"," kept:",[95,304,305,314],{},[98,306,307,103,310,313],{},[67,308,309],{},"\"No salgas.\"",[67,311,312],{},"Me dijo que no saliera."," (He told me not to go out.)",[98,315,316,103,319,322],{},[67,317,318],{},"\"No hables.\"",[67,320,321],{},"Me pidió que no hablara."," (He asked me not to talk.)",[58,324,325,326,330,331,334,335,337,338,341,342,345],{},"This is the indirect-command pattern you met with the ",[61,327,329],{"href":328},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fsubjunctive-wishes","subjunctive of wishes and influence",": ",[67,332,333],{},"decir, pedir, ordenar, rogar"," plus ",[67,336,260],{}," plus a subjunctive. In the present that subjunctive would be present (",[67,339,340],{},"me dice que venga","); after a past reporting verb the backshift pulls it to the imperfect subjunctive (",[67,343,344],{},"me dijo que viniera","). The same sequence-of-tenses rule that governs reported statements governs reported commands.",[58,347,348,349,236,352,355,356,359,360,363],{},"The reporting verb here is one of command or request - ",[67,350,351],{},"me dijo que, me pidió que, me ordenó que, me rogó que",[67,353,354],{},"me preguntó",", which belongs to questions. Choosing the right reporting verb is half the job: ",[67,357,358],{},"preguntar"," for questions, ",[67,361,362],{},"decir \u002F pedir \u002F ordenar"," for commands.",[83,365,367],{"id":366},"worked-examples","Worked examples",[95,369,370,379,388,397,406,415],{},[98,371,372,103,375,378],{},[67,373,374],{},"\"¿Estás listo?\"",[67,376,377],{},"Me preguntó si estaba listo."," (He asked me if I was ready.) - yes\u002Fno, si.",[98,380,381,103,384,387],{},[67,382,383],{},"\"¿Cuánto cuesta?\"",[67,385,386],{},"Me preguntó cuánto costaba."," (He asked me how much it cost.) - open, keep cuánto.",[98,389,390,103,393,396],{},[67,391,392],{},"\"¿Por qué llegas tarde?\"",[67,394,395],{},"Me preguntó por qué llegaba tarde."," (He asked me why I was arriving late.) - open, keep por qué.",[98,398,399,103,402,405],{},[67,400,401],{},"\"¡Llámame!\"",[67,403,404],{},"Me dijo que lo llamara."," (He told me to call him.) - command, imperfect subjunctive.",[98,407,408,103,411,414],{},[67,409,410],{},"\"No te preocupes.\"",[67,412,413],{},"Me dijo que no me preocupara."," (He told me not to worry.) - negative command.",[98,416,417,103,420,423],{},[67,418,419],{},"\"Cierra la puerta.\"",[67,421,422],{},"Me pidió que cerrara la puerta."," (He asked me to close the door.) - command with pedir.",[83,425,427],{"id":426},"common-mistakes-english-speakers-make","Common mistakes English speakers make",[58,429,430,433,434,437,438,440,441,330,443,446,447,449],{},[67,431,432],{},"Using que instead of si for a yes\u002Fno question."," Learners write ",[67,435,436],{},"Me preguntó que tenía hambre",", mixing the statement ",[67,439,260],{}," into a question. A yes\u002Fno question takes ",[67,442,92],{},[67,444,445],{},"Me preguntó si tenía hambre",". Save ",[67,448,260],{}," for reported statements and for the command pattern.",[58,451,452,455,456,459,460,463],{},[67,453,454],{},"Dropping the accent on the question word."," Writing ",[67,457,458],{},"Me preguntó donde estaba"," loses the interrogative accent. In an indirect question the question word stays interrogative and keeps its accent: ",[67,461,462],{},"Me preguntó dónde estaba",". The accent does not depend on the question mark.",[58,465,466,469,470,473,474,266],{},[67,467,468],{},"Keeping English-style inversion."," Producing ",[67,471,472],{},"Me preguntó dónde estaba él el tren"," or any inverted order copies the direct question. The reported open question uses statement order: ",[67,475,476],{},"Me preguntó dónde estaba el tren",[58,478,479,455,482,485,486,489,490,492,493,266],{},[67,480,481],{},"Trying to report a command with an imperative or an infinitive.",[67,483,484],{},"Me dijo ven"," or ",[67,487,488],{},"Me dijo venir"," misses the construction. The imperative cannot survive the report; Spanish needs ",[67,491,260],{}," plus the imperfect subjunctive: ",[67,494,495],{},"Me dijo que viniera",[58,497,498,469,501,504,505,507],{},[67,499,500],{},"Leaving the subjunctive in the present after a past reporting verb.",[67,502,503],{},"Me dijo que venga"," clashes a past frame with a present subjunctive. The backshift applies: ",[67,506,495],{},". Sequence of tenses pulls the subjunctive back just as it pulls the indicative back in reported statements.",[58,509,510,511,513,514,516],{},"Get the three introducers straight - ",[67,512,92],{}," for yes\u002Fno, the question word for open questions, ",[67,515,260],{}," plus the imperfect subjunctive for commands - and reported questions and commands are just the backshift you already know, wearing a different opening word.",[83,518,520],{"id":519},"see-also","See also",[95,522,523,529,535,541,548],{},[98,524,525,528],{},[61,526,527],{"href":63},"Reported speech: tense backshift"," - the backshift table that questions and commands both inherit, plus the pronoun and deixis shifts.",[98,530,531,534],{},[61,532,533],{"href":264},"The imperfect subjunctive forms"," - how to build viniera, saliera, estudiara, the form every reported command lands on.",[98,536,537,540],{},[61,538,539],{"href":328},"The subjunctive of wishes and influence"," - the decir\u002Fpedir\u002Fordenar que pattern that the reported command is the past-tense version of.",[98,542,543,547],{},[61,544,546],{"href":545},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fformal-commands","Formal commands"," - the imperative forms that get reported, and where the subjunctive and the command meet head-on.",[98,549,550,551,555],{},"The ",[61,552,554],{"href":553},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar","Spanish grammar cheatsheet"," has the si \u002F question-word \u002F que-plus-subjunctive split on one card.",{"title":557,"searchDepth":558,"depth":558,"links":559},"",2,[560,561,562,563,564,565],{"id":85,"depth":558,"text":86},{"id":171,"depth":558,"text":172},{"id":249,"depth":558,"text":250},{"id":366,"depth":558,"text":367},{"id":426,"depth":558,"text":427},{"id":519,"depth":558,"text":520},"B2","Two reporting moves built on the same backshift. Reported questions: yes\u002Fno questions take si (me preguntó si tenía hambre), open questions keep their question word with its written accent (me preguntó dónde estaba) and lose the inversion. Reported commands turn the imperative into que plus the imperfect subjunctive: Ven becomes me dijo que viniera, No salgas becomes me dijo que no saliera. The tense backshift from indirect speech carries straight over to both.",[569,602,624],{"type":570,"instructions":571,"items":572},"fill-blank","Complete the reported question or command. Use si for yes\u002Fno questions, keep the question word for open ones, and the imperfect subjunctive for commands.",[573,576,580,584,588,592,596,598],{"prompt":574,"answer":92,"hint":575},"Direct: \"¿Tienes hambre?\" -> Me preguntó ___ tenía hambre.","yes\u002Fno question -> si",{"prompt":577,"answer":578,"hint":579},"Direct: \"¿Dónde está el tren?\" -> Me preguntó dónde ___ el tren.","estaba","keep dónde, backshift está",{"prompt":581,"answer":582,"hint":583},"Direct: \"¡Ven aquí!\" -> Me dijo que ___ allí.","viniera","command -> imperfect subjunctive of venir",{"prompt":585,"answer":586,"hint":587},"Direct: \"No salgas.\" -> Me dijo que no ___.","saliera","negative command -> imperfect subjunctive of salir",{"prompt":589,"answer":590,"hint":591},"Direct: \"¿Por qué no has venido?\" -> Me preguntó por qué no ___ venido.","había","perfect -> pluperfect, keep por qué",{"prompt":593,"answer":594,"hint":595},"Direct: \"¡Cállate!\" -> Me pidió que me ___.","callara","command -> imperfect subjunctive of callarse",{"prompt":597,"answer":92,"hint":575},"Direct: \"¿Quieres café?\" -> Me preguntó ___ quería café.",{"prompt":599,"answer":600,"hint":601},"Direct: \"Trabaja más.\" -> Me dijo que ___ más.","trabajara","command -> imperfect subjunctive of trabajar",{"type":603,"instructions":604,"items":605},"translate","Translate each reported question or command into Spanish, applying the backshift.",[606,609,612,615,617,620,622],{"prompt":607,"answer":608},"He asked me if I was tired.","Me preguntó si estaba cansado.",{"prompt":610,"answer":611},"She asked me where the station was.","Me preguntó dónde estaba la estación.",{"prompt":613,"answer":614},"He told me to come early.","Me dijo que viniera temprano.",{"prompt":616,"answer":312},"She told me not to go out.",{"prompt":618,"answer":619},"They asked me why I had not called.","Me preguntaron por qué no había llamado.",{"prompt":621,"answer":115},"He asked me whether I wanted coffee.",{"prompt":623,"answer":211},"She asked me when the film started.",{"type":625,"instructions":626,"items":627},"which-one","Choose the correct word or form for the reported question or command.",[628,633,640,647,654,660,666],{"prompt":629,"options":630,"answer":92,"hint":632},"Direct: \"¿Vienes?\" -> Me preguntó ___ venía.",[92,260,631],"qué","yes\u002Fno question takes si",{"prompt":634,"options":635,"answer":636,"hint":639},"Direct: \"¿Dónde vives?\" -> Me preguntó ___ vivía.",[636,637,638],"dónde","donde","que dónde","question word keeps its accent",{"prompt":641,"options":642,"answer":643,"hint":646},"Direct: \"¡Espera!\" -> Me dijo que ___.",[643,644,645],"esperara","espera","esperaba","command -> imperfect subjunctive",{"prompt":648,"options":649,"answer":650,"hint":653},"Direct: \"No hables.\" -> Me pidió que no ___.",[650,651,652],"hablara","hables","hablaba","negative command -> imperfect subjunctive",{"prompt":655,"options":656,"answer":476,"hint":659},"Which reports an open question correctly (no inversion)?",[476,657,658],"Me preguntó dónde estaba el tren él","Me preguntó que dónde estaba el tren","keep the accent, drop the inversion",{"prompt":661,"options":662,"answer":590,"hint":665},"Direct: \"¿Has terminado?\" -> Me preguntó si ___ terminado.",[590,663,664],"has","habrá","perfect -> pluperfect",{"prompt":667,"options":668,"answer":669,"hint":672},"Direct: \"¡Siéntate!\" -> Me dijo que me ___.",[669,670,671],"sentara","siéntate","sentaba","command -> imperfect subjunctive of sentarse","md",[675,678,681],{"q":676,"a":677},"How do you report a yes\u002Fno question in Spanish?","Use si (whether\u002Fif). A direct yes\u002Fno question like ¿Tienes hambre? becomes Me preguntó si tenía hambre. The si introduces the reported question and the verb backshifts exactly as in reported speech - present tienes to imperfect tenía after a past reporting verb. Do not confuse this si with the conditional si of if-clauses; here it simply means whether. There is no question mark on the reported version because it is no longer a direct question.",{"q":679,"a":680},"Do reported open questions keep the written accent on the question word?","Yes. Dónde, cuándo, qué, quién, por qué and the rest keep their written accent in a reported question just as in a direct one, because they are still interrogative: Me preguntó dónde estaba, Me preguntó por qué no había venido. What changes is the word order - Spanish drops the subject-verb inversion, so it is dónde estaba el tren, not estaba dónde el tren with the inversion English keeps. The accent stays; the inversion goes.",{"q":682,"a":683},"How do you report a command in Spanish?","Turn the imperative into que plus the imperfect subjunctive. A direct command like ¡Ven! becomes Me dijo que viniera (he told me to come), and a negative command like No salgas becomes Me dijo que no saliera (he told me not to go out). The imperative form itself disappears - it cannot be reported directly - and the imperfect subjunctive carries the instruction, after a past reporting verb such as me dijo, me pidió or me ordenó.","higher","Once the backshift from reported speech is in hand, two more reporting jobs fall into place. The first is reporting a question. A yes\u002Fno question (do you want to come?) becomes me preguntó si plus the backshifted clause; an open question (where are you?) keeps its question word, accent and all, and drops the inversion English keeps. The second is reporting a command. The imperative cannot survive in indirect speech, so Spanish reaches for the subjunctive: Ven becomes me dijo que viniera, No salgas becomes me dijo que no saliera. Both jobs lean on grammar you already own - the backshift table for the tenses, the imperfect subjunctive for the commands - so this page is mostly about plugging in si, keeping the question word and swapping the imperative for que plus subjunctive. Worked examples and the mistakes to drop follow.","spanish",{},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-questions",{"title":47,"description":567},"spanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-questions","6b32a861JAwy7kv0yGrxy3vpNdAXmZl-oZqT83gs4rs",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":694},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":696},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M20 20a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8a2 2 0 0 0-2-2h-7.9a2 2 0 0 1-1.69-.9L9.6 3.9A2 2 0 0 0 7.93 3H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v13a2 2 0 0 0 2 2Zm-8-10v6\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m15 13l-3 3l-3-3\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>"]