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0z\"\u002F>",true,{"id":46,"title":47,"author":48,"body":49,"cefrLevel":666,"date":48,"description":667,"exercises":668,"extension":770,"faqs":771,"gcseTier":781,"intro":782,"language":783,"lastUpdated":48,"meta":784,"navigation":44,"path":785,"seo":786,"stem":787,"verbSlugs":48,"__hash__":788},"pages\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-speech.md","Reported Speech in Spanish: tense backshift (dice que, dijo que)",null,{"type":50,"value":51,"toc":654},"minimark",[52,57,78,87,92,99,164,171,175,178,204,214,218,229,255,270,274,277,297,318,336,347,353,391,410,414,426,439,449,453,521,525,545,563,583,597,614,620,624],[53,54,56],"h1",{"id":55},"reported-speech-in-spanish-tense-backshift","Reported Speech in Spanish: tense backshift",[58,59,60,61,65,66,69,70,73,74,77],"p",{},"There are two ways to pass on what somebody said. You can quote them - ",[62,63,64],"strong",{},"\"Estoy cansado\""," - which is direct speech. Or you can report them, threading the words through a verb like ",[62,67,68],{},"decir",": ",[62,71,72],{},"Dijo que estaba cansado",". That is indirect, or reported, speech, and the move that makes it work is the ",[62,75,76],{},"backshift",".",[58,79,80,81,86],{},"The whole topic rests on one observation: when the reporting verb sits in the past, the tense of what was said slides back one step. Get that table straight and reported speech is mechanical. This page assumes you can already build the imperfect, the ",[82,83,85],"a",{"href":84},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpreterite-vs-imperfect","pluperfect",", the conditional and the imperfect subjunctive; reported speech does not invent new tenses, it just selects among the ones you have.",[88,89,91],"h2",{"id":90},"the-one-rule-past-reporting-verb-triggers-the-backshift","The one rule: past reporting verb triggers the backshift",[58,93,94,95,98],{},"If the reporting verb is ",[62,96,97],{},"dijo, comentó, explicó, contestó"," - anything past - the original tense moves back. Here is the full table.",[100,101,102,116,128,140,152],"ul",{},[103,104,105,108,109,111,112,115],"li",{},[62,106,107],{},"Present -> imperfect."," ",[62,110,64],{}," -> ",[62,113,114],{},"Dijo que estaba cansado."," (He said he was tired.)",[103,117,118,108,121,111,124,127],{},[62,119,120],{},"Preterite -> pluperfect.",[62,122,123],{},"\"Llegué tarde\"",[62,125,126],{},"Dijo que había llegado tarde."," (He said he had arrived late.)",[103,129,130,108,133,111,136,139],{},[62,131,132],{},"Perfect -> pluperfect.",[62,134,135],{},"\"He terminado\"",[62,137,138],{},"Dijo que había terminado."," (He said he had finished.)",[103,141,142,108,145,111,148,151],{},[62,143,144],{},"Future -> conditional.",[62,146,147],{},"\"Vendré\"",[62,149,150],{},"Dijo que vendría."," (He said he would come.)",[103,153,154,108,157,111,160,163],{},[62,155,156],{},"Present subjunctive -> imperfect subjunctive.",[62,158,159],{},"\"Quiero que vengas\"",[62,161,162],{},"Dijo que quería que vinieras."," (He said he wanted you to come.)",[58,165,166,167,170],{},"Notice the preterite and the perfect both land on the same place, the pluperfect: ",[62,168,169],{},"había llegado, había terminado",". Spanish does not keep them apart in the report.",[88,172,174],{"id":173},"the-tenses-that-stay-put","The tenses that stay put",[58,176,177],{},"Two tenses are already one step back, so the backshift has nowhere to send them. They do not change.",[100,179,180,192],{},[103,181,182,108,185,111,188,191],{},[62,183,184],{},"Imperfect stays imperfect.",[62,186,187],{},"\"Trabajaba mucho\"",[62,189,190],{},"Dijo que trabajaba mucho."," (He said he used to work a lot.)",[103,193,194,108,197,111,200,203],{},[62,195,196],{},"Conditional stays conditional.",[62,198,199],{},"\"Iría contigo\"",[62,201,202],{},"Dijo que iría contigo."," (He said he would go with you.)",[58,205,206,207,111,210,213],{},"This is why the imperfect carries a double load in reported speech: it is both the report of a present (",[62,208,209],{},"estoy",[62,211,212],{},"estaba",") and the unchanged report of an original imperfect. The context tells you which.",[88,215,217],{"id":216},"when-the-reporting-verb-is-present-nothing-shifts","When the reporting verb is present, nothing shifts",[58,219,220,221,224,225,228],{},"The backshift is triggered ",[62,222,223],{},"only"," by a past reporting verb. If you report in the present - ",[62,226,227],{},"dice que, comenta que, explica que"," - the original tense stays exactly as spoken.",[100,230,231,239,247],{},[103,232,233,111,235,238],{},[62,234,64],{},[62,236,237],{},"Dice que está cansado."," (He says he is tired.)",[103,240,241,111,243,246],{},[62,242,123],{},[62,244,245],{},"Dice que llegó tarde."," (He says he arrived late.)",[103,248,249,111,251,254],{},[62,250,147],{},[62,252,253],{},"Dice que vendrá."," (He says he will come.)",[58,256,257,258,261,262,265,266,269],{},"So the same original words, ",[62,259,260],{},"estoy cansado",", give ",[62,263,264],{},"dice que está cansado"," with a present reporting verb but ",[62,267,268],{},"dijo que estaba cansado"," with a past one. The reporting verb's tense, not the original, decides whether anything moves.",[88,271,273],{"id":272},"the-smaller-shifts-pronouns-possessives-deixis","The smaller shifts: pronouns, possessives, deixis",[58,275,276],{},"Around the tense move sit the same adjustments English makes, because the reporter is no longer the speaker and the moment of speaking has passed.",[58,278,279,282,283,286,287,290,291,286,294,296],{},[62,280,281],{},"Pronouns shift to the reporter's point of view."," The original ",[62,284,285],{},"yo"," becomes ",[62,288,289],{},"él \u002F ella","; ",[62,292,293],{},"tú",[62,295,285],{}," if the report is by the person addressed.",[100,298,299,308],{},[103,300,301,111,304,307],{},[62,302,303],{},"\"Yo tengo razón\"",[62,305,306],{},"Dijo que él tenía razón."," (He said he was right.)",[103,309,310,313,314,317],{},[62,311,312],{},"\"Tú no escuchas\""," (said to me) -> ",[62,315,316],{},"Dijo que yo no escuchaba."," (He said I didn't listen.)",[58,319,320,108,323,286,326,329,330,286,333,77],{},[62,321,322],{},"Possessives shift the same way.",[62,324,325],{},"Mi",[62,327,328],{},"su",", ",[62,331,332],{},"nuestro",[62,334,335],{},"suyo",[100,337,338],{},[103,339,340,111,343,346],{},[62,341,342],{},"\"Es mi coche\"",[62,344,345],{},"Dijo que era su coche."," (He said it was his car.)",[58,348,349,352],{},[62,350,351],{},"Time and place words move away from the here-and-now."," This is the deixis shift.",[100,354,355,361,367,373,379,385],{},[103,356,357,360],{},[62,358,359],{},"hoy -> aquel día"," (today -> that day)",[103,362,363,366],{},[62,364,365],{},"ayer -> el día anterior"," (yesterday -> the day before)",[103,368,369,372],{},[62,370,371],{},"mañana -> al día siguiente"," (tomorrow -> the next day)",[103,374,375,378],{},[62,376,377],{},"aquí -> allí"," (here -> there)",[103,380,381,384],{},[62,382,383],{},"este -> aquel"," (this -> that)",[103,386,387,390],{},[62,388,389],{},"ahora -> entonces"," (now -> then)",[58,392,393,394,397,398,401,402,405,406,409],{},"So ",[62,395,396],{},"\"Llego mañana\""," reported in the past becomes ",[62,399,400],{},"Dijo que llegaba al día siguiente",": present to imperfect for the tense, ",[62,403,404],{},"mañana"," to ",[62,407,408],{},"al día siguiente"," for the time.",[88,411,413],{"id":412},"que-is-obligatory","que is obligatory",[58,415,416,417,421,422,425],{},"English drops the conjunction without a thought: ",[418,419,420],"em",{},"he said he was tired",", no \"that\" required. Spanish never does. The ",[62,423,424],{},"que"," after the reporting verb is grammatically obligatory.",[100,427,428,433],{},[103,429,430,431],{},"Correct: ",[62,432,114],{},[103,434,435,436],{},"Wrong: ",[62,437,438],{},"Dijo estaba cansado.",[58,440,441,442,445,446,448],{},"This holds for every reporting verb - ",[62,443,444],{},"comentó que, explicó que, contestó que, añadió que"," - and it is not a matter of register. Leaving ",[62,447,424],{}," out is an error, not a casual shortcut.",[88,450,452],{"id":451},"worked-examples","Worked examples",[100,454,455,464,479,488,497,506],{},[103,456,457,111,460,463],{},[62,458,459],{},"\"Estoy en casa\"",[62,461,462],{},"Dijo que estaba en casa."," (He said he was at home.) - present to imperfect.",[103,465,466,111,469,472,473,405,476,77],{},[62,467,468],{},"\"Compré el billete ayer\"",[62,470,471],{},"Dijo que había comprado el billete el día anterior."," (He said he had bought the ticket the day before.) - preterite to pluperfect, ",[62,474,475],{},"ayer",[62,477,478],{},"el día anterior",[103,480,481,111,484,487],{},[62,482,483],{},"\"Te ayudaré mañana\"",[62,485,486],{},"Me dijo que me ayudaría al día siguiente."," (He told me he would help me the next day.) - future to conditional, deixis shift, pronoun shift.",[103,489,490,111,493,496],{},[62,491,492],{},"\"No he visto a nadie\"",[62,494,495],{},"Dijo que no había visto a nadie."," (He said he hadn't seen anyone.) - perfect to pluperfect.",[103,498,499,111,502,505],{},[62,500,501],{},"\"Quiero que estudies más\"",[62,503,504],{},"Dijo que quería que estudiara más."," (He said he wanted me to study more.) - present subjunctive to imperfect subjunctive.",[103,507,508,111,511,514,515,405,518,77],{},[62,509,510],{},"\"Vivía aquí de niño\"",[62,512,513],{},"Dijo que vivía allí de niño."," (He said he used to live there as a child.) - imperfect stays, ",[62,516,517],{},"aquí",[62,519,520],{},"allí",[88,522,524],{"id":523},"common-mistakes-english-speakers-make","Common mistakes English speakers make",[58,526,527,530,531,534,535,538,539,542,543,77],{},[62,528,529],{},"Dropping que."," Copying English, learners write ",[62,532,533],{},"Dijo estaba cansado"," or ",[62,536,537],{},"Comentó iba a llover",". Spanish requires the conjunction every time: ",[62,540,541],{},"Dijo que estaba cansado, Comentó que iba a llover",". If there is a reporting verb, there is a ",[62,544,424],{},[58,546,547,550,551,554,555,558,559,562],{},[62,548,549],{},"Backshifting after a present reporting verb."," Producing ",[62,552,553],{},"Dice que estaba cansado"," for \"he says he is tired\" over-applies the rule. ",[62,556,557],{},"Dice"," is present, so nothing shifts: ",[62,560,561],{},"Dice que está cansado",". The backshift is the past reporting verb's job alone.",[58,564,565,568,569,572,573,576,577,580,581,77],{},[62,566,567],{},"Shifting the imperfect or conditional further."," Hunting for a \"more past\" form of an original imperfect gives errors like ",[62,570,571],{},"Dijo que había trabajado mucho"," for \"he said he used to work a lot\". The imperfect is already as far back as it goes: ",[62,574,575],{},"Dijo que trabajaba mucho",". Same for the conditional - ",[62,578,579],{},"iría"," stays ",[62,582,579],{},[58,584,585,588,589,592,593,596],{},[62,586,587],{},"Keeping the present subjunctive."," Writing ",[62,590,591],{},"Dijo que quería que vengas"," mixes a past frame with a present subjunctive. After a past reporting verb the subjunctive backshifts too: ",[62,594,595],{},"Dijo que quería que vinieras",". The sequence of tenses pulls the subjunctive back along with everything else.",[58,598,599,602,603,606,607,610,611,613],{},[62,600,601],{},"Forgetting the deixis shift."," Leaving ",[62,604,605],{},"hoy, mañana, aquí"," untouched - ",[62,608,609],{},"Dijo que llegaba mañana"," - clashes with the past frame. Move them: ",[62,612,400],{},". The report is no longer anchored to the original moment.",[58,615,616,617,619],{},"Get the backshift table, the present-reporting-verb exception and the obligatory ",[62,618,424],{}," straight, and reported speech is just tense selection. The forms are ones you already own; reported speech only tells you which to reach for.",[88,621,623],{"id":622},"see-also","See also",[100,625,626,632,639,646],{},[103,627,628,631],{},[82,629,630],{"href":84},"Preterite vs imperfect"," - the pluperfect is built on the imperfect of haber, and the imperfect is where present statements land after the backshift.",[103,633,634,638],{},[82,635,637],{"href":636},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-questions","Reported questions and commands"," - the same backshift applied to si and question-word reports, plus turning imperatives into the imperfect subjunctive.",[103,640,641,645],{},[82,642,644],{"href":643},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fimperfect-subjunctive-forms","The imperfect subjunctive forms"," - the form the present subjunctive backshifts to, built from the third-person plural preterite.",[103,647,648,649,653],{},"The ",[82,650,652],{"href":651},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar","Spanish grammar cheatsheet"," has the full backshift table and the deixis shifts on one card.",{"title":655,"searchDepth":656,"depth":656,"links":657},"",2,[658,659,660,661,662,663,664,665],{"id":90,"depth":656,"text":91},{"id":173,"depth":656,"text":174},{"id":216,"depth":656,"text":217},{"id":272,"depth":656,"text":273},{"id":412,"depth":656,"text":413},{"id":451,"depth":656,"text":452},{"id":523,"depth":656,"text":524},{"id":622,"depth":656,"text":623},"B2","Turning direct speech into indirect speech in Spanish hinges on one move: the backshift. When the reporting verb is past (dijo que), the present slides to the imperfect, the preterite and perfect to the pluperfect, the future to the conditional, and the present subjunctive to the imperfect subjunctive. The imperfect and conditional stay put. Pronouns shift (yo to él), possessives shift (mi to su), and time-and-place words move (hoy to aquel día). When the reporting verb is present (dice que), nothing backshifts. And que is never optional.",[669,702,725],{"type":670,"instructions":671,"items":672},"fill-blank","Backshift the verb in brackets into the form indirect speech needs after the past reporting verb dijo que.",[673,676,680,684,688,692,695,699],{"prompt":674,"answer":212,"hint":675},"Direct: \"Estoy cansado.\" -> Dijo que ___ cansado. (estar)","present -> imperfect",{"prompt":677,"answer":678,"hint":679},"Direct: \"Llegué tarde.\" -> Dijo que ___ tarde. (llegar, había + participle)","había llegado","preterite -> pluperfect",{"prompt":681,"answer":682,"hint":683},"Direct: \"Vendré mañana.\" -> Dijo que ___ al día siguiente. (venir)","vendría","future -> conditional",{"prompt":685,"answer":686,"hint":687},"Direct: \"He terminado.\" -> Dijo que ___. (terminar, había + participle)","había terminado","perfect -> pluperfect",{"prompt":689,"answer":690,"hint":691},"Direct: \"Trabajaba mucho.\" -> Dijo que ___ mucho. (trabajar)","trabajaba","imperfect stays put",{"prompt":693,"answer":579,"hint":694},"Direct: \"Iría contigo.\" -> Dijo que ___ conmigo. (ir)","conditional stays put",{"prompt":696,"answer":697,"hint":698},"Direct: \"Quiero que vengas.\" -> Dijo que quería que ___. (venir, imperfect subjunctive)","vinieras","present subjunctive -> imperfect subjunctive",{"prompt":700,"answer":701,"hint":675},"Direct: \"No puedo salir.\" -> Dijo que no ___ salir. (poder)","podía",{"type":703,"instructions":704,"items":705},"translate","Translate each into Spanish reported speech, keeping que and applying the backshift where the reporting verb is past.",[706,708,710,713,716,719,722],{"prompt":707,"answer":114},"He said he was tired.",{"prompt":709,"answer":126},"She said she had arrived late.",{"prompt":711,"answer":712},"They said they would come the next day.","Dijeron que vendrían al día siguiente.",{"prompt":714,"answer":715},"She says she is tired. (present reporting verb)","Dice que está cansada.",{"prompt":717,"answer":718},"He told me he had finished his homework.","Me dijo que había terminado los deberes.",{"prompt":720,"answer":721},"We said we wanted them to come.","Dijimos que queríamos que vinieran.",{"prompt":723,"answer":724},"She said she would help me that day.","Dijo que me ayudaría aquel día.",{"type":726,"instructions":727,"items":728},"which-one","Choose the correctly backshifted form after the past reporting verb.",[729,735,741,747,753,759,765],{"prompt":730,"options":731,"answer":732,"hint":675},"Direct: \"Tengo hambre.\" -> Dijo que ___ hambre.",[732,733,734],"tenía","tiene","tendría",{"prompt":736,"options":737,"answer":738,"hint":679},"Direct: \"Vi la película.\" -> Dijo que ___ la película.",[738,739,740],"había visto","vio","veía",{"prompt":742,"options":743,"answer":744,"hint":683},"Direct: \"Te llamaré.\" -> Dijo que me ___.",[744,745,746],"llamaría","llamará","llamaba",{"prompt":748,"options":749,"answer":212,"hint":752},"Direct: \"Estaba enfermo.\" -> Dijo que ___ enfermo.",[212,750,751],"había estado","estuvo","imperfect does not shift further",{"prompt":754,"options":755,"answer":756,"hint":758},"She SAYS (present) she is here -> Dice que ___ aquí.",[756,212,757],"está","estaría","present reporting verb, no backshift",{"prompt":760,"options":761,"answer":762,"hint":698},"Direct: \"Espero que ganes.\" -> Dijo que esperaba que ___.",[762,763,764],"ganaras","ganes","ganarías",{"prompt":766,"options":767,"answer":72,"hint":769},"Which keeps the obligatory conjunction?",[72,533,768],"Dijo, estaba cansado","que is never optional in Spanish","md",[772,775,778],{"q":773,"a":774},"What is tense backshift in Spanish reported speech?","When you report what someone said and the reporting verb is in the past (dijo que, comentó que, explicó que), the tense of the original words moves back one step. The present becomes the imperfect (estoy to dijo que estaba), the preterite and perfect become the pluperfect (llegué to dijo que había llegado), and the future becomes the conditional (vendré to dijo que vendría). The imperfect and the conditional are already as far back as they go, so they do not change. The present subjunctive becomes the imperfect subjunctive.",{"q":776,"a":777},"Does Spanish always need que after the reporting verb?","Yes. Where English freely drops the conjunction - he said he was tired - Spanish keeps que every time: dijo que estaba cansado, never dijo estaba cansado. The que is obligatory after decir, comentar, explicar, contestar and the rest of the reporting verbs. Leaving it out is one of the most common English-speaker errors in reported speech, and it makes the sentence ungrammatical rather than merely informal.",{"q":779,"a":780},"When does the backshift not happen?","When the reporting verb is in the present (or future). Dice que, dice, comenta que all report in the here-and-now, so the original tense stays exactly as spoken: dice que está cansado, not dice que estaba cansado. The backshift is triggered only by a past reporting verb. So the same original words - estoy cansado - give dice que está cansado with a present reporting verb but dijo que estaba cansado with a past one.","higher","Reported speech is where several tenses you have built separately start to talk to each other. Direct speech quotes the words; indirect speech reports them, threaded through a verb like decir, comentar or explicar. The grammar that does the heavy lifting is the backshift: when the reporting verb sits in the past, the tense of what was said slides back one step. Estoy cansado becomes dijo que estaba cansado; llegué tarde becomes dijo que había llegado tarde; vendré becomes dijo que vendría. The imperfect and the conditional, already one step back, have nowhere further to go and stay put. Around the tense move sit the smaller shifts English does too: yo turns into él, mi into su, hoy into aquel día. Two things trip up English speakers in particular - that the present reporting verb (dice que) triggers no backshift at all, and that the que which English happily drops is obligatory in Spanish. This page maps the full table, with worked examples and the mistakes to drop.","spanish",{},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-speech",{"title":47,"description":667},"spanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-speech","G2bnxANrtq2jk7MS29ycAynazS5vzf8YXY_5QxUn2-0",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":791},"\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":793},"\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>"]