When you report what someone said using a past-tense verb like dijo que, the tense of the original statement usually shifts one step into the past — a "backshift."
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| Present | Imperfect |
| Preterite / Present Perfect | Pluperfect |
| Future | Conditional |
| Future perfect | Conditional perfect |
| Present Subjunctive | Imperfect Subjunctive |
| Imperative | Subjunctive (indirect command) |
Two tenses don't shift, because there's nothing further back to shift to: the imperfecto and the pluscuamperfecto stay as they are.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| hoy | ese día / aquel día |
| mañana | al día siguiente |
| ayer | el día anterior |
| ahora | entonces |
| aquí | allí |
| este / esta | ese / esa |
| la semana que viene | la semana siguiente |
Register matters: in careful or formal writing, the full backshift is expected. In casual speech, Spanish speakers often keep the present tense if the statement is still true — Dijo que está cansado is common when he's still tired right now.
A yes/no question is introduced with si. A question word keeps its accent, since it stays interrogative.
Using dijo que for everything is the clearest sign of a non-native report. Spanish has a rich set of verbs that encode how something was said.
| Verb | Nuance | Mood that follows |
|---|---|---|
| afirmar / sostener | assert firmly | indicative |
| admitir / reconocer | concede | indicative |
| negar | deny | subjunctive |
| pedir / rogar | request | subjunctive |
| ordenar / exigir | order, demand | subjunctive |
| sugerir / proponer | suggest | subjunctive |
| advertir | warn (both, by sense) | both |
| quejarse de | complain | indicative |
Advertir changes mood with meaning. Me advirtió que llegaba tarde informs me of a fact. Me advirtió que llegara temprano warns me to do something. Same verb, two grammars.
1."Tengo frío" → Dijo que ___ (tener) frío.
2."Llegaré a las ocho" → Dijo que ___ (llegar) a las ocho.
3."He visto esa película" → Dijo que ___ (ver) esa película.
4."Espero que mejores" → Dijo que esperaba que ___ (mejorar, yo).
5."¡Cierra la puerta!" → Me pidió que ___ (cerrar, yo) la puerta.
6."Vendré mañana" → Dijo que vendría ___.
7."Estoy aquí" → Dijo que estaba ___.
8.Which tense does NOT backshift?
9."¿Vienes a la fiesta?" → Me preguntó ___ iba a la fiesta.
10."¿Dónde trabajas?" → Me preguntó ___ trabajaba.
11.Which verb is followed by the SUBJUNCTIVE?
12."Habían salido ya" → Dijo que ___ (salir, ellos) ya.
Book a class with Ángel and practise relaying conversations — reported speech is the hardest thing to do live.