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In this Spanish grammar lesson, we will cover the use of Reported Speech Or Indirect Speech In Spanish. Indirect Speech is an important and necessary way to say what another person said. With that in mind, we are going to use the third person. Let’s see an example:

“No tengo tiempo para descansar.” (I don’t have time to rest.) (Direct Speech)
Él dice que no tiene tiempo para descansar. (He says he doesn’t have time to rest.) (Indirect Speech)

As you can see, we have to change the verb to third person. Also we should change the Indirect Object if there is one in the phrase: Me gusta el rock/ Dice que le gusta el rock. (I like rock / He says he likes the rock.).

Posesives: Mi casa tiene cuatro ventanas/Ella dice que su casa tiene 4 ventanas. (My house has four windows / She says her house has 4 windows.)

And the pronouns in the reflexive verbs: Siempre me afeito por la mañana/Dice que siempre se afeita por la mañana. ( I always shave in the morning / He says he always shaves in the morning.)

With a question we have to use: Pregunta or Pregunta si. ¿Qué música escuchas? /Pregunta que Qué tipo de música escuchas. (What music do you listen to? / She asks what type of music do you listen to.)

¿Comes sushi?/Ella me pregunta si como sushi. (Do you eat sushi? / She asked me if I eat sushi.)

When we have the principal verb (Dice que…) in the present tense or Past Perfect (Ha dicho que…) we don’t have to change the tense of the original verb that uses the person in the Direct Speech, with the exception of the Imperative by Subjective Present.

Haz tu tarea (Do your homework.)
Dice que hagas tu tarea. (He tells you to do your homework.)

But we have to do it when the principal verb is in Past Tense (Imperfecto or Indefinido).

Dijo que…(He/She said that…)
Decía que…(He/She said that…)
Contó que…(He/She told that…)
Comentó que….(He/She commented that…)
Preguntó si….(He/She asked if…)

Lets take a look at how the tenses change.

Present = Imperfect
Tengo frío/Juan comentó que tenía frío. (I am cold / John said he was cold.)

Imperfect = Imperfect
De chica me gustaba comer dulces/Ella contó que de chica le gustaba comer dulces. (As a child I liked to eat sweets / The girls said she liked to eat candy as a child.)

Indefinite = Pluperfect
Fui al cine solo/ Ella dijo que había ido al cine sola. (I went to the movies alone / She said she had gone to the movies alone.)

Perfect = Pluperfect
Nunca he estado en Disney World/ El niño comentó que nunca había estado en Disney. (I have never been to Disney World / The boy said he had never been to Disney World.)

Pluperfect = Pluperfect
Cuando llegué Rosa ya había cenado/ Dijo que cuando había llegado Rosa ya había cenado. (When Rosa arrived I had already ate dinner / He said that when Rosa arrived he had already eaten dinner.)

Future = Conditional
Iremos al campo este fin de semana / Contó que irían al campo este fin de semana. (We’ll go to country this weekend / He said he would go to the country this weekend.)

Conditional = Conditional
Me gustaría comer rabas/Dijo que le gustaría comer rabas. (like to eat squid rings / He said he would like to eat squid rings.)

Imperative = Subjunctive Imperfect
¡No comas eso!/ Me ordenó que no comiera eso. (Do not eat that! / He ordered me not to eat it.)

Subjunctive Present = Subjunctive Imperfect
No quiero que mis padres se enojen/ Él dijo que no quería que sus padres se enojaran. (I don’t want my parents to get angry / He said he didn’t want his parents to get angry.)

Subjunctive Imperfect = Subjunctive Imperfect
Me molestaba que mi ex novio fumara en la cama/ Dijo que le molestaba que su ex novio fumara en la cama. (It bothered me that my ex smoked in bed / She said it bothered her that her ex-boyfriend smoked in bed.)

Subjunctive Perfect = Subjunctive Pluperfect
No creo que haya llovido anoche/ Juan dijo que no creía que hubiera llovido anoche. (I don’t think it rained last night / John said he did not think it had rained last night)

Subjunctive Pluperfect = Subjunctive Pluperfect
No había nada que hubiera podido hacer/ Dijo que no había nada que hubiera podido hacer. (There was nothing I could have done /He said that there was nothing he could have done.)

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