indirect speech in spanish exercises

Indirect Speech – Free Exercise

Choose the correct pronouns and articles to complete the indirect speech.

• Helena: «¡Estoy enferma!» → Helena dice que   yo ella está enferma. 1st person in direct speech becomes 3rd person in indirect speech. Helena says she’s sick.
• Andrés: «¿Por qué ríe ella?» → Andrés pregunta por qué ríe   yo él ella . 3rd person stays the same in indirect speech. Andrés is asking why she’s laughing.
• Los niños: «Un día seremos mayores». → Los niños dicen que un día   nosotros vosotros ellos serán mayores. 1st person in direct speech becomes 3rd person in indirect speech. The children say they’re going to be big someday.
• La vecina me ha dicho: «Tu pastel de crema estaba delicioso». → La vecina me ha dicho que   mi tu su pastel de crema estaba delicioso. The person being addressed in the direct speech is repeating the sentence in indirect speech (signal: me ha dicho )| tu → mi . The neighbour said that my cream cake was delicious.
• Yo he respondido: «¡Es mi plato estrella!» → Yo he respondido que es   mi tu su plato estrella. The sentence in direct speech is being repeated by the same person in indirect speech, so the pronoun doesn’t change. I replied that it’s my speciality.

Write the following sentences in indirect speech.

• Julia: «Soy buena en matemáticas». →Julia afirmó   . reporting verb in the past: presente → imperfecto Julia claimed that she’s good at maths.
• Nosotros: «El cartero pasó a las 9». → Nosotros confirmamos   a las 9. reporting verb confirmamos could be presente or indefinido |reporting verb in present: tense stays the same in indirect speech|reporting verb in preterite: indefinido → pluscuamperfecto We confirm/confirmed that the postman comes/came at 9.
• La profesora: «Esta mañana había mucho tráfico». → La profesora contó   . reporting verb in the past: Imperfecto → imperfecto or pluscuamperfecto The teacher said that there had been a lot of traffic this morning.
• El alcalde: «La ciudad está en shock». → El alcalde explica   . reporting verb in the present: no change The mayor explains that the city is in shock.
• Los niños: «No nos gusta la comida». → Los niños se han quejado de   . reporting verb in pretérito perfecto : no change The children complained that they didn’t like the food.

Write the questions in indirect speech.

• Javier: «¿Te has lavado las manos?» → Javier pregunta a su hijo   . reporting verb in the present → no change|In indirect speech, yes-no questions begin with si . Javier asked his son if he had washed his hands.
• El profesor: «¿Cuándo murió Carlos V?» → El profesor preguntó   . reporting verb in the past: indefinido → pluscuamperfecto The teacher asked when Carlos V had died.
• Verónica: «¿Por qué lloráis?» → Verónica preguntó a sus amigos   . reporting verb in the past: presente → imperfecto Veronica asked her friends why they were crying.
• Mi hermana: «¿Quieres jugar a las cartas?» → Mi hermana me pregunta todos los días   . reporting verb in the present: no change|In indirect speech, yes-no questions begin with si . My sister asks me every day if I want to play cards.
• El revisor: «¿En qué estación se baja usted?» → El revisor preguntó al viajero   . reporting verb in the past: presente → imperfecto The ticket inspector asked the passenger which station he was getting out at.

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Reported Speech Spanish Guide: Examples + Verb Changes 

Reported speech is an overlooked yet crucial feature in everyday conversations. In short, it allows you to convey what someone else said adequately. Since mastering this topic can boost your fluency, in this reported speech Spanish guide, you’ll learn: 

• How to form reported speech
• Verb Changes in Indirect Speech
• Downloadable PDF

In addition to this, I’ve also included different examples of how to apply this concept in real-life situations. Let’s do this! 

What Is the Reported Speech in Spanish?

Reported speech in Spanish, also known as indirect speech, conveys what someone else said without quoting their exact words. 

Simply put, Spanish indirect speech allows you to rephrase and report what someone said. On the contrary, direct speech involves quoting the exact words a person used. For instance: 

In Spanish, decir is the most common verb to form the reported speech. However, you can also use the following verbs: 

• Aclarar : Clarify / Explain
• Afirmar : Affirm / Clair
• Anunciar : Announce
• Contar : Tell
• Explicar : Explain
• Pedir : Ask 
• Preguntar : Ask
• Prometer : Promise
• Recordar : Remember 
• Recomendar : Recommend 
• Sugerir : Suggest

Spanish indirect speech allows you to share information and someone’s thoughts or opinions with different people. As a result, it’s commonly used in news and writing environments, but also in daily conversations. 

How to form indirect speech 

To report what someone said, we use one of the previous verbs followed by que: 

[Verb] + que + [statement]

When using reported speech in Spanish you’re repeating what another person said, we must do some modifications to preserve the meaning of the original sentence. These changes include: 

• Adjust the pronouns and adjectives
• Change the verb tense (if applicable)

Take this graphic as an example: 

Spanish Reported Speech: Verb Backshifting 

When it comes to reported speech, verb conjugations are one of the major adjustments you must make. In simple words, we must change the tense of the original verb to maintain a logical sequence. In Spanish grammar , this is known as backshifting . 

To help you understand and apply backshifting in reported speech, I’ve prepared this table that compares the original tenses with their backshifted equivalents: 

We only change the tense of a verb when the original action already took place . Let me break this down for you. 

Let’s say you’re traveling and you call me today to tell me when you arrive. You’ll say: 

Llegaré a las dos.  I will arrive at two. 

But the time comes, and you’re not here. Everybody is asking me what time you’re supposed to arrive and I repeat what you said: 

Me dijo que llegaría a las 2.  He said he would arrive at 2. 

In this case, I backshifted the verb because the original action (arrival time) had already passed. The same happens with other tenses. 

However, the tense of the original statement doesn’t change when talking about facts or when the action is still relevant (it just happened). 

Take this sentence as an example: 

This example implies that I’m immediately telling you what our friend said. 

Reported Speech: Additional Spanish Resources

Transforming from direct and indirect speech requires knowledge of diverse grammatical elements. For starters, you must have a good command of Spanish pronouns so you know which pronoun to use for your sentence. 

On that same note, you should also get familiar with possessive adjectives in case you need to mention someone’s belongings. And, of course, you must be comfortable conjugating verbs in different Spanish tenses . 

Make sure you know how to form the:

• Present indicative
• Present perfect
• Present subjunctive
• Preterite tense
• Imperfect subjunctive
• Past perfect
• Imperative  
• Future simple
• Conditional tense

Download the Spanish Reported Speech PDF

Download a free PDF made for this guide including the graphics for reported speech as well as the backshifting verbs table so you can learn how to convert direct into indirect speech.

Daniela Sanchez

¡Hola! Soy Daniela Sanchez, I've been studying Spanish professionally as well as teaching it in Mexico and online for over 10 years. I’ve taught Spanish to a wide array of foreigners from many backgrounds. Over the years, I've made it my mission to work hard on refining many challenging to understand grammar topics to make my students' learning experiences easier, faster and more enjoyable. Read More About Me

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Indirect Speech in Spanish

El estilo indirecto ( indirect speech / reported speech ) is used in Spanish to report what someone has said without quoting them directly . In this article, you’ll learn the difference between direct and indirect speech and about the different types of indirect speech.

Direct Speech vs. Indirect Speech

Just like in English, we can report what another person said with direct speech or indirect speech. Direct speech is used to narrate the exact words expressed by the speaker. It is primarily used in writing.

Let’s take a look at a few examples using direct speech!

By using indirect speech, we don’t have to repeat what the speaker has said word-for-word. By omitting the direct quotation, we can paraphrase someone else's words, focusing more on the content of what someone said, rather than their exact words. Note that, since it is used to relay what someone said, it is almost always used in a past tense.

Let’s change the previous examples of direct speech to indirect speech.

He Said, She Said

There are three types of indirect speech: indirect statements , indirect questions , and indirect commands . Let’s take a closer look.

Indirect Statements

Reporting verbs , followed by the conjunction que ( that ), are used to introduce someone else's statement indirectly . Decir ( to say / to tell ) is the most common verb used to report a statement, but there are many more:

Let’s take a look at some examples!

Indirect Questions

When reporting a question, we use the verb preguntar ( to ask ) or the verb phrase querer saber ( to want to know ) followed by si ( if / whether ).

For example:

When reporting who , what , where , when , why , or how questions, use preguntar or querer saber followed by the question word. Since it is indirect speech, we do not need to use question marks.

Indirect Commands or Requests

To report a command, we use a variety of reporting verbs followed by que . Here is a list of the most common verbs used to report a command or request:

Check out these examples!

Important Changes

When using indirect speech, you often need to change the verb tense. Here's a table to help you remember what tense you need to use!

Pronouns and Possessives

When changing direct speech to reported speech, make sure to change any necessary pronouns and possessive adjectives .

Time and Place Expressions

Finally, when using indirect speech, we need to change references to time and place. Here’s a list of the most common changes:

When using indirect speech, you need to know your past tenses well. Review your past tenses in Spanish with these articles!

• Preterite vs. Imperfect
• Verbs that Change Meaning in the Preterite
• Past Participles
• Irregular Spanish Past Participles
• Sequence of Tenses in Spanish
• The Simple Past vs. Past Continuous in Spanish
• Past Perfect Progressive in Spanish
• Past Perfect
• Past Perfect Subjunctive

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Indirect Speech In Spanish: Learn How To Use It

Last Updated on April 19, 2022 by Elizabeth Alcantara Filed Under: Grammar , Language Worksheet

Reported speech can be intimidating at first glance, but it can also prove to be a lifesaver when you need it. It is all about announcing, passing along, or repeating what someone else says, whether it’s something you heard in a podcast, news your friend just shared with you, or simply a comment that someone made.

Let’s take an example to illustrate how indirect speech works. Your Latin American friend invites you to a family meal. You’re sitting down at the table surrounded by six cousins, four aunts, and five uncles. The baby is crying, the music is loud, the children are laughing, and there are three different conversations taking place at the same time. Suddenly the abuelita sitting next to you asks you what a certain person said… What do you do? Well, you’d take a deep breath and use your reported speech skills, even if you are a little unsure because you know you can’t leave grandma without an answer! 

Reporting what someone has said can prove useful in a wide range of situations, as you can see. In this lesson, I will show you how to easily use this grammar in everyday conversation. So let’s get started! 

Table of Contents

Reported speech in Spanish: estilo directo e indirecto

Before diving into indirect speech (or estilo indirecto), you should know that there is another useful way of repeating information: direct speech or estilo directo. 

If you choose to report a statement, question or command, using estilo directo, you’ll have to repeat all the words exactly as you heard them (like a parrot would), using quotation marks. Take a look at this example:

Mom: “La comida está lista”. (“The food is ready”). 

You: Ella dijo: “La comida está lista”. (She said: “The food is ready”). 

As you can see, the original comment and the reported one are the same. Just like when little kids play el teléfono roto (the broken phone), but the difference is they actually get the final message right.

Now, when you use indirect speech there are some key differences you need to take into consideration. For starters, you don’t need to use quotation marks, and you’ll most likely have to make some adjustments regarding pronouns and verb tenses, which we’ll explain below. But first, let’s check the same example from above, using estilo indirecto:

Mom: “La comida está lista”.

You: Ella dice que la comida está lista. (She says that the food is ready). 

Pretty simple, isn’t it? Only a few changes were made, the quotation marks were sent packing, and the word ‘ que’ (that) was added. 

Now that you can tell the difference between direct and indirect speech, let’s keep diving!

Indirect speech: reporting verbs  

If you take a closer look at the first part of all sentences in indirect speech, you’ll probably notice some verbs like decir (to say), preguntar (to ask), or pedir (to ask). These are what we call reporting verbs, and they are the ones that lead the way for repetition. Check the following reported sentences:

• Cousin: Ella dijo que estaba en el parque. (She said she was at the park). 
• Uncle: Él pregunta dónde está su franela. (He asks where his T-shirt is). 
• Children: Ellos pidieron irse temprano. (They asked to leave early). 

 There are other reporting verbs like anunciar (to announce), comentar (to comment), and contestar (to answer), that could be very useful, too.

The use of ‘que ‘

This word plays a very significant role in indirect speech. As opposed to its English version ‘that’, the word ‘que’ needs to be included, in most cases, after the reporting verb.

• Grandpa: “Quiero comer sopa” (“I want to eat soup”).
• You: Él dice que quiere comer sopa. (He says that he wants to eat soup.) 
• Aunt: “El café no está listo” (The coffee isn’t ready). 
• You: Ella dice que el café no está listo. (She says the coffee isn’t ready). 
• Mom: “¡No toquen las empanadas!” (“Don’t touch the empanadas!”. 
• You: Ella pidió que no tocaran las empanadas. (She asked not to touch the). 

So try not to forget about this short yet crucial word.          

Pronouns and possessives

Since you are repeating what another person said there are some tiny little changes you’ll need to make in the pronouns and possessives in order to keep the meaning of the sentence. Remember you are acting as a messenger, which means the message you are delivering is not actually from your point of view.

• Dad: “ Yo quiero un pedazo de torta” (I want a piece of cake).
• You: Él dice que quiere un pedazo de torta. (He says he wants a piece of cake).
• Mom: “Dejé mi bolso en el carro” (I left my purse in the car).
• You: Ella dice que dejó su bolso en el carro. (She says she left her purse in the car).

Verb tenses

This is the moment when you hold on to your oxygen tank and get ready to explore some slightly deeper waters with us.

So far, you’ve read several example sentences that have probably left you wondering about some changes in the tenses, and you are right! There are some differences you need to learn about. We’ll break them down into three sections: statements, questions, and commands. 

When reporting a statement, the first thing you need to check is the reporting verb. If the verb is in the simple present or present perfect form, the tense in the subordinate clause (the comment you are reporting) does not change. So there you have some good news.

• Uncle: Él dice: “ Necesito más hielo” (“I need more ice”).
• You: Él dice que necesita más hielo. (He says he needs more ice).

Now, when the reporting verb is expressed in the past tense, it’s time to make some adjustments to the subordinate clause:

Present simple to imperfect                                                                                                       

• Dad: El papá dijo: “ Quiero ir a bailar” (The dad said: “I want to go dancing”). 
• You: Él dijo que quería ir a bailar. (He said he wanted to go dancing). 

Preterite to Pluscuamperfecto ( past perfect )

• Mom: Mamá dijo: “Yo preparé las empanadas”. (Mom said: “I prepared the empanadas”).
• You: Ella dijo que ella había preparado las empanadas. (She said she had prepared the empanadas). 

Future simple to Conditional simple

• Aunt: La tía dijo: “ Tomaré una siesta”. (The aunt said: “I will take a nap”) 
• You: Ella dijo que tomaría una siesta. (She said she would take a nap). 

And that’s it! Those are the changes you need to make when reporting statements.

Bonus: if the sentence you are reporting is in the imperfect, conditional or past perfect, you don’t need to change anything.

Reporting questions without a problem will be very easy for you to achieve if you remember these two simple rules:

First , yes or no questions use the word ‘si’ (if) without including the word ‘que’ :

• Mom: La mamá pregunta: “¿Quieren más postre?” (The mom asks: “Do you want more dessert?”). 
• You: Ella pregunta si quieren más postre. (She asks if you want more dessert). 
• Kid: El niño preguntó: “¿Puedo jugar afuera?” (The kid asked: “Can I play outside?”) 
• You: El niño preguntó si podía jugar afuera. (The kid asked if he could play outside). 

Note: Notice how the same tense changes we just explained are applied to questions, too. Always remember to check the tense of the reporting verb so you can make the necessary adjustments.

Second , when you are going to turn an information question into indirect speech, you don’t use ‘que’ nor ‘si’ , this time you use the same question word. Just like you do in English!

• Uncle: El tío pregunta: “¿ Dónde está el perro?” (The uncle asks: “Where is the dog?”) 
• You: Él pregunta dónde está el perro. (He asks where the dog is). 
• Grandpa: El abuelo preguntó: “¿A qué hora sirven el postre?” (Grandpa asked: What time is dessert served?). 
• You: Él preguntó a qué hora servían el postre. (He asked what time dessert was served).
• Cousin: La prima dijo: “¿ Quién despertará a tía Clara?” (The cousin said: “Who will wake Aunt Clara up?”).
• You: Ella preguntó quién despertaría a la tía Clara. (She asked who would wake Aunt Clara up).

It turns out commands bring their own set of rules, but we are confident it won’t be a problem!

To begin with, you’ll always need to make some changes even if the reporting verb is in the simple present or present perfect form. 

Imperative (orders) to present subjunctive

• Grandpa: El abuelo pide: “ Tráiganme un café, por favor”. (Grandpa asks: “Bring me a coffee, please”)
• You: El abuelo pide que le traigan un café, por favor. (Grandpa asks to bring him a coffee, please).
• Grandma: La abuela pide: “ Despiértenme en un rato” (Grandma asks: “Wake me up in a bit”).
• You: La abuela pide que la despierten en un rato. (Grandma asks to wake her up in a bit).

Now, there’s only one change you’ll need to make when the reporting verb is in the past tense, and it’s pretty simple. Check it out:

Imperative to imperfect subjunctive

• Mom: La mamá le dijo al niño: “ Vuelve a la mesa” (The mom told the kid: “Go back to the table”).
• You: La mamá le dijo al niño que volviera a la mesa. (The mom told the kid to go back to the table). 
• Dad: El papá le dijo a la niña: “ Bebe agua” (The dad told the little girl: “Drink water”).
• You: El papá le dijo a la niña que bebiera agua. (The dad told the little girl to drink water).

There you have it. You did great, diver! Now you can enjoy the water for a little while. If you enjoyed this lesson on how to use indirect Speech in Spanish, sign up for our newsletter where we announce new articles.

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B2 indirect style exercise

This Spanish B2 level exercise is designed to help students practice and reinforce their understanding of the indirect style (estilo indirecto) in Spanish. The indirect style is essential for reporting what someone else has said, making it a valuable skill for effective communication.

Materials Needed:

• Exercise sheets with WhatsApp conversations
• Space for students to write their responses

Exercise Steps:

• Introduction to Indirect Style: Begin the exercise with a brief review of the indirect style in Spanish. Explain that this grammatical structure is used to report what someone else has said or to convey information indirectly.
• WhatsApp Conversations: Distribute the exercise sheets containing WhatsApp conversations between a child and their mother. These conversations should include both direct speech (direct quotations) and indirect speech (reported speech). Each conversation should be separated into two parts: the child’s message to their friends and the mother’s response.
• Individual Analysis: Ask students to carefully read and analyze the WhatsApp conversations. In the first part, the child communicates directly with their friends (direct speech). In the second part, the child reports what their mother said (indirect speech). Encourage students to pay attention to the changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and other grammatical aspects when moving from direct to indirect speech.
• Rewriting in Indirect Style: Instruct students to rewrite the child’s messages to their friends using the indirect style. They should accurately report what the mother said without using direct quotations. Emphasize the importance of maintaining clarity and accuracy in the reporting.
• Pair or Group Discussion: After completing the rewriting exercise individually, have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss their responses. They can compare their rewritten versions and provide feedback to one another.
• Class Presentation: Ask several students to present their rewritten conversations to the class. This allows for a broader discussion of different approaches and interpretations of the indirect style.
• Feedback and Clarification: Provide feedback and clarification as needed. Address any questions or doubts students may have regarding the indirect style and its application.

Objective: The primary objective of this exercise is to help B2 level Spanish students practice and reinforce their knowledge of the indirect style. By rewriting WhatsApp conversations in the indirect style, students gain practical experience in using this grammatical structure for reporting speech. Additionally, the exercise encourages critical thinking and language analysis while promoting effective communication skills in Spanish.

Download the exercise in PDF

Download the instructions in PDF

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Navigating Indirect Speech in Spanish

Welcome back to another exciting linguistic journey with Spanish Super Tutor, your ultimate resource for learning Spanish with flair and finesse! Today, we're tackling a topic that's a game-changer for meaningful conversations: the art of indirect speech, "el estilo indirecto," mixed with the nuances of expressing agreement in Spanish. Get ready to enhance your dialogue skills and engage more deeply with every Spanish speaker you meet!

Indirect Speech: The Cornerstone of Conversational Spanish

Indirect speech is like a secret code in communication. It allows you to report someone's words without quoting them verbatim, giving you the flexibility to maintain the essence of the original message but with your own twist. Here are some of the most common verbs you'll use, along with examples to solidify your understanding:

Decir (to say) - Direct: Ana dice, "Me encanta la paella." | Indirect: Ana dice que le encanta la paella.

Contar (to tell) - Direct: Luis cuenta, "Conseguí un nuevo trabajo." | Indirect: Luis cuenta que consiguió un nuevo trabajo.

Explicar (to explain) - Direct: El guía explica, "La ciudad fue fundada en el siglo XIV." | Indirect: El guía explica que la ciudad fue fundada en el siglo XIV.

Comentar (to comment) - Direct: Yo comento, "El clima está cambiando." | Indirect: Yo comento que el clima está cambiando.

Afirmar (to affirm) - Direct: El doctor afirma, "La dieta es importante para la salud." | Indirect: El doctor afirma que la dieta es importante para la salud.

But let's enhance our conversation even further. Agreeing in Spanish isn't just about saying "Sí." It's about expressing your concordance with style and authenticity.

Expressing Agreement Like a Native Speaker

Agreeing is about resonating with someone's ideas or statements. It's about building a connection. Here's how to express agreement in Spanish with finesse:

Estoy de acuerdo (I agree) - When your friend says, "El cine español es único," you can respond, "Estoy de acuerdo, tiene un estilo muy distintivo."

Es verdad (It's true) - If someone remarks, "Aprender idiomas abre puertas," nod and say, "Es verdad, te conecta con el mundo."

Tienes razón (You're right) - When a colleague asserts, "Hablar otro idioma mejora tus oportunidades laborales," show your consensus with, "Tienes razón, es una ventaja enorme."

Exactamente (Exactly) - If your tutor mentions, "El subjuntivo es esencial para el español avanzado," acknowledge with, "Exactamente, es clave para expresar dudas y deseos."

Sin duda (Without a doubt) - When discussing environmental issues, if someone states, "Debemos cuidar nuestro planeta," reinforce the statement with, "Sin duda, es nuestra responsabilidad."

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Indirect Speech

When we speak we often use our own words directly, employing the so-called direct speech . When we want to report what someone else says or thinks, we use the Indirect Speech (or Reported Speech). In Spanish there are some specific ways for Indirect Speech structures. Here we illustrate two different sets of rules for Indirect Speech in the Present,  when referring to present actions, and for Indirect Speech in the Past , when talking about events and thoughts in the past. Of course these rules are more strictly respected in written and formal Spanish, and more flexibly used in spoken and informal speech.

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Indirect/reported speech in Spanish

Direct speech is when we use the exact same words someone says, exactly as they say it. Reported speech is when we report what someone has said in the past. 

Reported speech in Spanish works very similarly to how reported speech works in English. For example:

Direct speech: "Tengo frío." "I'm cold."

Reported speech in present tense: Ella dice que tiene frío.  She says she is cold.

Reported speech in past tense: Ella dijo que tenía frío.   She said she was cold.

As you can see, when we report speech in the present tense using "dice que..." the tense used in the reported speech remains the same.

However, if we report speech in the past tense using  "dijo que..." the tense changes: tengo → tenía / am → was ) - note that it happens both in English and Spanish. 

But there are lots of things to consider when learning about indirect/reported speech.

Using "que" in Spanish reported speech

Bear in mind that in Spanish we always need  "que" in reported speech while in English you can often choose whether or not to use  "that":

Dice va a llover .

Dicen están contentos .

Reported speech in the present tense

When we report speech using the present tense, i.e. dice que ..., está diciendo que.. . the tense used in the orginal sentence from the direct speech remains the same. This also applies when reporting speech in the present perfect in Spanish: ha dicho que... 

Here are some examples:

"Ayer fui al cine."  ("Yesterday I went to the cinema.")

"Iré a la piscina con Juan."  ("I'll go to the swimming pool with Juan.")

"Yo habría esperado un poco."  ("I would have waited a bit.")

As you can see, the tense doesn't change, but the conjugation changes in reported speech to match with the new subject:

Reported speech in the past tense

We need to be careful with the tense change in reported speech when we transmit the information using the Spanish preterite tense: dijo que... 

Here's a table to see these changes: 

The changes described above shows the most natural correlation/sequence of tenses.

Bear in mind though that spoken Spanish can be somewhat flexible and that these changes are not always used as strictly as shown in the table above. An example of this is when we interpret what is said in the direct speech as something that is still happening when reporting it.

For example, is someone says: "Estoy embarazada."  ("I am pregnant.")   you can report this as:

Me dijo que estaba embarazada. She told me she was pregnant.

This is the usual sequence of tenses, from the present to the imperfect as we explained above.

But you could also say:

Me dijo que está embarazada.  She told me she was pregnant [and still is]. = She told me she is pregnant.

Keeping the present tense using  "que está..." emphasises the fact that she is still pregnant at the moment of reporting it. So we permit some flexibility to allow for these nuances.

Have a look at some more examples and notice what changes in the reported speech:

" Llegué temprano." - Dijo que había llegado temprano. "I arrived early." - He said he had arrived early.

" Veremos una película." - Dijeron que verían una película. "We'll watch a film." - They said they'd watch a film.

"Ana había fumado ". - Dijo que Ana había fumado . "Ana had smoked." - He said Ana had smoked.

"Ojalá lo hubiera sabido ." - Dijo que ojalá lo hubiera sabido . I wish I'd known. - He said he wished he had known.

"Quería que yo pagara" . - Dijo que quería que ella pagara . "He wanted me to pay." - He said he wanted her to pay.

"Me encantaría volver." - Dijo que le encantaría volver. "I'd love to come back." - She said she'd love to come back.

"Mi madre se habría enfadado ." - Dijo que su madre se habría enfadado. "My mum would have got cross." - She said that her mum would have got cross."

"Es posible que vuelva ." - Dijo que era posible que volviese ." "I may come back." - He said he may come back.

"No vayas a Madrid". Le dijo que no fuera a Madrid. "Don't go to Madrid." - He asked him (lit: said to him) not to go to Madrid.

Spacial and time references in reported speech

We have to bear in mind that if there is a spacial reference in the direct speech, we may need to change it if at the moment of reporting it time has passed or we are in a different place.  For example:

"Hace calor aquí ."  ("It's hot here.")

"Lo he pasado genial este verano ."  ("I had a great time this summer.")

Possessives in reported speech

Possessives also need changing in reported speech. For example:

" Mis hijos son muy listos."   ("My children are very clever.")

Notice how now that we are doing reported speech mis becomes sus . 

Questions in reported speech

If we are reporting questions then we tend to use the verb preguntar  as the introductory verb:  pregunta que..., preguntó que... 

When there is an interrogative pronoun:   dónde, cuándo, quién.. it works as follows.

Direct speech (question): "¿Cuándo llega Blanca?"  ("When is Blanca arriving?")

Direct speech (question) :  "¿Cómo se hace esto?"  ("How do you do this?")

Direct speech (question) :  "¿Quién es Marta Sánchez?" ("Who is Marta Sánchez?")

Note that dropping "que" in this case would also be acceptable:

Preguntaba quién era Marta Sánchez.

Preguntó cómo se hacía aquello.

Preguntan cuándo llega Blanca.

When there is no interrogative pronoun in the direct speech we use  "pregunta si . .., preguntó si . ..":

Direct speech (question) :  "¿Tienen ustedes los documentos?"  ("Do you have the documents?")

Direct speech (question) :  "¿Te apetece una cerveza?" ("Do you want a beer?")

Other reporting verbs in reported speech

Bear in mind that the most common verb used to introduce reported speech is  decir,  which we've used in our examples in this lesson, but there are other reporting verbs that can be used in reported speech, such as: aclarar que..., sugerir que..., apuntar que..., recomendar que..., repetir que... etc. Some examples are:

Direct speech:  "Estudiad más", dijo el profesor.   ("Study more", said the teacher.")

Direct speech:  "No fue mi intención interrumpir la reunión."  ("It wasn't my intention to interrupt the meeting.")

Using the verbs pedir and decir in reported speech for orders/commands

The verbs  pedir and  decir are generally used in reported speech in Spanish to convey an order. They are soft orders in comparison to the verb "ordenar" (to order).  We report with these verbs when the direct speech is in the imperative:

Direct speech:  "¡Venid aquí!" (Come here!)

Direct speech:  "¡Compra pan!"  ("Buy some bread!")

Direct speech:  "¡Suban rápido!"  ("Come up quickly!")

These two videos will help you clarify any doubt about Spanish reported speech:

Reported speech in the present

Reported speech in the past

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Spanish Reported Speech

👉 how to use reported / indirect speech in spanish, – spanish grammar basics for beginners –.

The indirect style is used to report someone’s words. As in English, we use a verb followed by a subordinate clause to introduce the person’s speech.

Construction of a sentence in indirect style

(Subject) + Verb + subordinate clause

• Mis amigas dicen que soy muy buena persona . (My friends say I am a good person).
• Elena dice que lo siente mucho . (Elena says she is very sorry.)

Depending on the context, we will use either declarative verbs or verbs of opinion, wish, order, or prohibition.

Use of a declarative verb

If the verb used to introduce the speech is a declarative verb , we will use the indicative in the subordinate clause.

The most common declarative verbs in Spanish are : decir, contar, afirmar, explicar, declarar, exclamar.

Use of the verb “decir” in indirect style

Present tense:.

– When the speech is reported in the present tense and the action is taking place as we speak:

Declarative verb (present tense) + subordinate proposition verb (present tense)

• Pablo: “El gato está en el jardín”. (The cat is in the garden.)
• Pablo dice dice el gato está en el jardín. (Pablo says the cat is in the garden.)

– When reporting speech in the present tense for an action that took place before the moment of speaking:

Declarative verb (present tense) + subordinate proposition verb (past simple/present perfect)

• Miguel : “Mi hermano vino a casa esta mañana.”
• Miguel dice que su hermano ha venido/vino a casa esta mañana.

– When the speech is reported later and the action was taking place at the time the person was making the speech:

Declarative verb (past simple) + subordinate proposition verb (imperfect)

• Pablo dijo que el gato estaba en el jardín. (Pablo said that the cat was in the garden.)

– When the speech is reported later and the action took place before the person was saying the speech:

Declarative verb (past simple) + subordinate proposition verb (more than perfect)

• Miguel dijo que su hermano había venido a casa por la mañana.

Conditional:

In the case where the speech is reported later and the words were stated in the future tense:

Declarative verb (simple past tense) + subordinate proposition verb (conditional)

• Pablo : « El gato estará en el jardín.” (The cat will be in the garden.)
• Pablo dijo que el gato estaría en el jardín. (Pablo says that the cat will be in the garden.)

Use of the verb “declarar” in indirect style

The suspect: “I have nothing to declare. “

• El sospechoso declara que no tiene nada que esconder. (The suspect declares that he has nothing to hide.)
• El sospechoso declaró que no tenía nada que esconder. (The suspect said he had nothing to hide).

Use of a verb expressing a command, prayer or advice

If the verb used to introduce the speech is a verb of order, prayer, advice or prohibition , the subjunctive should be used in the subordinate clause.

Verbs expressing a command

The most common verbs to express an order in Spanish are: pedir and ordenar .

Use of the verb “pedir” in indirect style

Ordering verb (present tense) + subordinate proposition verb (present subjunctive)

• Maria: “Dame una respuesta esta tarde.” (Give me an answer this afternoon.)
• Maria me pide que le dé una respuesta esta tarde. (Maria asks me to give her an answer this afternoon.)

Past tense:

Order verb (past tense) + subordinate proposition verb (imperfect subjunctive).

Remember that the imperfect subjunctive (pretérito imperfecto) is conjugated in 2 different forms in Spanish.

• Maria me pidió que le diera/diese una respuesta esta tarde. (Maria asked me to give her an answer in the afternoon).

Use of the verb “ordenar” in indirect style

• Miguel : “Ayudame a limpiar.” (Help me clean up).
• Miguel me ordona que le ayude a limpiar. (Miguel orders me to help him clean.)
• Miguel me ordonó que le ayudará/ayudase a limpiar. (Miguel ordered me to help him clean up.)

Verbs expressing prayer

The most common verbs in Spanish to express a prayer are rogar y suplicar .

Use of “suplicar” in indirect style

• Juan : « Por favor hermano, no me pegues. » (Please my brother, don’t hit me).
• Juan suplica su hermano que no le pegue . (Juan begs his brother not to hit him).
• Juan suplicó su hermano que no le pegara/pegase . (Juan begged his brother not to hit him).

Use of the verb “rogar” in indirect style

• El conductor : “Por favor que vuelvan inmediatamente a sus asientos. (Please return to your seats immediately.)
• El conductor les ruega que vuelvan inmediatamente a sus asientos. (The driver asks them to return to their seats immediately.)
• El conductor les rogó que volvieran/volviesen inmediatamente a sus asientos. (The driver asked them to return to their seats immediately.)

Verbs expressing advice

The most common verbs in Spanish to express advice are aconsejar and sugerir .

Use of the verb “aconsejar” in indirect style

• Angel : « Deberías hacer más deporte. » (You should do more sports).
• Angel me aconseja que haga más deporte. (Angel advises me to do more sports).
• Angel me aconsejó que hiciera/hiciese más deporte. (Angel advised me to do more sports.)

Use of the verb “sugerir” in indirect style

• Lucia : « Tendrías que tomar este camino porque es más corto.»
• Lucia me sugiere que tome este camino porque es más corto.
• Lucia me sugirió que tomara/tomase este camino porque era más corto.

Verb expressing a prohibition.

The verb used in Spanish to express an interdiction is “ prohibir “.

Use of the verb “prohibir” in indirect style

• Diego: « No le hables. » (Don’t talk to him.)
• Diego me prohíbe que le hable . (Diego forbids me to talk to him.)
• Diego me prohíbio que le hablara/hablase . (Diego forbids me to talk to him.)

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Spanish Grammar Lesson: Direct vs Indirect Speech

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March 25, 2017

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The difference between direct and indirect speech (also called reported speech) is pretty easy to understand.  

But it's not very easy to apply when speaking in a foreign language. It is a very important part of communicating, however, and plays an major role in most conversations.

Read on for a quick introduction and guide to direct vs indirect speech in Spanish.

So, what’s the difference?

That’s a very good question! Before we get too far ahead of ourselves with all the little technicalities, let’s make sure that we understand what we’re dealing with here.

In order to do this, take the following conversation:

Pedro: Where are you going?

Jose: To the store.

1: Will you get milk?

2: Sure, no problem.

Now, let’s say Pedro later goes on to have a conversation with someone else, about the above mentioned interaction. There are some options for how they could go about doing this. Let’s just say it looked something like this:

• Pedro: I asked Jose where he was going. He said, “to the store.” So, I asked if he would get some milk, and he said “sure, no problem.”

The above recounting of a previous event or exchange with another person is what we’re going to look at. You have two options when doing this.

The first, is by using quotation marks. This is direct speech. This means that the words are being repeated exactly like they were said.

• He said, “to the store.”
• ...and he said, “sure, no problem.”

The second way of recounting a conversation is through indirect speech. In the example above, this is done through changing the verb tense, although that isn’t always required (we will look at that more later).  

• Reported: I asked him where he was going.
• Reported: I asked if he would get some milk.

Basically, there are 3 important rules to keep in mind when using indirect (reported) speech. They are:

• You will not use quotation marks
• Since you’re not quoting, you don’t need to say word-for-word what the person said
• When reporting what someone said, you generally change the verb tense.

Reporting Verbs

There are still a few things we need to talk about before getting into everyone’s favorite part about grammar--the technicalities.

In order to identify that something is being “reported” or to communicate that you are repeating something that someone said previously, you’ll use a reporting verb. We have them in English as well. The most common are:

*Most common of the most common

“Que”--your new best friend

You’ll notice that (almost) all of the examples above in the chart using reported speech include the little word “que.” This is not a coincidence.

When speaking in reported speech you will always use the “que” (meaning “that”). Even if in English we can and would omit the “that” you still need it in Spanish.”  

“She said that she was tired.”- Here, in English the “that” is optional. This is not the case in Spanish.

“He asked that I go to the store.” (He asked me to go to the store.) - this is one of the examples where the “that” wouldn’t be use in English, but it would in Spanish.

But wait… the questions…

If you’re reporting a question, you have a few options available as they don’t always need the “que”.

Yes and No Questions.

If the answer to the question being reported can be “yes” or “no” you don’t need the “que.” In these situation we would use the “si” like in English (if).

“He asked me if I could go to the store.”- Me preguntó si iba a la tienda .

Questions with question words

If you are reporting a question that contained the question words  (where, who, when, etc.) you will not need the “que” but stick with the question word used in the original context.

• María: Where is Sara? ( ¿Dónde está Sara? )

Reported speech: Maria wanted to know where Sara was. ( María quería saber donde estaba Sara. )

Let’s get a little more technical.

We’ll try to ease you into all of this grammatical stuff. It seems like a lot to remember. But, a lot of it is very common in English as well, so try to not to get too overwhelmed!

Personal pronouns and Possessive pronouns.

Again, let’s start with an example:

• María: Can you tell my brother that I need to talk to him? ¿Puedes decirle a mi hermano que le tengo que hablar?

Here, obviously a few things need to change if you want to report this statement. For one, he’s not your brother and for another you’re not the one that needs to speak to him.

In this situation, the personal pronouns (you, I) need to change, as well as the possessive (my). Here’s how this statement would sound when repeating it later on to someone else:

• The pronouns remain the same.
• Here, you can see that the pronouns did change.

So far so good, right? It’s pretty basic stuff up to this point. Just like in English, we need to change the subject and the pronouns.

Time phrases

Obviously, more often than not, if you’re reporting something that happened it’s because the person you’re recounting the event to wasn’t there when it took place--i.e. it was in the past.

So, here’s how you would change around your time phrases so they line up with what you’re saying:

As you’ll notice above, all of the examples are written in the past. This is also something important to pay attention to, and probably one of the most important grammatical points of reported speech. So, let’s go ahead and dive right into that!

Verb tenses in indirect (reported) speech.

The tense the reporting verb is in (present, past, future) will have a big impact on the rest of the sentence. Not only will you need to pay attention to the tense, but also to what is being said.

Command/Request vs information

Depending on the context of the conversation being reported, you’ll need to use different ways of repeating it.

This is where things can start to get a little tricky. We do have similar rules in English as they do in Spanish, but in English they are a little more flexible, and followed less frequently.

Here are some good rules to keep in mind when using indirect speech in Spanish:

• If the reporting verb is in the present or present perfect tense you do not need to change the verb tense--unless it’s a command (we’ll talk more about this in a minute).
• If the reporting verb is in the preterite, imperfect, or the past perfect tense you do need to change the  verb tense.

Let’s look at a quick scenario and see what we have:

Scenario: Let’s say you’re texting with someone, and your friend (who you’re with physically) wants to know what the person texting you is saying.

Person 1: What did he say?

Person 2: He asked if we are free tonight. ( reporting information )

1: Why? What does he want?

2: He wants us to help him move. ( reporting a request )

Here, we can see that in the first part, Person 2 is simply repeating the information . He asked a question, and this is what it is. The reporting verb “want to know” is in the present, so the second verb is in the present as well.

In the second part of the exchange, the reporting verb is in the present, so in English, we keep the it in the present as well. In Spanish, however, if we are reporting a request or command , we need to use the subjunctive. In this case it will be the present subjunctive because the reporting verb is in present.

In Spanish the conversation would go like this:

Person 1: ¿Qué dijo?”

Person 2: Quiere saber si estamos libres esta noche. (present-present)

1: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué quiere?

2: Quiere que le ayudemos a hacer la mudanza. (present-present subjunctive)

Note: This change to the subjunctive only happens with certain verbs: Decir, Pedir, Querer. An easy way to remember this is if they verb will be followed by “si” or “que.”

• Quiere saber si podemos salir esta noche. (He wants to know if I can go out tonight.)
• Me pregunta si quiero quedar mañana. (He’s asking if I can meet up tomorrow.)
• Again, in this situation you’re not necessarily relaying the request or the command, but merely the information contained in the request itself.
• Me dice que tenga cuidado. (He tells me to be careful.)
• Frenando me pide que le ayude con los deberes. (Franks asks me to help with the homework.)
• Fernando me dice que tengo que ir a clase mañana.

Verb Tense Changes

So, if you feel like all of that has settled into your mind and it’s not going to explode just yet, let’s keep chugging along!

As mentioned above, if the reporting verb is in present, it will only change (to present subjunctive) if the thing being reported is a command/ request. When the reporting verb is in the past, however, the rest of the information being reported will need to change tense. Here’s how that is going to work:

Present Simple--Imperfect

• Direct speech: Angela dijo, “No puedo ir.” (Angela said, “I can’t go.”)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Angela dijo que no podía ir. (Angela said that she couldn’t go.)

Preterite--Pluscuamperfecto (past perfect)

• Direct speech: Sergio dijo, “Ayer compré un movil nuevo.”  (Sergio said, “Yesterday I bought a new cell phone.)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Sergio dijo que el día anterior había comprado un movil nuevo. (Sergio said that the day before he had bought a new phone.)

Future simple (will)--Conditional simple (would)

• Direct speech : Candela dijo, “Llegaré tarde.” - (Candela said, “I’ll arrive late.”)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Candela dijo que llegaría tarde. - (Candela said that she would arrive late.)

Imperfect/Conditional/Past Perfect

With these, you will not change second verb tense. Yay!

• Direct speech: Juan dijo, “la playa era muy bonita.” (Juan said, “the beach was very pretty.”)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Juan dijo que la playa era muy bonita . (Juan said that beach was very pretty.)

Conditional:  

• Direct speech: María dijo, “Me gustaría vivir en Nueva York.” (Maria said, “I would like to live in New York.”
• Indirect/ Reported speech: María dijo que le gustaría vivir en Nueva York. (Maria said she would like to live in New York.
• Past Perfect
• Direct speech: Mi padre me dijo, “a las 5 ya había llegado. ” (My dad told me, “at 5 I had already arrived.”)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Mi padre me dijo que a las 5 ya había llegado . (My dad told me that a 5 he had already arrived.)

Just one more thing… I promise!

One last thing to remember, like we saw with the present tense, if the verb in the past is a reporting verb, and what is being reported is a command or request, you will use the subjunctive--past subjunctive this time!

• Direct speech: Mis padres me dijeron, “vuelve a casa a las 23.00. ” (My parents told me, “be home at 11:00pm.)
• Indirect/ Reported speech: Mis padres me dijeron que volviera a casa a las 23.00 . (My parents told me to be home by 11:00 pm.)

¡Madre Mía! That was a lot of information!

Let’s see if we can condense it down just a little bit.

Important rules to remember. If you are using reporting speech:

If you do need to change the verb tense, this is why and when:

• Commands or requests with a present tense reporting verb will take the present subjunctive conjugation in the following verb.
• Again, commands or requests with a past tense reporting verb will need to take the past subjunctive conjugation in the following verb.

If the reporting verb is in the past, these are the changes you’ll make:

• Present simple--imperfect
• Preterite-Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)
• Will future--simple continual (would)

Verbs that will not change the tense of the others verbs:

• Conditional

Things to keep in mind:

• Remember your reporting verbs
• Remember to change the personal and possessive pronouns
• Remember your time phrases

In reality, it’s not as complicated as it looks. It may take a little practice to get used to, but after a while, you’ll find that is relatively similar to what we do in English. Do you have any shortcuts you use to remember the rules mentioned above? Is reported (indirect) speech something you struggle with? Let us know in the comments!

About the author 

Anastasia is a Chicago, Illinois native. She began studying Spanish over 10 years ago, and hasn’t stopped since. Living in Spain since 2012, she loves Spanish tortilla, vino tinto, and anything that contains jamón ibérico.

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Indirect Speech Exercises For Spanish Grammar

Indirect speech or reported speech is commonly used in Spanish just as in English , often in the context of telling someone what someone else said. It’s a form of narration that allows us to take something another person said and relay it in our own words. How it works in Spanish depends on the tense, mood, and ambiguity of the original statement.

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with correct indirect speech form of verb

Exercise 2: fill in the blanks recalling reported speech.

Grammar Exercises

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El Estilo Indirecto – How to Quote Someone in Spanish

If you ever find yourself telling a story (or simply gossiping), you may need to quote what someone has said to you in Spanish.

To do this, you will need to use el estilo indirecto , which is known as the indirect style or reported speech in English.

When you want to quote what someone has said or asked you, you need to decide if you are going to quote them directly or indirectly. The easier of the two options is a direct quote.

For example, imagine a friend, Sandra, tells you this:

“I am pregnant.”

You then want to relay that information to someone else. You could directly quote Sandra like this:

“Sandra said ‘I am pregnant’.”

Or alternatively, you may prefer to quote Sandra indirectly:

“Sandra told me that she was pregnant.”

From this example, you can see that directly quoting someone can be a little risky.

If you are chatting with a friend and you choose the first option but the person misses the “Sandra said” part, you may find yourself with the awkward task of explaining that it was, in fact, someone else that was pregnant and not you.

Instead, in this context, it would be safer to quote indirectly by including a “she was” in your quote.

When using the indirect style, you may also notice, you have to change the present tense to the past tense—’I am ‘ to ‘she was ‘.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use el estilo indirecto including how to change tenses, which verbs you need to be careful with, and how to change possessive adjectives.

Estilo indirecto in the present tense

The first step for learning  el estilo indirecto in Spanish is to practice transmitting quotes in the present tense.

In Spanish, just like English, you can quote directly:

English: She says “…”. Español: Ella dice “…”.

Or you can quote indirectly, notice the key change is the addition of que :

English: She says that … . Español: Ella dice que … .

As I mentioned earlier, the direct style is easier because you don’t have to change what was said. You can simply quote word for word.

For example, imagine you have a son and he says:

English: I’m hungry. Español: Tengo hambre.

You then want to relay that information to your partner. When talking about your son you could quote directly:

English: He says “I’m hungry”. Español: Él dice “tengo hambre”.

Or if you wanted to use the indirect style, you would need to change the conjugation from the first person to the third person. You can quote indirectly as follows:

English: He says that he is hungry. Español: Él dice que tiene  hambre.

Another example—you are waiting for someone and they call to say they are going to be late:

English: I’m going to be late. Español: Voy a llegar tarde.

You want to tell the person you are with that your friend just said he is going to be late, to quote indirectly you need to say:

English: He says that he is going to be late. Español: Él dice que va  a llegar tarde.

In addition to the above examples, the indirect style in Spanish can also be used to relay a question.

But instead of que , you need to use si   (if).

For example, your friend asks you:

English: Are you tired? Español: ¿Estás cansada?

And then someone else asks you “what did they just ask you?”, you could relay the question indirectly as follows:

English: She asks if I am tired. Español: Ella pregunta si estoy cansada. 

To quickly summarise thus far, if you want to quote a statement indirectly, use the Spanish verb  decir  with the conjunction  que.  If you want to quote a question indirectly use preguntar and si .

Next, let’s look at how you should change possessive adjectives when using the estilo indirecto .

Estilo indirecto and possessive adjectives

Here is a list of the  Spanish possessive adjectives :

When you are transferring information using the Spanish indirect style, on top of changing verb conjugations, you also have to change the possessive adjective.

For example, someone could say:

English: I don’t have your phone number. Español:  No tengo tu número de teléfono . 

If you wanted to tell another person what is being said you could say:

English: He says that he doesn’t have my phone number. Español: Él dice que no tiene mi número de teléfono.

Working out which possessive adjective you have to use and whether the verb needs to change conjugation requires careful thought. Here is another example:

English: This is our new house. Español: Esta es nuestra nueva casa. 

To tell someone else what is being said, you should say:

English: She says that this is their new house. Español: Ella dice que esta es su nueva casa.

Notice that the verb doesn’t change in this example. This is because the subject is in the third person ( esta ) in both sentences. But, the possessive adjective changes from nuestra (our) to su  (their).

As an aside, if you are trying to remember whether it’s ser  vs  estar  for possession—the rule is it’s always  ser . Also if you are wondering whether it should be  nuestra nueva casa  or  nuestra casa nueva , check out this article on Spanish adjectives  for figuring out Spanish adjective order.

Estilo indirecto in the past tense

Now we are at the part where el estilo indirecto can get a little more complicated.

Here is how you should quote indirectly in the past:

English: She said that … . Español: Ella dijo que … .

Or with a question:

English: She asked if … . Español: Ella preguntó si … .

Whenever you relay information about what was said in the past you need to be very careful when changing the verb tense.

At the start, I gave the example of ‘she said she was pregnant’, even though she is still pregnant right now, you have to change ‘is’ to ‘was’ because the indirect information was transferred in the past.

So the question is, what tense do you use in Spanish when transferring information in the past: the past simple or the past imperfect ?

The answer: it depends!

If a statement was made in the present tense, for the indirect message, you have to change the conjugated verb to the past imperfect tense. If a statement was made in the past imperfect, you don’t need to change it at all. If it was made in the past simple, you can choose between two options—the past simple or the past perfect .

The following table explains all of the verb changes you need to make:

Here are some examples with all of these verb changes for indirect speech in action:

1. The original message is in the present tense

From the table above you can see that all present tense messages indirectly relayed from the past need to change to the past imperfect .

I’ll start with the pregnant example from earlier. Here is the original message:

English: I’m pregnant. Español: Estoy embarazada.

To transfer this statement to someone else the following day, you could say:

English: Sandra said that she was pregnant. Español: Sandra dijo que estaba embarazada.

And the example with the child being hungry:

English: I’m hungry. Español: Tengo hambre.

If you wanted to transfer this sentence at some time in the future, you could say:

English: He said that he was hungry. Español: Él dijo que tenía hambre.

2. The original message is in the past imperfect tense

When you are relaying a message that was said in the past imperfect, you don’t have to change the tense. But, you will probably still need to change the person.

Imagine you tell someone that you didn’t use to like cheese when you were younger, and they couldn’t believe it so they ask again to confirm:

English: You didn’t use to like cheese? Español: ¿No te gustaba el queso?

You could then relay that question to someone else like this:

English: She asked if I didn’t use to like cheese. Español: Ella preguntó si no me gustaba el queso.

3. The original message is in the past simple tense

When the original message is in the past simple tense, you may hear the indirect message in either the past simple or past perfect tense .

For example, if your friend José said:

English: Last week, I went to the mountains. Español: La semana pasada, fui a la montaña.

And you wanted to transmit that message using the estilo indirecto , you could say:

English: José said that last week he went to the mountains. Español: José dijo que la semana pasada fue a la montaña.

But, you may also hear the past perfect being used to relay this statement:

English: José said that last week he had gone to the mountains. Español: José dijo que la semana pasada había ido a la montaña.

4. The original message is in the present perfect tense

For relaying a message in the present perfect  you must use the past perfect tense.

Imagine your friends, Juan and Carla, tell you:

English: This morning, we found a new cafe. Español: Esta mañana, hemos encontrado una nueva cafetería.

And you have to tell someone else, you could say:

English: Juan and Carla said that they had found a new cafe. Español: Juan y Carla dijeron que habían encontrado un nueva  cafetería .

5. The original message is in the past perfect tense

When the original message is in the past perfect tense, you don’t have to change the tense, you only have to change the person.

Imagine you have a friend that is going to do something dangerous or strange, then when you question him he says:

English: I had done it before. Español:  Lo había hecho antes .

Using el estilo indirecto , you could say:

English: He said that he had done it before. Español: Él dijo que lo había hecho antes.

6. The original message is in the future tense

If you want to change a statement made in the past, about the future, you need to change the future tense to the conditional tense .

Imagine a Spanish friend of yours says:

English: I will start to study English tomorrow. Español: Empezaré a estudiar inglés mañana.

Then later, using the indirect style to share the comment with someone else, you have to say:

English: He said that he would start to study English the following day. Español: Él dijo que empezaría a estudiar inglés al día siguiente.

Notice that  mañana  had to change to al día siguiente . There are a few changes that you also have to make with reference to time periods. I’ll go through these in the last section below.

7. The original message is in the conditional tense

The last tense that I’m going to cover in this overview of el estilo indirecto is the conditional tense. Just like the past imperfect and past perfect tenses, you don’t have to change the tense, just the person.

For example, a few friends say:

English: We would like to go to the center of town tonight. Español: Nos gustaría ir al centro esta noche.

To tell someone else, you can say:

English: They said that they would like to go to the center of town tonight. Español: Ellos dijeron que les gustaría ir al centro esta noche.

Verbs you have to be careful with using el estilo indirecto

There are four verbs you have to use thoughtfully when relaying a message in the indirect style. These are:

So, for example, when the original message contains the verb  ir , the indirect message would need to replace ir  with  venir .

But, these changes only occur in certain situations.

A great example for demonstrating these changes would be an imaginary dinner party that you are hosting.

When talking about the time a Spanish friend Paco said he is going to arrive:

English: I’ll go to your house at 8 pm. Español: Iré a tu casa a las 8.

To explain this to someone at the party, you could say:

English: Paco said that he would come at 8 pm. Español: Paco dijo que vendría a las 8.

Here you would have to change the simple future tense to the conditional and the verb  ir  to venir .

As an example with the other two verbs, Paco could also have said:

English: I’ll bring a bottle of wine. Español: Llevaré una botella de vino.

To relay this, you could say:

English: Paco said that he will bring a bottle of wine. Español: Paco dijo que traería una botella de vino.

I mentioned that these four verbs only change in certain situations. I chose an imaginary dinner party at your house because the verbs will only change when the message relates to where you are—in this case, your house.

If you were relaying a message about Paco going anywhere other than where you currently are, then you would keep ir  in the indirect message.

Adverb changes with the indirect style

In this last section, you will learn how to change adverbs of time when using the indirect style.

Here is a summary of the changes:

To demonstrate these changes in action, someone could say:

English: Today is my birthday. Español: Hoy es mi cumpleaños.

In el estilo indirecto , you could say:

English: She said that that day was her birthday. Español: Ella dijo que aquel día era su cumpleaños.

Here is an example for mañana:

English: I don’t want to go to school tomorrow. Español: No quiero ir a la escuela mañana.

To relay this message, you could say:

English: He said that he didn’t want to go to school the following day. Español: Él dijo que no quería ir a la escuela al día siguiente .

For yesterday, if someone said:

English: I spoke with Alejandro yesterday. Español: Hablé con Alejandro ayer.

Then you could quote this indirectly like this:

English: She said she had spoken with Alejandro the previous day. Español: Ella dijo que había hablado con Alejandro el día anterior .

An example for ahora :

English: Now I’m very busy. Español: Ahora estoy muy ocupado.

As an indirect quote for this original message, say:

English: He said that he was very busy then. Español: Él dijo que estaba muy ocupado entonces .

Lastly, for después , an original message:

English: I will help you later. Español: Te ayudaré después.

And in el estilo indirecto , you can say:

English: He said that he would help me later. Español: Él dijo que me ayudaría más tarde.

I suggest you learn  el estilo indirecto  in multiple stages. Start with transferring quotes and questions in the present tense. Then build up by relaying information in the past using the rules above.

Like everything in language learning, the key is to use what you have learned. The best training ground is a real-world conversation because this will help make it stick.

What information will you share using el estilo indirecto ?

Reader Interactions

July 10, 2017 at 3:41 pm

There is one part about this subject that I am having difficulty to understand. Why can’t I use under any circumstances “me ha dicho que … ” ?

I am asking the question like this because non of the examples you have written above includes “me ha dicho “.

Now imagine:

I see a friend on the street and he tells me something. And JUST 10 MINUTES LATER I see another friend and want to tell this second friend “what this first friend HAS TOLD me”. Why do I have to use “me dijo que” for something that happened just 10 minutes ago? Or the same question applies to the situations that occur in the last 24 hours like “esta mañana, hace 5 horas, etc.”

July 10, 2017 at 3:55 pm

Hola Kaplanfa,

This is a great question!! I have avoided the present perfect in this discussion because it complicates the topic quite a bit.

In fact, “ha dicho” without “que” needs to use the same verb changes as “me dijo que”. And, conversely, “ha dicho que” doesn’t make any verb changes and is equivalent to ‘el estilo directo’ (a direct quote) “dice” without “que”.

If you just saw someone 10 minutes ago, and you want to quote what that person said, you can use a combination of “acabar de” and present tense.

For example: He just told me he is going to be late – Él acaba de decirme que va a llegar tarde.

¡Gracias por la pregunta!

July 11, 2017 at 2:18 pm

Gracias tio!

July 11, 2017 at 8:24 pm

¡De nada! 🙂

August 1, 2017 at 2:59 pm

Hi Andrew, it is me again with a different question about the same subject. (:

What if the sentence took place in the past is something ALWAYS true? Example:

“My house is 10 minutes walking away from the beach.”

“Me dijo que su casa estaba / estuvo situada a 10 minutos andando de la playa. ”

It sounds a bit weird to me to use “pasado” for something that will be correct in the near and far future. I mean it would make sense a bit more if the conversation took place a long time ago. But imagine you need to say this sentence just 5 minutes later after hearing it. Are there exceptions to this rule? Depending to the time frame can this sentence be correct?

“He hablado con el esta mañana, y me dijo que su casa ESTA situada a 10 minutos andando de la playa. Voy por alla ahora.”

To me it just doesn’t sound right to use pasado for something that has just happened and will always (relatively) be correct.

I hope I have managed to explain my question..

August 2, 2017 at 8:07 am

Yes, that’s okay. Think about the situation in English when we say “I went to a party last night and met a girl and her name ‘was/is’ María”. Her name is still María today but we sometimes use ‘was’ because the event of the meeting took place in the past. You can say “…su casa estaba / está…” both past imperfect and present could be used here.

August 3, 2017 at 10:56 am

January 26, 2018 at 2:03 pm

Andrew, thank you for another excellent explanation, the examples were really helpful. One apparent inconsistency, #4 in the chart says Present Perfect requires Past Imperfect while #4 in the examples says Present Perfect requires Past Perfect in indirect speech which sounds right to me. Am I becoming a reported speech nerd :-)) Saludos, Rod

January 26, 2018 at 4:33 pm

Hola Rod, yes that was a typo. The “imperfect” in the table should have said “perfect” to match the examples section.

April 30, 2020 at 2:51 pm

really appreciate the amount of work and thought . you always come up with useful areas- thanks Andrew.

April 30, 2020 at 3:11 pm

Thanks for the feedback David! 🙂

April 30, 2020 at 7:29 pm

I have a question on the first example. “All present tense messages indirectly relayed from past need to change to present imperfect” Your example is Sandra tells you: “I am pregnant” and to quote her indirectly: “Sandra me dijo que estaba embarazada.” The latter would seem to indicate that she is no longer pregnant, that she used to be. How do you avoid this sort of misunderstanding?

April 30, 2020 at 8:25 pm

Great question Linda! This is a problem in both English and Spanish in the same way. For example: – I met a girl last night and she was beautiful. She told me she was from Spain and her name was María. In this example, she is still beautiful, she is still from Spanish, and her name is still María. But, due to the nature of the sentence, we need to use the past tenses for the descriptions. A good way to get around this problem in Spanish and English is to add a time period, we could say “yesterday my friend told me she was pregnant”, then it is unlikely that she gave birth between the conversation yesterday and today. We could also add that she has been pregnant for a specific period of time such as 3 months.

April 30, 2020 at 10:06 pm

Thanks for the response. It does seem to be a question in both languages. I tried it out on my husband who fell into the same past usage. Adding in a time frame can be helpful here. Thanks again. Linda

June 22, 2020 at 6:58 am

Muchas gracias Andrew. The transference of this information- direct to indirect uses the verb time structures I’m familiar with and all make sense. However, what happens when an indirect reply uses subjunctive triggers, like future cuando or quizás etc, are the verbs adjustments made to accommodate this form.

June 22, 2020 at 7:38 am

Thanks for the comment Nick! Yes, there are adjustments to be made with the subjunctive mood, but we haven’t included them because we don’t want to overload this topic now. We want our students to master the use of “el estilo indirecto” using the indicative mood, then we cover the changes in the subjunctive mood in our level 4 course.

April 22, 2021 at 2:38 pm

Thank you so much. As an older-older than dirt-student with no friends with which to practice I so appreciate your advice.

April 22, 2021 at 3:06 pm

Thanks for the comment! 🙂

June 28, 2021 at 7:58 pm

I am grateful for this article and that most of this “seems” somewhat intuitive, for the most part. I’ll see how “intuitive” it is when I try to put it into practice! And thanks for not including the subjunctive right now. That would have been overwhelming for me at my stage.

June 28, 2021 at 8:01 pm

Thanks for the feedback Gordon!! 🙂

January 27, 2022 at 5:27 am

This is really helpful. I have a question that sounds strange when I ask it but I mean it sincerely. If you know how to use the indicative tenses in both languages, aren’t these changes in tense self-evident? It could be me, but it’s almost more confusing to think of the indirect style as a separate thing when it seems to happen naturally? Thanks so much for your clear presentation of it (and really appreciate the omission of the subjunctive, of which I know nothing yet).

January 29, 2022 at 12:55 pm

How Brewster, yes, you’re right, in general, the changes are quite logical. That said, this topic is more challenging in Spanish. The first challenge is changing verb conjugations, which are more complex than in English. The next challenge is changing past tenses (e.g. past simple vs past imperfect). And lastly, it’s layering on the different moods (imperative, subjunctive, conditional), which adds another layer of complexity over English. But, if that all comes across as self-evident to you, then that’s great!!! 🙂

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Reported Speech in Spanish (B1)

Reported speech or indirect speech  – EL ESTILO INDIRECTO in Spanish- are used to relate someone’s words without using a direct quote. 

Expressing "Say"

Decir without an indirect object usually means “ to  say . ” In Spanish, as in English, when reporting what someone “says, ” the tense used in the original statement is also used in the reported-speech expression.

On the other hand, when reporting what someone “said,” a past tense is used.  The indicative is used to report what someone says or said. The subjunctive is used  in commands, to report what someone tells or told someone else to do.

By the way, click here to see the whole verb DECIR conjugation in Spanish .

Direct and indirect Speech in Spanish

Here you have some examples. Tense original quote is the direct speech , tense after «d ice que » is the indirect speech in present while tense after « dijo que » is the indirect speech in the past.

Notice that in English “ that ” is optional in reported speech: He says he worked hard. / He says that he worked hard . In Spanish “ que ” is compulsory: Dijo que trabajaba duro.

There are much more about reported speech what we will see it in future post, so keep in touch!

Reported speech exercices

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A Simple Lesson on Direct vs Indirect Spanish

You may be surprised to learn that the way direct vs indirect Spanish works is quite similar to the way direct vs indirect English does.

In both languages direct speech makes use of quotes and keeps things simple. However, sometimes speaking in direct speech sounds a bit weird or “robot-like.” And that’s why you need to learn how to use indirect speech too. 

In this post, I’ll answer the question of direct vs indirect Spanish—what is direct and indirect speech and how does it work? Then I’ll explore the grammar particularities of indirect speech, with lots of examples, as well as some new vocabulary. 

Direct vs Indirect Spanish 

What’s the direct vs indirect Spanish discussion about? Well, it’s basically a topic about two different ways of communicating what another person said. 

These two distinct “ways of communicating” are also known as “direct speech” or “direct style,” and “indirect speech,” “indirect style,” or even “reported speech.” In Spanish, they’re simply known as estilo directo and estilo indirecto . 

Direct Speech

On the direct vs indirect Spanish argument, the easy part is learning direct speech. If you’ve ever used quotes to repeat the exact same words of another person, then you already know how to use it. 

Direct speech works the same way both in English and Spanish, with just a small change in punctuation—from a colon in Spanish to a comma in English. 

Let’s see some examples of direct speech. 

El maestro dijo: “La tarea se entrega el viernes.” The teacher said, “The homework is due on Friday.”

“Eres mi mejor amigo,” dijo María. “You’re my best friend,” Maria said.  

Simple, right? Let’s see now the other side of the direct vs indirect Spanish debate: indirect speech. 

Indirect Speech

Indirect speech is a little more complicated than direct speech. However, in real life conversations it’s more common to use indirect speech, so it’s crucial that you get it right. 

If we’re talking about direct vs indirect Spanish, the direct part only requires you to remember to add quotation marks. However, on the indirect part there are quite a few moving parts, grammar rules, and specific changes that you need to remember. 

Let’s take a look at them!

Indirect Spanish Grammar Structure

When you’re comparing direct vs indirect Spanish, you need to focus on dissecting the indirect Spanish grammar structure and all its variables. 

Indirect Speech Formula 

If you you want to report either a command, a statement, or a question in Spanish, you need to use a simple formula: 

Subject + Verb + Object

El maestro quiere que Miguel (subject) repita (verb) el examen (object).  The teacher wants Miguel to repeat the exam. 

Mamá dijo que Carlos (subject) podía (verb) venir (object) .  Mom said that Carlos could come.

Mónica pregunta si tú (subject) tienes (verb) su teléfono (object) .  Monica asks if you have her phone.  

At this point, it’s important to mention that subject pronouns and verbs need to adapt to agree with the new subject in indirect speech. 

Direct speech: 

Alejandra dijo: “(yo) soy la mejor.” Alejandra said: “I’m the best.”

Indirect speech: 

Alejandra dijo que (ella) es la mejor. Alejandra said that she’s the best.

Notice how in the direct speech sentence the subject is yo, and the verb is conjugated in the first person singular: soy . While in the indirect speech sentence the subject is ella, and the verb is conjugated in the third person singular: es .

The Importance of ‘ Que ’ on Indirect Speech

Notice how in the first two examples given above, there is a que located just before the subject. I would have included this little word in the indirect speech formula, if it wasn’t for the way questions behave as indirect speech in Spanish. But que is there to be found in every other indirect speech construction: 

El presidente dice que el país está mejor.  The president says that the country is better now. 

Karla confesó que ya no lo ama.  Karla confessed that she doesn’t love him anymore. 

Papá me pidió que lavara su carro.  Dad asked me to wash his car. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s a statement or a command, the word que will always be there (even if in English you may avoid its equivalent “that”). 

Questions and Question Words

In indirect Spanish you may find two kinds of questions: “yes or no questions,” and “question word questions”. In the first case, you don’t need to use que, instead you have to use si (if, whether):

Mamá quiere saber si fuiste al dentista.  Mom wants to know if you went to the dentist. 

Mis alumnos me preguntaron si habría examen.  My students asked me if there will be an exam. 

The second case works a little bit differently. 

In Spanish, the question words include: qué (what), quién (who), cuál (which), cuánto (how much), cuándo (when), cómo (how), dónde (where), and por qué (why).

When you are using indirect speech and one of these question words arise, all you have to do is to substitute the si of the “yes or no questions” with the required question word.

El maestro quiere saber dónde estás.  The teacher wants to know where you are. 

Carlos cuestiona quién hizo esto.  Carlos questions who did this. 

Finally, if you’re using the verb preguntar (to ask) in indirect speech you may add an extra que before the question word. However, if you don’t add this que the structure of the sentence is also correct. 

Papá pregunta que cómo te sientes.  Dad asks how are you. 

Juan pregunta que qué quieres de regalo.  Juan asks what you want as a present. 

Reporting Verbs

On the direct vs indirect Spanish topic, there are a few verbs that you have to use to repeat what someone else said. These verbs are known as “reporting verbs” and you can use them either in direct or indirect speech. 

Decir – to say

Mi jefe me dijo que estaba despedido.  My boss said that I was fired. 

Preguntar – to ask

Jorge pregunta que cuándo llegaste. Jorge asks when you arrived.

Querer – to want

Martha quiere que la visites.  Martha wants you to visit her. 

Explicar – to explain

“El apagón se debe a las bajas temperaturas,” explicó el presidente.  “The blackout is due to the low temperature,” the president explained.

Afirmar – to assert

“Perdimos por culpa del árbitro,” afirmó el entrenador.  “We lost because of the referee,” the coach asserted.

Other common reporting verbs in Spanish include: 

añadir – to add

declarar – to declare

insistir – to insist

sostener – to maintain 

contestar – to answer

pedir – to ask

anunciar – to announce

asegurar – to assure

negar – to deny

comentar – to comment

prometer – to promise

recordar – to remind

Verb Tenses

Remember when I said above that in indirect speech the verbs need to adapt to reflect the new subject? Well, verbs also change tenses sometimes in indirect speech. 

If the verb in the main clause is in the present tense, there are no changes to be made: 

Direct speech:  

Papá dice: “Tengo hambre.” Dad says, “I’m hungry.” 

Indirect speech:

Papá dice que tiene hambre.  Dad says he’s hungry. 

Notice how both verbs decir and tener are in the present tense, both in the direct speech sentence as in the indirect speech one. 

However, when the reporting verb is conjugated in the past tense, you have to be careful as indirect speech becomes a little bit more complicated, as the verb in the subordinate clause needs to change: 

Papá dijo: “Tengo hambre.” Dad said, “I’m hungry.” 

Papá dijo que tenía hambre.  Dad said he was hungry. 

Notice how in direct speech the reporting verb “ dijo ” is in simple past tense or preterite, while the second one “tengo” is in present tense. However, in indirect speech the second verb “ tenía ” is conjugated in the imperfect. 

The most common indirect speech tense change in the reported fragment is from present simple to imperfect, as in the example given above. But, there are a couple of other tense changes that you need to take into consideration: 

Preterite to Pluscuamperfecto

Erika dijo: ”El año pasado fui a París.” Erika said, “Last year I went to Paris.”

Erika dijo que había ido a París el año pasado.  Erika said she had gone to Paris last year. 

Future simple to Conditional

Mamá dijo: “Comeré más tarde.” Mom said: “I will eat later.”

Mamá dijo que comería más tarde.  Mom said she would eat later. 

Direct vs Indirect Spanish Conclusion

Learning how to choose between direct vs indirect Spanish and to use them correctly is a process that starts by learning the grammar rules, as you did today. But, in reality, the only way to master indirect speech is by practicing it. Only when you apply these rules in real-life conversations, you’ll start noticing when a pronoun needs to be changed or a tense is incorrectly used. 

Sign up for a free class with one of our certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers, and start choosing between direct vs indirect Spanish today!

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Intermediate Spanish Review Lesson 25 How to use Spanish Indirect / Reported Speech (Part 2) Posted by Laura & Adam on Feb 14, 2014 in Learning , Spanish Grammar , Spanish Vocabulary , Videos

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estáis?

Hoy vamos a practicar mas sobre El Estilo Indirecto en español. Today we are going to practice more about the Spanish Estilo Indirecto – Indirect or Reported Speech in Spanish.

Answers to all tasks involved in this lesson will be given at the end of the post and you can also follow a link with this post to watch the original theory video lesson on the same topic.

To go back and watch the original video lesson please follow this link:

Intermediate theory video lesson 25

1. Let´s start by making some sentences using Spanish reported speech. I will tell you some sentences and I would like you to transform them to reported speech using “Dijo que”. For example, if I say “Comeré en la oficina” you should say “Dijo que comería en la oficina”:

Cuando tenga tiempo, te llamaré. Me gustaría pasar más tiempo con mi hermana. La semana que viene habré terminado el libro. Cuando haya limpiado toda la casa, podré relajarme. Hoy estoy cansado, pero mañana estudiaré más.

2. Let´s practice now how to report Spanish imperatives using reported speech. I will tell you some sentences featuring imperatives and I would like you to transform them to reported speech using “Dice que”. For example, if I say “Ven a la playa” you should say “Dice que vaya a la playa”:

Comed todo. Escúchame. No haga eso. Venga conmigo. Lee las instrucciones.

3. Now let’s practice the same thing again with imperatives but this time using “dijo que”:

No fume aquí. Mira esto. Repite lo que has dicho. Dímelo otra vez. Baile conmigo.

4. Next, please translate the following sentences from Spanish to English:

Antonio dice que vaya con él. Raquel dijo que le gustaría viajar a América Latina. Mis padres dicen que estudie más. Marcos dijo que si pudiera, vendría con nosotros. María dice que comerá con nosotros mañana.

5. Finally, please translate the following sentences from English to Spanish:

Carla said she would go to Brasil. My brother said he would like to live here. They say that I should listen more. Carmen told me to call her. Sara told me not to smoke here.

Bueno, pues hemos terminado la clase de hoy.

I hope you enjoyed this final practice lesson about Spanish reported or indirect speech. Remember last week we reviewed more about this subject, so if you missed it, I recommend you watch that video as well.

Que paséis una buena semana ¡Adiós!

I hope you are enjoying my weekly interactive Spanish lessons. Follow this link for many more great resources to help you learn and practice Spanish .

1. Dijo que cuando tuviera tiempo, le llamaría. Dijo que le gustaría pasar más tiempo con su hermana. Dijo que la semana siguiente habría terminado el libro. Dijo que cuando hubiera limpiado toda la casa, podría relajarse. Dijo que aquel día estaba cansado, pero al día siguiente estudiaría más.

2. Les dice que coman todo. Dice que le escuche. Dice que no haga eso. Dice que vaya con él. Dice que lea las instrucciones.

3. Dijo que no fumara aquí. Dijo que mirara esto. Dijo que repitiera lo que había dicho. Dijo que se lo dijera otra vez. Dijo que bailara con él.

4. Antonio told me to go with him. Raquel said that she would like to travel to Latin America. My parents tell me to study more. Marcos said that if he could, he would come with us. María says that she will eat with us tomorrow.

5. Carla dijo que iría a Brasil. Mi hermano dijo que le gustaría vivir aquí. Dicen que debería escuchar más. Carmen me dijo que la llamara. Sara me dijo que no fumara aquí.

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About the Author: Laura & Adam

Laura & Adam have been blogging and creating online Spanish courses for Transparent Language since 2010. Laura is from Bilbao in northern Spain and Adam is from Devon in the south of England. They lived together in Spain for over 10 years, where their 2 daughters were born, and now they live in Scotland. Both Laura & Adam qualified as foreign language teachers in 2004 and since have been teaching Spanish in Spain, the UK, and online.

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Reported Speech in Spanish: Master the Art of Talking About What Other People Say

Reported speech is everywhere.

In English, you use it dozens (if not hundreds) of times every day without even realizing it.

The good news is that you can be that natural in Spanish, too. You’re literally just an article away from becoming a Spanish reported speech master yourself!

Don’t believe me? Give this post just 10 minutes of your time, and you’ll see how easy it can be.

What Is Spanish Reported Speech?

Basics of spanish reported speech, spanish reporting verbs, decir  (to say, to tell), preguntar  (to ask), querer saber (to want to know), pedir  (to ask), querer (to want), other reporting verbs in spanish, using  que (that), spanish reported speech word order: subject + verb + object, spanish reported speech based on questions, yes or no questions, “wh-” questions, other changes in spanish reported speech, personal pronouns and possessives, time and place expressions, verb tenses, and one more thing….

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Direct and reported speech are two of the most frequently-used grammar points in languages, and Spanish is no exception. Whenever you talk about what someone else has said, you use either direct or reported speech.

When you repeat exactly what another person has said and explicitly indicate who said it, you’re using direct speech. For example:

Daniel dice: “Estoy muy cansado hoy.” (Daniel says: “I am very tired today.”)

Now, let’s say you don’t remember exactly what your  compadre (buddy) Daniel said, but you do remember the gist of it. If someone else asks you what Daniel said, you’d say something like:

Daniel dice que está muy cansado hoy.  (Daniel says he is very tired today.)

That, in a nutshell, is reported speech. Spanish reported speech is where you talk about someone (other than yourself and the person you’re talking to) and what that person said without necessarily quoting them verbatim.

In written texts or messages, it’s usually easier to differentiate between Spanish direct and reported speech. For starters, direct speech uses quotation marks to enclose the statement being quoted, while reported speech doesn’t. Direct speech quotes the person being talked about word-for-word, while reported speech may or may not use their exact words, though the gist of what they said is always present.

So that’s it, right? Differentiating direct and reported speech in Spanish is just a matter of using the right punctuation marks and whether you used the other person’s exact words, yes? 

Not quite. Although English and Spanish reported speech are similar for the most part, the latter has some unique quirks that we’ll be discussing in the next sections.

Like in English, reported speech in Spanish consists of a few basic elements: reporting verbs, connecting words like que (“that”) and the message from the person being talked about—whether the message is verbatim or not.

Let’s break them down below.

Similar to English, Spanish reporting verbs (also known as communication verbs ) are used to signal that you’re either quoting someone directly (direct speech) or paraphrasing them (reported speech).

There are dozens of reporting verbs in every language, although we tend to use some of them more often than others.

Here are a few of the most common reporting verbs in Spanish:

Decir is probably the most common Spanish word to use when talking about what someone else said.

If you want to tell someone about what another person is asking, use preguntar.

Querer saber can be used in a similar way as preguntar.

When you’re talking about what someone else wants, use pedir.

Instead of pedir, you can also use querer.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, there are so many Spanish reporting verbs that it would be impossible to list them all here. However, I can give you some of the most common ones:

You may have noticed that almost all of our examples above have the word que . I’m telling you now: que is going to be your new best friend, because every single reported statement and command in Spanish will include it, even if you omit or don’t need “that” in English.

Let’s look at a few examples:

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a statement, command or question. The word order will always be Subject + Verb + Object, as is typical of Spanish sentence structure .

When the reported speech Spanish speakers use is based on questions , it deviates slightly from the structure we just discussed and is based on whether you’re using a “yes or no” question or a “wh-” question.

In reported speech that’s based on this kind of question, you use si (if, whether) instead of que .

Recall the Spanish equivalents of the English “wh-” questions:

When you’re reporting a “wh-” question, you use the appropriate question words above instead of  que or  si .

One thing to keep in mind: when using the verb preguntar , you can add que just before the question word.

Don’t be afraid to write two que together! They aren’t the same word, and they don’t have the same function.

In reported speech, the personal pronouns and possessives change from the reported version. Luckily, it works the same way in English—that is, the change is necessary so that the core message isn’t lost or misinterpreted.

Again like English, time and place expressions in the reported speech Spanish speakers use change from their direct counterparts.

Here are some of the main changes that take place:

There’s a group of words I’d like to include in this section. They’re neither time nor place expressions, but they imply distance from the speaker.

Undoubtedly, the most troublesome part of reported speech in Spanish is that the verbs change their tenses.

The good news is that these changes don’t happen all the time, and you have almost identical changes in English.

But when do we need to make changes in verb tenses? How do we know?

The only thing you have to bear in mind here is the reporting verb. Yes, that little friend present at the beginning of the reported sentences we studied before.

There are only two straightforward rules, really:

1. If the reporting verb is in the present simple or the present perfect tense, you DON’T have to change any verb tenses unless you have a command.

2. If the reporting verb is in the preterite, the imperfect or the past perfect tense ( pluscuamperfecto ), you DO need to make changes.

Have a look at the following examples. The reporting verbs (in bold) are in the present simple or the present perfect, so there are no verb changes in the reported sentences.

As stated before, when you have a command, you do need to make changes even when the reporting verb is in the present or the present perfect tense. Therefore, the imperative changes into the present subjunctive .

Similarly, if the command’s reporting verb is in the past tense, the imperative changes into the imperfect subjunctive.

In those sentences where the reporting verb appears in the past tense, you need to make verb tense changes in the reported fragment. These changes are almost identical to those in English, but here are the most important ones for your convenience:

In those sentences where the verb is in the imperfect , conditional or past perfect ( pluscuamperfecto ), there are no tense changes.

I know this can all sound very overwhelming and confusing, so I’d like to introduce you to the language learning platform FluentU , where you can watch reported speech in Spanish in action.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. If you decide to sign up now, you can take advantage of our current sale!

Try FluentU for FREE!

And that’s all!

As you can see, Spanish and English reported speeches are very similar.

Just remember the few rules I’ve taught you in this post, and you’ll have no problem at all!

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU .

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab .

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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