Table of Contents

• What is Reported Speech, Anyway?
• The Core Structure: Reporting Verbs + `que`
• The Golden Rule: The Verb Tense "Backshift"
  • 1. Present → Imperfect
  • 2. Preterite → Pluperfect
  • 3. Future → Conditional
• Reporting Questions: It's All About `si` and Question Words
  • Yes/No Questions
  • Information Questions (Qué, Dónde, Cuándo...)
• Reporting Commands & Requests: Welcome to the Subjunctive!
• Don't Forget the Details! Pronouns & Time/Place Words
  • Changing Pronouns and Possessives
  • Shifting Time and Place Words
• Exceptions: When *Not* to Backshift
• Let's Practice!
• Conclusion

Spanish Reported Speech: Your Ultimate Guide to the Indirect Style

Ever found yourself trying to tell a friend a juicy piece of gossip, recount a story someone told you, or simply explain instructions your boss gave you? If so, you've used reported speech. In Spanish, we call this the estilo indirecto, and mastering it is a huge step toward sounding fluent and natural.

Think of yourself as a journalist for your own life. You're constantly reporting facts, questions, and commands from other people. This guide will give you all the tools you need to do it accurately and confidently in Spanish. We'll break down the rules, look at tons of examples, and make sure you understand not just the "how" but also the "why."

Ready to stop saying "Umm... he said that..." and start reporting like a pro? ¡Vamos!

Mastering the art of sharing stories and secrets in Spanish

What is Reported Speech, Anyway?

At its core, reported speech is simply how we tell someone what another person said, without using their exact words.

• Direct Speech (Estilo Directo): Quoting someone directly, like in a movie script.
  • Ana dijo: "Tengo hambre." (Ana said: "I'm hungry.")
• Reported Speech (Estilo Indirecto): Reporting the meaning of what someone said.
  • Ana dijo que tenía hambre. (Ana said that she was hungry.)

Notice the changes? The quotation marks disappear, we add the word que (that), the pronoun changes from "I" to "she," and the verb tense shifts. These are the key ingredients we're going to master today.

The Core Structure: Reporting Verbs + que

The most common formula for reporting a statement is simple:

[Reporting Verb in the Past] + que + [The Reported Information]

The reporting verb is your introductory phrase. While decirto say/tell is the most common, you can add a lot of flavor to your speech by using others:

• contar: to tell (a story)
• explicar: to explain
• mencionar: to mention
• afirmar: to affirm/state
• responder: to respond/answer
• añadir: to add

Examples:

• Carlos dijo que no podía venir a la fiesta. (Carlos said that he couldn't come to the party.)
• Mi madre me explicó que la tienda estaba cerrada. (My mom explained to me that the store was closed.)
• Ellos respondieron que ya habían comido. (They answered that they had already eaten.)

The Golden Rule: The Verb Tense "Backshift"

Understanding the backshift means traveling back in time grammatically.

This is the most important part of reported speech. When your reporting verb is in the past (like dijo, explicó, preguntó), the verb tense of the original statement usually takes one step back into the past.

Think of it like a time machine. You're reporting something from the past, so the grammar has to reflect that temporal distance.

Let's break down the main shifts.

1. Present → Imperfect

If the original statement was in the present tense, you shift it to the imperfect tense.

• Direct: Marta: "Estoy muy cansada." (I am very tired.)
• Indirect: Marta dijo que estaba muy cansada. (Marta said that she was very tired.)

2. Preterite → Pluperfect

If the original statement was in the preterite (a completed past action), you shift it back even further to the pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto).

• Direct: Laura: "Ayer compré un libro." (Yesterday I bought a book.)
• Indirect: Laura dijo que el día anterior había comprado un libro. (Laura said that the day before she had bought a book.)

3. Future → Conditional

If someone talks about their future plans, you report it using the conditional tense.

• Direct: Pedro: "Te llamaré mañana." (I will call you tomorrow.)
• Indirect: Pedro dijo que me llamaría al día siguiente. (Pedro said that he would call me the next day.)

Reporting Questions: It's All About si and Question Words

How do you report a question? It depends on the type of question.

Yes/No Questions

For questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no," you use the reporting verb preguntar (to ask) followed by si (if/whether).

• Direct: Ana: "¿Tienes frío?" (Are you cold?)

• Indirect: Ana me preguntó si tenía frío. (Ana asked me if I was cold.)

• Direct: Luis: "¿Has visto mi teléfono?" (Have you seen my phone?)

• Indirect: Luis preguntó si había visto su teléfono. (Luis asked if I had seen his phone.)

Notice the verb tense still does the backshift!

Information Questions (Qué, Dónde, Cuándo...)

For questions that start with a question word (qué, quién, cómo, dónde, cuándo, por qué, cuál), you keep the question word (it keeps its accent mark!) and follow the same backshift rules.

• Direct: Turista: "¿Dónde está la estación de tren?" (Where is the train station?)

• Indirect: El turista preguntó dónde estaba la estación de tren. (The tourist asked where the train station was.)

• Direct: Mi amigo: "¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana?" (What did you do over the weekend?)

• Indirect: Mi amigo me preguntó qué había hecho el fin de semana. (My friend asked me what I had done over the weekend.)

Reporting Commands & Requests: Welcome to the Subjunctive!

Reporting commands requires using the specific language of influence.

This is a classic B2-level challenge. When you report a command (imperative mood), you need to use the imperfect subjunctive.

The structure is: [Verb of influence] + que + [Imperfect Subjunctive]

Common verbs of influence include:

• decir: to tell (someone to do something)

• pedir: to ask (someone to do something)

• ordenar: to order

• sugerir: to suggest

• insistir en: to insist on

• Direct Command: Profesor: "¡Abran los libros en la página 20!" (Open your books to page 20!)

• Indirect Report: El profesor nos dijo que abriéramos los libros en la página 20. (The teacher told us to open our books to page 20.)

• Direct Request: Marta: "Por favor, ayúdame con esto." (Please, help me with this.)

• Indirect Report: Marta me pidióto ask for/request que la ayudara con eso. (Marta asked me to help her with that.)

Don't Forget the Details! Pronouns & Time/Place Words

Reporting speech isn't just about verbs. To be accurate, you also need to adjust other words to fit the new perspective of the speaker.

Changing Pronouns and Possessives

The pronouns have to make sense from your point of view, not the original speaker's.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech	Example
yo	él / ella	Dijo que él estaba cansado.
nosotros	ellos / ellas	Dijeron que ellos querían salir.
mi / mis	su / sus	Dijo que su coche era nuevo.
tú / tu	yo / mi	Me preguntó si yo tenía mi libro.

Example:

• Direct: Clara: "Yo no encuentro mis llaves."
• Indirect: Clara dijo que ella no encontraba sus llaves.

Shifting Time and Place Words

If you're reporting something a day later, "today" is no longer "today"—it's "that day." These adverbs of time and place also need a "backshift."

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
hoy	ese día
ahora	entonces / en ese momento
mañana	al día siguiente
ayer	el día anterior
la semana que viene	la semana siguiente
aquí	allí / ahí
este / esta	ese / esa
estos / estas	esos / esas

Exceptions: When Not to Backshift

Are there times you can ignore the backshift rule? ¡Sí!

1. When the Reporting Verb is in the Present: If you're reporting something someone is saying right now, or says habitually, no backshift is needed.

   • Mi madre siempre dice que el desayuno es la comida más importante. (My mom always says that breakfast is the most important meal.)
   • ¿Qué dices? Digo que no te entiendo. (What are you saying? I'm saying that I don't understand you.)

2. When Reporting Universal Truths or Facts: If the statement is still true, you can keep it in the present tense, even if the reporting verb is in the past.

   • En la escuela aprendí que Bogotá es la capital de Colombia. (In school I learned that Bogotá is the capital of Colombia.)
   • Me dijo que le encanta el chocolate. (He told me he loves chocolate. - Assuming he still does!)

Let's Practice!

Time to put it all together. How would you change these direct sentences into reported speech?

1. Carla: "No quiero ir al cine esta noche."
2. El policía: "¿Por qué conduce tan rápido?"
3. Mi abuela: "¡Come más verduras!"

Think about your answers...

1. Carla dijo que no quería ir al cine esa noche. (Present -> Imperfect; time word change)
2. El policía me preguntó por qué conducía tan rápido. (Information question; Present -> Imperfect)
3. Mi abuela me dijo que comiera más verduras. (Command -> Imperfect Subjunctive)

Conclusion

¡Felicidades! You've just navigated one of the trickiest but most useful topics in B2 Spanish. The estilo indirecto is all about perspective. By remembering to shift the verb tenses, pronouns, and time/place words, you're accurately relaying information from a new point of view.

The key takeaways are:

• Use a reporting verb + que.
• When reporting in the past, "backshift" the verb tense.
• Use si for yes/no questions and question words for information questions.
• Use the imperfect subjunctive for commands.
• Don't forget to update pronouns and time/place words!

Like any skill, this takes practice. Start noticing it when you read or listen to Spanish. Try reporting parts of your conversations to yourself. Soon, it will become second nature, and your Spanish storytelling will be more dynamic and impressive than ever.