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Intermediate

Reported Speech

How direct speech is converted to indirect speech in Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

English shifts tenses back in reported speech (backshift). Spanish shifts tense and adjusts pronouns. Chinese has no tense backshift — particles and adverbs mark the shift.

Overview

Reported speech (indirect speech) conveys what someone said without quoting them directly.

Spanish: Shifts tense systematically. Present becomes imperfect, future becomes conditional, preterite becomes pluperfect. Subjunctive may be required. Pronouns and time expressions shift.
English: Shifts tense back (backshift): present → past, will → would, past → past perfect. Questions become statements. Pronouns and time expressions shift.
Chinese: No tense backshift whatsoever. The verb stays the same. Context, time adverbs, and particles (了le, 过guò) make the temporal relationship clear.

Spanish

Tense shifts in reported speech

Direct tense	Reported tense	Example
Present	Imperfect	Dijo que estaba* cansado.* (He said he was tired.)
Future	Conditional	Dijo que vendría. (He said he would come.)
Preterite	Pluperfect	Dijo que había venido. (He said he had come.)
Imperfect	Pluperfect / Imperfect	Dijo que estaba* / había estado.* (He said he was / had been.)
Present perfect	Pluperfect	Dijo que había comido. (He said he had eaten.)
Conditional	Conditional perfect	Dijo que habría venido. (He said he would have come.)

Pronoun shifts

Direct	Reported
yo	él / ella
tú	yo / él / ella
él / ella	él / ella
nosotros	ellos
vosotros	ellos / nosotros

Direct: “Yo voy.” → Reported: Dijo que él iba.
Direct: “¿Cómo estás?” → Reported: Preguntó cómo estaba.

Time and place shifts

Direct	Reported
ahora	entonces
hoy	ese día / aquel día
mañana	el día siguiente
ayer	el día anterior
aquí	allí
este	ese / aquel

Subjunctive in reported speech

When the reporting verb expresses doubt, desire, or emotion, the subjunctive is used:

Me pidió que viniera. (He asked me to come. — subjunctive)
No creía que fuera verdad. (He didn’t think it was true. — subjunctive)

Questions in reported speech

Preguntó si venía. (He asked if I was coming.)
Preguntó dónde estaba. (He asked where I was.)
Me preguntó qué quería. (He asked me what I wanted.)

No question marks in reported questions.

Commands in reported speech

Me dijo que fuera. (He told me to go.)
Me pidió que esperara. (He asked me to wait.)

Rule: Commands use the subjunctive after que.

English

Tense backshift

Direct tense	Reported tense	Example
Present simple	Past simple	She said she was* tired.*
Present continuous	Past continuous	She said she was working.
Present perfect	Past perfect	She said she had finished.
Past simple	Past perfect	She said she had seen* him.*
Past continuous	Past perfect continuous	She said she had been sleeping.
Will	Would	She said she would come.
Can	Could	She said she could swim.
Must	Had to	She said she had to* leave.*
May	Might	She said she might* be late.*

When backshift is optional

If the reported statement is still true, backshift is optional:

She said she is / was a doctor. (Both acceptable if she is still a doctor.)
He said the earth is / was round. (No backshift needed for universal truths.)

Pronoun shifts

Direct	Reported
I	he / she
you	I / he / she
we	they
me	him / her
us	them

Direct: “I love you.” → Reported: He said he loved her.

Time and place shifts

Direct	Reported
now	then / at that moment
today	that day
yesterday	the day before
tomorrow	the next day
here	there
this	that
these	those

Questions in reported speech

Reported questions use statement word order (no auxiliary inversion):

Direct: “Where are you?” → Reported: He asked where I was. (NOT where was I)
Direct: “Do you like it?” → Reported: He asked if I liked it. (NOT if did I like)
Direct: “What is your name?” → Reported: He asked what my name was.

Commands in reported speech

Use tell/ask/ordered + person + to + infinitive:

He told me to leave.
She asked him to wait.
They ordered us to sit down.

Chinese

No tense backshift

Chinese verbs never change in reported speech:

Direct: 我wǒ很hěn累lèi。(“I’m tired.”)
Reported: 他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累lèi。(He said he was tired. — verb unchanged)
Direct: 我wǒ会huì去qù。(“I will go.”)
Reported: 他tā说shuō他tā会huì去qù。(He said he would go. — verb unchanged)

Pronoun shifts

Direct	Reported
我wǒ	他tā / 她tā
你nǐ	我wǒ / 他tā / 她tā
我wǒ们mén	他tā们mén

Direct: 我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan你nǐ。(“I like you.”)
Reported: 他tā说shuō他tā喜xǐ欢huan我wǒ。(He said he liked me.)

Time adverbs (optional shift)

Chinese can shift time adverbs, but it’s optional:

Direct	Optional reported
今jīn天tiān	那nà天tiān (that day)
明míng天tiān	第dì二èr天tiān (the next day)
昨zuó天tiān	前qián一yī天tiān (the previous day)
现xiàn在zài	那nà时shí (then)

Often, context is sufficient:

他tā说shuō他tā昨zuó天tiān来lái了le。(He said he came yesterday. — no shift needed if reporting immediately)

Reported questions

Chinese reported questions use 问wèn + clause, with optional 是shì不bù是shì or 有yǒu没méi有yǒu:

Direct: 你nǐ吃chī了le吗ma？(“Did you eat?”)
Reported: 他tā问wèn我wǒ吃chī了le没méi有yǒu。(He asked me whether I had eaten.)
Reported: 他tā问wèn我wǒ是shì不bù是shì吃chī了le。(He asked me if I had eaten.)

Reported commands

Chinese uses 叫jiào / 让ràng / 请qǐng + person + verb:

他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu。(He told me to go. — literally “He called me go”)
他tā让ràng我wǒ等děng。(He asked me to wait. — literally “He let me wait”)
他tā请qǐng我wǒ进jìn来lái。(He invited me to come in.)

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Spanish	English	Chinese
Tense backshift	Yes (systematic)	Yes (systematic)	No
Future → reported	Future → conditional	Will → would	会huì (no change)
Present → reported	Present → imperfect	Present → past	很hěn/是shì (no change)
Past → reported	Preterite → pluperfect	Past → past perfect	了le/过guò (no change)
Pronoun shift	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time adverb shift	Yes	Yes	Optional
Question word order	Statement order	Statement order	Statement order
Commands	Subjunctive after que	tell/ask + to + verb	叫jiào/让ràng + person + verb
Subjunctive	Required for commands/emotion	Not used	Not applicable

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Dijo que estaba* cansado.*	He said he was* tired.*	他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi。
Preguntó si venía.	She asked if I was coming.	她tā问wèn我wǒ来lái不bù来lái。
Me dijo que esperara.	He told* me to wait.*	他tā让ràng我wǒ等děng一yī下xià。
Dijo que vendría* al día siguiente.*	She said she would come* the next day.*	她tā说shuō她tā明míng天tiān会huì来lái。

Common mistakes

Chinese speakers learning English: Omitting tense backshift: He said he is tired → He said he was tired
English speakers learning Spanish: Using future instead of conditional: Dijo que vendrá → Dijo que vendría
English speakers learning Chinese: Adding backshift: 他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi了le → 他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi (unless emphasizing completion)
Spanish speakers learning English: Using subjunctive logic: He said that I be → He said I was

Verb Tenses: How tense systems interact with reported speech
Questions: How question formation changes in reported speech
Pronouns: How pronouns shift in reported contexts
Modals: How modal verbs backshift in English

Examples

Direct: 'I am tired'

Direct: 'Estoy cansado'

Reported: He said he was tired

Dijo que estaba cansado (imperfect)

Direct: 'I will go'

Direct: 'Iré'

Reported: He said he would go

Dijo que iría (conditional)

Direct: 'Did you eat?'

Direct: '¿Comiste?'

Reported: He asked if I had eaten

Preguntó si había comido (pluperfect subjunctive/indicative)

Pronoun shift

Yes (yo → él, tú → yo/él)

Time expression shift

Yes (ahora → entonces, hoy → ese día)

Examples

Direct: 'I am tired'

Reported: He said he was tired

He said he was tired (past simple)

Direct: 'I will go'

Reported: He said he would go

He said he would go (would + verb)

Direct: 'Did you eat?'

Reported: He asked if I had eaten

He asked if I had eaten (past perfect)

Pronoun shift

Yes (I → he, you → I/he)

Time expression shift

Yes (now → then, today → that day)

Examples

Direct: 'I am tired'

Direct: '我wǒ很hěn累léi'

Reported: He said he was tired

他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi (no change)

Direct: 'I will go'

Direct: '我wǒ会huì去qù'

Reported: He said he would go

他tā说shuō他tā会huì去qù (no change)

Direct: 'Did you eat?'

Direct: '你nǐ吃chī了le吗ma？'

Reported: He asked if I had eaten

他tā问wèn我wǒ吃chī了le没méi有yǒu (no tense change)

Pronoun shift

Yes (我wǒ → 他tā, 你nǐ → 我wǒ)

Time expression shift

Optional (context)

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
Direct: 'I am tired'	Direct: 'Estoy cansado'	Direct: 'I am tired'	Direct: '我wǒ很hěn累léi'
Reported: He said he was tired	Dijo que estaba cansado (imperfect)	He said he was tired (past simple)	他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi (no change)
Direct: 'I will go'	Direct: 'Iré'	Direct: 'I will go'	Direct: '我wǒ会huì去qù'
Reported: He said he would go	Dijo que iría (conditional)	He said he would go (would + verb)	他tā说shuō他tā会huì去qù (no change)
Direct: 'Did you eat?'	Direct: '¿Comiste?'	Direct: 'Did you eat?'	Direct: '你nǐ吃chī了le吗ma？'
Reported: He asked if I had eaten	Preguntó si había comido (pluperfect subjunctive/indicative)	He asked if I had eaten (past perfect)	他tā问wèn我wǒ吃chī了le没méi有yǒu (no tense change)
Pronoun shift	Yes (yo → él, tú → yo/él)	Yes (I → he, you → I/he)	Yes (我wǒ → 他tā, 你nǐ → 我wǒ)
Time expression shift	Yes (ahora → entonces, hoy → ese día)	Yes (now → then, today → that day)	Optional (context)

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
Direct: 'I am tired'	Direct: 'Estoy cansado'	Direct: 'I am tired'	Direct: '我wǒ很hěn累léi'
Reported: He said he was tired	Dijo que estaba cansado (imperfect)	He said he was tired (past simple)	他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi (no change)
Direct: 'I will go'	Direct: 'Iré'	Direct: 'I will go'	Direct: '我wǒ会huì去qù'
Reported: He said he would go	Dijo que iría (conditional)	He said he would go (would + verb)	他tā说shuō他tā会huì去qù (no change)
Direct: 'Did you eat?'	Direct: '¿Comiste?'	Direct: 'Did you eat?'	Direct: '你nǐ吃chī了le吗ma？'
Reported: He asked if I had eaten	Preguntó si había comido (pluperfect subjunctive/indicative)	He asked if I had eaten (past perfect)	他tā问wèn我wǒ吃chī了le没méi有yǒu (no tense change)
Pronoun shift	Yes (yo → él, tú → yo/él)	Yes (I → he, you → I/he)	Yes (我wǒ → 他tā, 你nǐ → 我wǒ)
Time expression shift	Yes (ahora → entonces, hoy → ese día)	Yes (now → then, today → that day)	Optional (context)

Examples in context

Direct: 'I am tired'

Spanish

Direct: 'Estoy cansado'

English

Direct: 'I am tired'

Chinese

Direct: '我wǒ很hěn累léi'

Reported: He said he was tired

Spanish

Dijo que estaba cansado (imperfect)

English

He said he was tired (past simple)

Chinese

他tā说shuō他tā很hěn累léi (no change)

Direct: 'I will go'

Spanish

Direct: 'Iré'

English

Direct: 'I will go'

Chinese

Direct: '我wǒ会huì去qù'

Reported: He said he would go

Spanish

Dijo que iría (conditional)

English

He said he would go (would + verb)

Chinese

他tā说shuō他tā会huì去qù (no change)

Direct: 'Did you eat?'

Spanish

Direct: '¿Comiste?'

English

Direct: 'Did you eat?'

Chinese

Direct: '你nǐ吃chī了le吗ma？'

Reported: He asked if I had eaten

Spanish

Preguntó si había comido (pluperfect subjunctive/indicative)

English

He asked if I had eaten (past perfect)

Chinese

他tā问wèn我wǒ吃chī了le没méi有yǒu (no tense change)

Pronoun shift

Spanish

Yes (yo → él, tú → yo/él)

English

Yes (I → he, you → I/he)

Chinese

Yes (我wǒ → 他tā, 你nǐ → 我wǒ)

Time expression shift

Spanish

Yes (ahora → entonces, hoy → ese día)

English

Yes (now → then, today → that day)

Chinese

Optional (context)

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Shifts tense systematically. Present becomes imperfect, future becomes conditional, preterite becomes pluperfect. Subjunctive may be require.

English: Shifts tense back (backshift): present → past, will → would, past → past perfect. Questions become statements. Pronouns and time expressions.

Chinese: No tense backshift whatsoever. The verb stays the same. Context, time adverbs, and particles (了le, 过guò) make the temporal relationship clea.

Key concepts compared: Direct: 'I am tired', Reported: He said he was tired, Direct: 'I will go'.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does English require tense backshift in reported speech while Chinese changes nothing and Spanish adjusts pronouns and tense optionally?

English has a rigid backshift rule: 'I am tired' → 'He said he WAS tired.' Even if the speaker is still tired, the grammar forces the past. Spanish also backshifts but allows the present if the reported situation is still true: *Dijo que está cansado* (He said he IS tired — still true now) vs. *Dijo que estaba cansado* (He said he WAS tired — at that moment). Chinese leaves the verb entirely unchanged: <ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>说<rt>shuō</rt></ruby><ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>很<rt>hěn</rt></ruby><ruby>累<rt>léi</rt></ruby> (He said he is tired — no tense shift). An English speaker learning Chinese will attempt to backshift and produce nonsense. A Chinese speaker learning English must learn to shift every tense, a mechanical operation their language does not require. A Spanish speaker must learn that English is less flexible than Spanish in allowing the present in reported speech.

How does Chinese reported speech manage pronoun and deictic shifts without tense changes?

Chinese shifts pronouns ('I' → 'he') and deictic expressions ('here' → 'there,' 'today' → 'that day'), but the verb stays the same: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>明<rt>míng</rt></ruby><ruby>天<rt>tiān</rt></ruby><ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby> (I will come tomorrow) → <ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>说<rt>shuō</rt></ruby><ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>那<rt>nà</rt></ruby><ruby>天<rt>tiān</rt></ruby><ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby> (He said he would come that day — verb unchanged, but 'tomorrow' became 'that day'). English and Spanish shift both tense and deictics: 'I will come tomorrow' → 'He said he WOULD come THE NEXT DAY.' Chinese speakers learning English must learn to backshift tense AND recalculate time adverbs ('tomorrow' → 'the next day'), a double operation. English speakers learning Chinese must suppress their backshift reflex and learn to shift only pronouns and adverbs.

Why do learners struggle with indirect questions in reported speech across all three languages?

English changes direct question word order to statement word order in indirect questions: 'Where is he?' → 'I asked where he WAS.' Spanish also changes to statement order but may retain the subjunctive: *Preguntó dónde estuviera.* Chinese keeps statement order: <ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>问<rt>wèn</rt></ruby><ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>在<rt>zài</rt></ruby><ruby>哪<rt>nǎ</rt></ruby><ruby>儿<rt>er</rt></ruby> (He asked where he is). The common error is universal: learners of all backgrounds retain question word order in indirect questions. An English speaker will say 'I asked where is he' (incorrect). A Spanish speaker will say *Preguntó dónde está él* (incorrect — should be *dónde estaba* with backshift). A Chinese speaker will produce the same error when learning English. Indirect question word order is one of the most persistent transfer errors across languages.

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

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verb-tenses subordination

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Tense shifts in reported speech

Pronoun shifts

Time and place shifts

Subjunctive in reported speech

Questions in reported speech

Commands in reported speech

English

Tense backshift

When backshift is optional

Pronoun shifts

Time and place shifts

Questions in reported speech

Commands in reported speech

Chinese

No tense backshift

Pronoun shifts

Time adverbs (optional shift)

Reported questions

Reported commands

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References