Reported Speech

Question 1

Dijo que estaba cansada.

Answer 1

DIJO QUE + imperfecto. Direct: ‘Estoy cansada.’ Reported: ‘Dijo que estaba cansada.’ Present → Imperfect in reported speech when main verb is past. The tense shifts back one step.

Question 2

Me dijo que vendría mañana.

Answer 2

DIJO QUE + condicional. Direct: ‘Vendré mañana.’ Reported: ‘Dijo que vendría.’ Future → Conditional in reported speech. The future tense always shifts to conditional when reporting past speech.

Question 3

Dijo que había estudiado mucho.

Answer 3

DIJO QUE + pluscuamperfecto. Direct: ‘He estudiado mucho / estudié mucho.’ Reported: ‘Dijo que había estudiado.’ Past tenses → Pluperfect in reported speech when main verb is past.

Question 4

Dice que está cansada.

Answer 4

DICE QUE + presente. Direct: ‘Estoy cansada.’ Reported: ‘Dice que está cansada.’ When main verb is PRESENT, no tense shift occurs — the tense in the reported clause stays the same.

Question 5

Preguntó si podía venir.

Answer 5

PREGUNTÓ SI = asked whether/if. Yes/no questions in reported speech use ‘si’. ‘Can you come?’ → ‘She asked whether I could come.’ SI introduces reported yes/no questions — never ‘que’.

Question 6

Preguntó dónde vivía.

Answer 6

PREGUNTÓ + interrogative word. ‘Where do you live?’ → ‘She asked where I lived.’ Information questions keep their interrogative word (dónde, cuándo, qué, quién, cómo) but lose the question mark and inversion.

Question 7

Me preguntó qué había pasado.

Answer 7

PREGUNTÓ QUÉ + pluscuamperfecto. ‘What happened?’ → ‘She asked what had happened.’ Past question reported in past = pluperfect shift. Interrogative word + tense shift combined.

Question 8

Le pedí que viniera más temprano.

Answer 8

PEDIR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. Reported requests/commands use subjunctive. ‘Come earlier’ → ‘I asked her to come earlier.’ PEDIR QUE always triggers subjunctive in reported speech.

Question 9

Le dije que llamara cuando llegara.

Answer 9

DECIR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo for commands. ‘Call when you arrive’ → ‘I told her to call when she arrived.’ Commands reported with ‘decir que’ + imperfecto subjuntivo.

Question 10

Me recomendó que probara el asado.

Answer 10

RECOMENDAR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. ‘Try the asado!’ → ‘She recommended that I try the asado.’ Verbs of recommendation, suggestion, advice all use subjunctive in reported speech.

Question 11

Afirmó que el español era su lengua materna.

Answer 11

AFIRMAR QUE = to affirm/state that. ‘Spanish is my native language’ → ‘She stated that Spanish was her native language.’ Verbs of assertion: afirmar, declarar, sostener + que + tense shift.

Question 12

Negó que hubiera dicho eso.

Answer 12

NEGAR QUE + pluscuamperfecto subjuntivo. ‘I didn’t say that’ → ‘She denied having said that.’ NEGAR QUE always triggers subjunctive — denial introduces doubt/negation.

Question 13

Confesó que no había estudiado.

Answer 13

CONFESAR QUE + pluscuamperfecto. Confession reports a past action — ‘I didn’t study’ → ‘She confessed that she hadn’t studied.’ Verbs of admission: confesar, admitir, reconocer.

Question 14

Me explicó cómo se hacía el asado.

Answer 14

EXPLICAR CÓMO + imperfecto. ‘How do you make asado?’ → ‘He explained how asado was made.’ Explanations use the appropriate tense shift with the original question word retained.

Question 15

Prometió que volvería pronto.

Answer 15

PROMETER QUE + condicional. ‘I will return soon’ → ‘She promised she would return soon.’ Future → Conditional shift. Promises in reported speech almost always trigger this shift.

Question 16

Aseguró que todo estaba bajo control.

Answer 16

ASEGURAR QUE = to assure/guarantee that. ‘Everything is under control’ → ‘She assured us everything was under control.’ ASEGURAR QUE + indicative (asserting a fact, not a doubt).

Question 17

Sugirió que fuéramos al museo.

Answer 17

SUGERIR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. ‘Let’s go to the museum’ → ‘She suggested we go to the museum.’ Suggestions always use subjunctive. ‘Fuéramos’ = imperfecto subjuntivo of ir.

Question 18

Me advirtió que tuviera cuidado.

Answer 18

ADVERTIR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. ‘Be careful!’ → ‘She warned me to be careful.’ Warnings use subjunctive. ADVERTIR, AVISAR, ALERTAR all take subjunctive in reported commands.

Question 19

Contó que había vivido en Buenos Aires.

Answer 19

CONTAR QUE = to tell/recount that. ‘I lived in Buenos Aires’ → ‘She recounted that she had lived in Buenos Aires.’ CONTAR QUE + pluscuamperfecto for past experience being narrated.

Question 20

Me informó de que habría cambios.

Answer 20

INFORMAR DE QUE = to inform that. ‘There will be changes’ → ‘She informed me that there would be changes.’ Note: INFORMAR takes ‘de que’ not just ‘que’. Future → Conditional shift.

Question 21

Juró que no lo volvería a hacer.

Answer 21

JURAR QUE + condicional. ‘I won’t do it again’ → ‘He swore he wouldn’t do it again.’ Strong assertions use jurar. Future → Conditional shift applies to all future references.

Question 22

Reconoció que había cometido un error.

Answer 22

RECONOCER QUE + pluscuamperfecto. ‘I made a mistake’ → ‘She acknowledged that she had made a mistake.’ RECONOCER QUE reports admissions — factual admissions use indicative.

Question 23

Le ordené que se fuera inmediatamente.

Answer 23

ORDENAR QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. ‘Leave immediately!’ → ‘I ordered him to leave immediately.’ Commands from authority figures: ORDENAR, MANDAR, EXIGIR + que + imperfecto subjuntivo.

Question 24

Comentó que le parecía muy interesante.

Answer 24

COMENTAR QUE = to comment/mention that. ‘It seems very interesting to me’ → ‘She commented that she found it very interesting.’ Casual observations reported naturally with tense shift.

Question 25

Me avisó que llegaría tarde.

Answer 25

AVISAR QUE + condicional. 'I'll arrive late' → 'She let me know she would arrive late.' AVISAR QUE = to let someone know / to warn. Future → Conditional. Very common everyday reported speech.

Question 26

Insistió en que lo hiciéramos juntos.

Answer 26

INSISTIR EN QUE + imperfecto subjuntivo. 'Do it together!' → 'She insisted we do it together.' INSISTIR EN QUE always triggers subjunctive. Note 'en que' not just 'que'.

Question 27

Me aclaró que no era su intención.

Answer 27

ACLARAR QUE = to clarify that. 'That wasn't my intention' → 'She clarified that it wasn't her intention.' ACLARAR QUE + indicative for factual clarifications. Very natural in conversation.

Question 28

Dijo estar muy cansada.

Answer 28

DECIR + INFINITIVO (same subject). When the subject of both clauses is the same, Spanish can use infinitive instead of 'que + clause'. 'Dijo estar cansada' = 'Dijo que estaba cansada'. More concise.

Question 29

Pidió poder salir antes.

Answer 29

PEDIR + INFINITIVO (same subject). 'She asked to leave early.' When subject is same, pedir + infinitive replaces pedir que + subjunctive. Both correct — infinitive is more concise.

Question 30

Mi tutora me dijo que mi acento había mejorado muchísimo.

Answer 30

REPORTED SPEECH in real context. Direct: 'Tu acento ha mejorado muchísimo.' Reported: 'Me dijo que mi acento había mejorado muchísimo.' Perfect real-world example — present perfect → pluperfect shift.