Persian offers three distinct reporting choices: reproduce someone's words as a direct quotation, report their proposition with که, or summarize the information while naming its source. The choice affects responsibility. Quotation claims fidelity to wording; indirect report claims fidelity mainly to content; source-marked paraphrase can deliberately keep the current writer at a distance.
Unlike English classroom “backshift,” Persian does not automatically move the reported verb into the past after گفت. Writers instead adjust person, time, and place expressions when the reporting viewpoint changes. The detailed tense system is covered in Reported Speech and Tense Retention; this page designs the whole reporting sentence.
Four reporting packages
| Package | Form | Writer commits to | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| direct quotation | reporting frame + colon + Persian quotation marks | the quoted wording | neutral written/formal |
| indirect statement | reporting verb + که + finite clause | the attributed proposition | all registers |
| source-marked report | به گفتهی / به گزارش
| accurate attribution, not endorsement | (formal/news) |
| hearsay or general report | میگویند / شنیدهام که | limited or unnamed evidence | neutral; evidentially distant |
English uses quotation marks similarly, but its tense sequence often obscures whether a state still holds. Persian tense retention can keep that distinction explicit.
Direct quotation preserves the speaker's center
In formal Persian typography, introduce a full quotation with a colon and Persian guillemets « ». Words such as من، اینجا، امروز retain the original speaker's reference inside the quotation.
مینا گفت: «من امروز تا ساعت شش اینجا هستم.»
Minâ goft: ‘man emruz tâ sâ'at-e shesh injâ hastam.’
Mina said, ‘I am here until six today.’ (written neutral; direct quotation)
مدیر تأکید کرد: «هیچ تصمیمی بدون مشورت با کارکنان اجرا نمیشود.»
modir ta'kid kard: ‘hich tasmimi bedun-e mashverat bâ kârkonân ejrâ nemi-shavad.’
The manager emphasized, ‘No decision will be implemented without consulting the staff.’ (formal direct quotation)
Do not silently polish a speaker's wording and leave quotation marks around it. If syntax, register, or length is changed, remove the quotation marks and report the content indirectly.
Indirect report with که
The standard frame is reporting predicate + که + finite content clause. Pronouns and person endings change to identify the participants from the current reporter's viewpoint.
مینا گفت که آن روز تا ساعت شش در دفتر میماند.
Minâ goft ke ân ruz tâ sâ'at-e shesh dar daftar mi-mânad.
Mina said that she would stay at the office until six that day. (neutral standard; person and deixis adjusted)
پزشک توضیح داد که این دارو با بعضی داروهای دیگر تداخل دارد.
pezeshk towzih dâd ke in dâru bâ ba'zi dâru-hâ-ye digar tadâkhol dârad.
The doctor explained that this medicine interacts with some other medications. (neutral formal; present fact retained)
The second report keeps present دارد because the interaction is presented as a continuing fact. Changing it mechanically to داشت would locate the fact in the past or imply that it may no longer hold.
Conversational Persian can omit که after a common verb such as گفتن when the boundary remains clear. Formal prose normally keeps it in a long sentence.
رضا گفت فردا خودش مدارک را میآورد.
Rezâ goft fardâ khod-ash madârek râ mi-âvarad.
Reza said he would bring the documents himself tomorrow. (careful conversation; که omitted)
Shift deixis only when the center changes
امروز، فردا، اینجا are interpreted relative to a speaking center. Retain them if the report is made on the same day and in the same place. Replace them with آن روز، روز بعد، آنجا when the reader would otherwise calculate the wrong reference.
او صبح گفت که امروز نتیجه را میفرستد.
u sobh goft ke emruz natije râ mi-ferestad.
This morning she said she would send the result today. (same-day report; امروز retained)
او دوشنبه گفت که روز بعد نتیجه را میفرستد.
u doshanbe goft ke ruz-e ba'd natije râ mi-ferestad.
On Monday she said she would send the result the next day. (later report; time reference adjusted)
There is no automatic substitution table. A historian may retain فردا inside free indirect style to inhabit the earlier viewpoint; an administrative report normally chooses روز بعد for calculable reference.
Attribution and evidential distance
به گفتهی X “according to X” attributes a statement to a person. به گزارش X commonly attributes institutional or documentary information. Neither expression proves that the current writer accepts the proposition.
به گفتهی سخنگوی شرکت، اختلال تا پایان امروز برطرف میشود.
be gofte-ye sokhangu-ye sherkat, ekhtelâl tâ pâyân-e emruz bar-taraf mi-shavad.
According to the company spokesperson, the disruption will be resolved by the end of today. (formal/news; attribution without endorsement)
بر اساس گزارش اولیه، علت حادثه هنوز مشخص نشده است.
bar asâs-e gozâresh-e avvaliyye, ellat-e hâdese hanuz moshakhkhas na-shode ast.
According to the preliminary report, the cause of the incident has not yet been determined. (formal/news; source basis and epistemic limit)
شنیدهام که قرار است شعبهی این محله بسته شود، اما هنوز تأیید نشده است.
shenide-am ke qarâr ast sho'be-ye in mahalle baste shavad, ammâ hanuz ta'yid na-shode ast.
I've heard that the branch in this neighborhood is going to close, but it has not yet been confirmed. (neutral; hearsay explicitly limited)
The final qualification prevents شنیدهام from sounding like verified information. Evidential distance is built from the reporting source, verb, aspect, and qualification together—not from one special particle.
Reporting questions and commands
An indirect question remains a question in content but takes declarative clause order. Yes–no questions can use آیا (formal) or که آیا after a reporting predicate; wh-words remain inside the reported clause. Commands are usually reported with a subjunctive content clause.
از مسئول فروش پرسیدم که آیا این مدل هنوز موجود است.
az mas'ul-e forush porsidam ke âyâ in model hanuz mowjud ast.
I asked the salesperson whether this model was still available. (formal-neutral reported yes–no question)
مدیر از ما خواست که نسخهی نهایی را تا ظهر بفرستیم.
modir az mâ khâst ke noskhe-ye nehâyi râ tâ zohr be-ferestim.
The manager asked us to send the final version by noon. (neutral formal; reported request)
These are whole reporting frames. The complement syntax is developed on the linked reported-question and reported-command pages.
A newsroom exchange
— تیتر بزنیم «طرح تصویب شد»؟ — نه؛ شورا فقط گفته است که فردا دربارهی طرح رأی میدهد.
— titr be-zanim ‘tarh tasvib shod’? — na; shurâ faqat gofte ast ke fardâ darbâre-ye tarh ra'y mi-dahad.
— Shall we headline it ‘The plan was approved’? — No; the council has only said that it will vote on the plan tomorrow. (formal newsroom dialogue; fact distinguished from announced intention)
Common Mistakes
1. Backshifting a continuing fact automatically
❌ پزشک گفت که این دارو تداخل داشت دارد.
Incorrect — past and present forms cannot be stacked; choose دارد when the property still holds.
✅ پزشک گفت که این دارو با الکل تداخل دارد.
pezeshk goft ke in dâru bâ alkol tadâkhol dârad.
The doctor said that this medicine interacts with alcohol.
2. Leaving first person with third-person agreement
❌ نادر گفت که من فردا میآید.
Incorrect — من requires first-person agreement and would refer to the current reporter, not Nader.
✅ نادر گفت که فردا به دفتر میآید.
Nâder goft ke fardâ be daftar mi-âyad.
Nader said that he would come to the office tomorrow.
3. Combining که with direct-quotation punctuation
❌ ناهید گفت که: «امروز وقت ندارم.»
Incorrect in neutral edited prose — choose a که-clause or a colon introducing direct words.
✅ ناهید گفت: «امروز وقت ندارم.»
Nâhid goft: ‘emruz vaqt na-dâram.’
Nahid said, ‘I don't have time today.’
4. Presenting hearsay as an established fact
❌ شنیدهام شعبه شاید حتما بسته میشود.
Incorrect — شاید and حتما assign incompatible certainty to the same unsupported report.
✅ شنیدهام ممکن است شعبه بسته شود، اما خبر هنوز رسمی نیست.
shenide-am momken ast sho'be baste shavad, ammâ khabar hanuz rasmi nist.
I've heard the branch may close, but the news is not official yet.
Key Takeaways
- Direct quotation preserves wording and the original speaker's deictic center.
- Indirect report normally uses a reporting predicate plus که and a finite clause.
- Persian retains tense when it still expresses the intended time; it does not backshift mechanically.
- Adjust person, place, and time expressions only when their referents change.
- Source markers attribute a claim; they do not automatically endorse it.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Reported Speech and Tense RetentionA2 — Report Persian statements with که while retaining meaningful tense and adjusting person, place, and time reference.
- Reported Yes-No QuestionsB1 — Coordinate two independent Persian verbal timelines when reporting yes-no questions, adjusting person, deixis, aspect, and polarity without automatic backshift.
- Reported Wh-QuestionsB1 — Choose Persian tense, aspect, agreement, person, and deixis independently in the matrix and embedded domains of reported wh-questions.
- Reported CommandsB1 — Transform direct Persian imperatives into reported subjunctive clauses while adjusting actor, deixis, negation, complementizers, and register.
- Ambiguity Resolution in Unpointed Complex SentencesC1 — Resolve Persian homographs, invisible ezâfe, and uncertain clause boundaries by combining syntax, punctuation, valency, and discourse context.