Reported speech retells words without quoting them exactly. Greek statements normally use a reporting verb before ότι or πως “that,” while pronouns and words such as “here” and “tomorrow” follow the reporter’s viewpoint.
The basic frame: reporting verb + ότι/πως
After λέω “say/tell,” αναφέρω “report,” εξηγώ “explain,” or δηλώνω “state,” a finite reported clause takes ότι or πως. Both are standard; πως is especially conversational. Δηλώνω and αναφέρω favor formal or journalistic reporting, while λέω is neutral.
Ο Στέλιος είπε ότι θα έρθει λίγο αργότερα.
o Stélios ípe óti tha érthi lígho arghótera
Stelios said that he would come a little later.
Μου είπε πως είναι πολύ κουρασμένη σήμερα.
mu ípe pos íne polí kurazméni símera
She told me that she is very tired today.
Η εταιρεία ανακοίνωσε ότι το κατάστημα θα παραμείνει κλειστό.
i etería anakínose óti to katástima tha paramíni klistó
The company announced that the store would remain closed.
The weak pronoun before είπε identifies the recipient: μου είπε “he/she told me,” σου είπε “told you,” μας είπε “told us.” English uses a direct object after tell, but Greek uses the weak genitive recipient with λέω.
From direct words to an indirect statement
Direct speech preserves the original words in quotation marks. Indirect speech embeds them in a larger sentence, with a complementizer replacing the quotation boundary.
Η Λένα είπε: «Θα γυρίσω νωρίς».
i Léna ípe: «tha yiríso norís»
Lena said, ‘I’ll come back early.’ (direct speech)
Η Λένα είπε ότι θα γυρίσει νωρίς.
i Léna ípe óti tha yirísi norís
Lena said that she would come back early. (indirect speech)
The first-person ending -ω belongs to Lena while she is speaking. Once another person reports her words, Lena is third person, so γυρίσω becomes γυρίσει. This is a person change, not tense backshift.
Ο Αντώνης είπε: «Δεν βρίσκω τα κλειδιά μου».
o Andónis ípe: «dhen vrísko ta klidhiá mu»
Antonis said, ‘I can’t find my keys.’
Ο Αντώνης είπε πως δεν βρίσκει τα κλειδιά του.
o Andónis ípe pos dhen vríski ta klidhiá tu
Antonis said that he couldn’t find his keys.
The possessive changes from μου “my” to του “his.” Greek normally omits a recoverable subject pronoun; add αυτός/εκείνος for contrast or clarity.
Greek does not backshift mechanically
English commonly changes is to was after said. Greek chooses the embedded tense by meaning. A retained present can mark a still-valid state or preserve the original viewpoint.
Ο Νίκος είπε ότι είναι άρρωστος και δεν θα έρθει σήμερα.
o Níkos ípe óti íne árostos ke dhen tha érthi símera
Nikos said that he is ill and won’t come today.
Ο Νίκος είπε ότι ήταν άρρωστος εκείνη τη μέρα, αλλά τώρα είναι καλά.
o Níkos ípe óti ítan árostos ekíni ti méra, alá tóra íne kalá
Nikos said that he was ill that day, but now he is well.
Both are standard. The imperfect ήταν deliberately places the illness in the past; it is not an automatic consequence of είπε. The tense and deixis page develops this distinction in detail.
Pronouns and deictic words follow the new viewpoint
Person, place, and time expressions change only when circumstances do. Εγώ may become αυτός/εκείνος or disappear; εδώ may become εκεί; αύριο may become την επόμενη μέρα. Shared coordinates permit the original forms.
Η Άννα είπε χθες: «Θα σας συναντήσω εδώ αύριο».
i Ána ípe chthes: «tha sas sinandíso edhó ávrio»
Anna said yesterday, ‘I’ll meet you here tomorrow.’
Η Άννα είπε ότι θα μας συναντούσε εκεί την επόμενη μέρα.
i Ána ípe óti tha mas sinandúse ekí tin epómeni méra
Anna said that she would meet us there the next day.
Here the reporter has changed location and is speaking after the promised day, so both place and time are recalculated. The conditional-like θα συναντούσε gives a future viewed from a past reference point. In a same-day report, είπε ότι θα μας συναντήσει εδώ αύριο would be equally natural.
Statements, commands, and questions use different frames
The ότι/πως frame reports a proposition. A command is not presented as true or false, so it normally becomes να + dependent verb: Μου είπε να περιμένω “He told me to wait.” A reported polar question presents alternatives and takes αν: Με ρώτησε αν περιμένω “He asked whether I was waiting.” See reported commands and reported questions.
Η διευθύντρια είπε ότι η συνάντηση αρχίζει στις δέκα.
i dhiefthíndria ípe óti i sinándisi archízi stis dhéka
The director said that the meeting starts at ten.
Η διευθύντρια μάς είπε να είμαστε εκεί στις δέκα παρά τέταρτο.
i dhiefthíndria mas ípe na ímaste ekí stis dhéka pará tétarto
The director told us to be there at a quarter to ten.
Common Mistakes
1. Stacking both statement complementizers. Choose one connector.
❌ Ο Μάριος είπε ότι πως θα αργήσει.
Incorrect — ότι and πως cannot both introduce the same statement.
✅ Ο Μάριος είπε πως θα αργήσει περίπου δέκα λεπτά.
o Mários ípe pos tha aryísi perípu dhéka leptá
Marios said that he would be about ten minutes late.
2. Failing to inflect a shifted time expression. The article, adjective, and noun must agree inside την επόμενη μέρα.
❌ Η Άννα εξήγησε ότι θα μας συναντούσε στο γραφείο την επόμενος μέρα.
Incorrect — feminine accusative την…μέρα requires the agreeing adjective επόμενη.
✅ Η Άννα εξήγησε ότι θα μας συναντούσε στο γραφείο την επόμενη μέρα.
i Ána eksíyise óti tha mas sinandúse sto ghrafío tin epómeni méra
Anna explained that she would meet us at the office the next day.
3. Letting the reported subject disagree with its verb. Person changes must reach the verb ending.
❌ Η Ελένη είπε ότι θα έρθεις η ίδια στη συνάντηση.
Incorrect — η ίδια is third-person feminine, but έρθεις is second person.
✅ Η Ελένη είπε ότι θα έρθει η ίδια στη συνάντηση.
i Eléni ípe óti tha érthi i ídhia sti sinándisi
Eleni said that she herself would come to the meeting.
Key Takeaways
- Statements take ότι/πως; commands take να; polar questions take αν.
- Change person and deixis when the reporting viewpoint changes.
- Choose embedded tense by meaning, not automatic English backshift.
Related Topics
- Reporting Commands and RequestsB1 — Turn direct Greek commands, requests, advice, and proposals into reporting frames with να, the right person, aspect, and negative μη(ν).
- Reporting QuestionsB1 — Report who asked what in Greek while preserving the question type and adjusting tense, person, place, and time to the new viewpoint.
- Tense and Deixis in Reported SpeechB2 — Choose Greek reported tense, person, time, and place from the intended viewpoint rather than applying English sequence-of-tenses rules.
- That-Clauses: ότι, πως, πουB1 — Choose factual ότι or πως after saying and thinking, and factive που after emotions or direct perception, while keeping ότι distinct from ό,τι ‘whatever.’