Indirect speech reports the content of someone's words or thoughts without claiming to reproduce every word. Indonesian commonly uses a reporting predicate followed by a bahwa clause, but it has no obligatory sequence-of-tense rule: the reported verb does not backshift merely because the reporting event is in the past.
What does change is viewpoint. The reporter must choose pronouns, demonstratives, places, and time expressions that make sense from the new speaking situation.
The kata verb family gives the argument patterns of the reporting verbs used here.
Direct wording versus reported content
Direct quotation preserves the speaker's form:
Rina berkata, “Saya akan mengirim berkas ini besok.”
Rina said, 'I will send this file tomorrow.'
An indirect report integrates the content into the reporter's clause:
Rina mengatakan bahwa dia akan mengirim berkas itu besok.
Rina said that she would send that file tomorrow.
The quoted saya referred to Rina, so the outside reporter chooses dia. Quoted ini referred to a file near or conceptually close to Rina, while the reporter chooses itu. Besok remains possible if the report is made on the same day as Rina's statement.
Bahwa complements
In careful speech and writing, bahwa explicitly introduces reported propositional content after verbs such as mengatakan, menjelaskan, menyatakan, melaporkan, mengetahui, mengira, and berpikir.
Ketua panitia menjelaskan bahwa pintu utama akan dibuka pukul delapan.
The committee chair explained that the main entrance would open at eight.
Saksi menyatakan bahwa ia tidak melihat kendaraan tersebut.
The witness stated that he or she did not see the vehicle. (formal)
Dewi mengira bahwa toko itu masih buka.
Dewi thought that the shop was still open.
Kami mengetahui bahwa jadwalnya sudah berubah.
We know that the schedule has changed.
No comma separates the reporting verb, bahwa, and its content. The content clause fills an argument position selected by the report predicate.
In conversation, bahwa is often omitted after familiar reporting or cognition verbs when the boundary remains clear.
Doni bilang dia bakal datang agak terlambat.
Doni said he would come a little late. (informal)
Saya pikir mereka sudah pulang.
I think they have already gone home.
Bilang and bakal are informal but standard recognizable forms. A formal report would prefer mengatakan bahwa and often akan.
No automatic backshift
English often changes is to was, will to would, or has finished to had finished after a past reporting verb. Indonesian predicates do not carry tense inflection, so their form stays stable unless the meaning itself requires an aspect or time change.
Kemarin Maya mengatakan bahwa ia sakit.
Yesterday Maya said that she was ill.
Tadi pagi Arif menjelaskan bahwa ia tinggal di Solo.
This morning Arif explained that he lived in Solo.
Pekan lalu direktur menyatakan bahwa proyek itu akan dilanjutkan.
Last week the director stated that the project would continue. (formal)
Sakit, tinggal, and akan dilanjutkan do not acquire a special reported-past form. Their time is interpreted relative to kemarin, tadi pagi, pekan lalu, and the report context.
Add sudah, belum, sedang, or pernah only when its aspectual meaning is intended.
Maya mengatakan bahwa ia sudah sembuh ketika kami menelepon.
Maya said that she had already recovered when we called.
Arif menjelaskan bahwa ia sedang mencari rumah baru.
Arif explained that he was looking for a new house.
Direktur menyatakan bahwa proyek itu belum mendapat izin.
The director stated that the project had not yet received a permit. (formal)
These markers report completion, ongoing activity, or “not yet”; they do not mechanically replace English tense forms.
Changing person perspective
Pronouns refer to participants, not grammatical positions in the original quote. Consider Arif speaking to Maya:
Arif berkata kepada Maya, “Saya akan menjemput kamu di sini.”
Arif said to Maya, 'I will pick you up here.'
When Maya reports the statement, she becomes saya, while Arif becomes dia:
Maya mengatakan bahwa Arif akan menjemputnya di tempat itu.
Maya said that Arif would pick her up at that place.
If a third person reports it, both participants need explicit names or unambiguous third-person reference:
Dina mengatakan bahwa Arif akan menjemput Maya di lokasi tersebut.
Dina said that Arif would pick Maya up at that location.
Attached -nya in menjemputnya can mean “pick her/him up”; its referent must be recoverable. Names are safer when two third-person participants compete.
Rudi berkata kepada saya, “Kamu harus membawa paspormu.”
Rudi said to me, 'You must bring your passport.'
Rudi mengatakan bahwa saya harus membawa paspor saya.
Rudi said that I had to bring my passport.
The original kamu/-mu becomes reporter saya because the person originally addressed is now speaking.
Changing time and place perspective
Deictic expressions can remain if the report shares the original coordinates. If the report is made later or elsewhere, replace them explicitly.
| Original viewpoint | Possible later report |
|---|---|
| hari ini | hari itu |
| besok | keesokan harinya |
| kemarin | sehari sebelumnya |
| sekarang | saat itu / ketika itu |
| di sini | di sana / di tempat itu |
| ini | itu / tersebut |
Pada hari Senin, Nisa berkata, “Saya akan kembali ke sini besok.”
On Monday, Nisa said, 'I will come back here tomorrow.'
Pada hari Jumat, saya melaporkan bahwa pada hari Senin Nisa berencana kembali ke tempat itu keesokan harinya.
On Friday, I reported that on Monday Nisa had planned to return to that place the following day.
The second sentence is a later retelling. Repeating pada hari Senin supplies the reported reference day, and keesokan harinya then identifies the Tuesday that followed it—not the day after Friday's report.
Tono berkata, “Saya tidak bisa bertemu sekarang.”
Tono said, 'I can't meet now.'
Tono mengatakan bahwa ia tidak bisa bertemu saat itu.
Tono said that he could not meet at that time.
Do not change every deictic automatically. If I immediately relay Tono's message during the same time window, sekarang may remain accurate.
Reported thought
Thought reports use the same viewpoint system, even though no words were necessarily spoken.
Sari berpikir bahwa ia mungkin salah membaca alamat.
Sari thought that she might have misread the address.
Saya mengira rapatnya dimulai pukul sembilan.
I thought the meeting started at nine.
Dalam hati, Bima berkata bahwa ia harus tetap tenang.
To himself, Bima said that he had to remain calm.
Mereka merasa bahwa keputusan itu terlalu tergesa-gesa.
They felt that the decision was too hasty.
The subject inside the thought report is chosen from the narrator's perspective. Dirinya can sometimes help keep reference tied to the matrix subject, but overusing it sounds heavy.
Laras yakin bahwa dirinya mampu menyelesaikan tugas itu.
Laras was certain that she herself could complete the task.
Here dirinya emphasizes coreference with Laras; plain ia would usually be enough.
Katanya and source responsibility
Katanya attributes information to someone else's saying and often marks hearsay. It can occur before, inside, or after the reported proposition.
Katanya, jalan menuju danau sudah dibuka kembali.
They say the road to the lake has reopened. (hearsay)
Kereta tambahan akan beroperasi malam ini, katanya.
An additional train will operate tonight, he or she says.
Harga sewanya, katanya, belum termasuk listrik.
The rent, she says, does not include electricity.
Attached -nya points to a recoverable source or leaves the source generic. Katanya does not tell you whether the current speaker endorses the claim.
Menurut Raka, jalur pendakian itu aman untuk pemula.
According to Raka, that hiking trail is safe for beginners.
Menurut laporan cuaca, hujan akan berlanjut sampai malam.
According to the weather report, the rain will continue into the evening.
Menurut + source frames an explicit perspective, followed by a comma when fronted. Do not add bahwa directly after this frame. An alternative is Raka mengatakan bahwa...
Direct-to-indirect transformations
The following pairs show the full reasoning.
Dewi berkata, “Saya sudah mengirim foto-foto ini kepada Ibu.”
Dewi said, 'I have sent these photos to Mother.'
Dewi mengatakan bahwa dia sudah mengirim foto-foto itu kepada ibunya.
Dewi said that she had sent those photos to her mother.
Saya → dia, ini → itu, and Ibu → ibunya reflect the outside narrator's viewpoint. Sudah mengirim remains stable because completion is still intended.
Fajar berkata kepada kami, “Kalian boleh menunggu di sini sampai besok.”
Fajar said to us, 'You may wait here until tomorrow.'
Fajar mengatakan bahwa kami boleh menunggu di tempat itu sampai keesokan harinya.
Fajar said that we could wait at that place until the next day.
Kalian → kami, di sini → di tempat itu, and besok → keesokan harinya follow the later reporters.
Punctuation and register
An indirect bahwa clause takes no quotation marks and no comma after bahwa. Colloquial spelling belongs inside a quotation when exact voice is being preserved:
Tia berkata, “Aku nggak bisa datang malam ini.”
Tia said, 'I can't come tonight.' (informal quoted speech)
Dalam laporan tertulis, Tia mengatakan bahwa ia tidak dapat hadir malam itu.
In the written report, Tia said that she could not attend that evening. (formal)
The indirect formal version normalizes aku/nggak to ia/tidak dapat because it reports content rather than exact wording.
Common Mistakes
Backshifting by adding an unintended aspect
❌ Rina mengatakan bahwa dia sudah sakit.
Wrong for the intended report ‘Rina said she was ill’; sudah changes the meaning to ‘already ill.’
✅ Rina mengatakan bahwa dia sakit pada hari itu.
Rina said that she was ill that day.
Keeping the original first person
❌ Rina mengatakan bahwa saya akan mengirim berkas itu.
Incorrect if an outside narrator is reporting Rina's promise — saya now refers to the narrator.
✅ Rina mengatakan bahwa dia akan mengirim berkas itu.
Rina said that she would send that file.
Keeping stale time and place words
❌ Seminggu kemudian, Dodi melaporkan bahwa Mira akan datang ke sini besok.
Incorrect if the report is made elsewhere a week later — sini and besok retain the wrong viewpoint.
✅ Seminggu kemudian, Dodi melaporkan bahwa Mira berencana datang ke tempat itu keesokan harinya.
A week later, Dodi reported that Mira had planned to come to that place the next day.
Inserting a comma after bahwa
❌ Saksi menjelaskan bahwa, lampu depan kendaraan itu mati.
Incorrect punctuation — bahwa directly introduces its content clause.
✅ Saksi menjelaskan bahwa lampu depan kendaraan itu mati.
The witness explained that the vehicle's headlights were off.
Combining menurut with bahwa
❌ Menurut petugas bahwa pintu barat sudah ditutup.
Incorrect frame — use menurut + source with a comma, or a reporting verb + bahwa.
✅ Menurut petugas, pintu barat sudah ditutup.
According to the officer, the west gate has been closed.
Key Takeaways
- Indonesian verb forms do not backshift automatically in indirect speech.
- Bahwa introduces reported content in careful language and takes no following comma.
- Pronouns, demonstratives, time, and place must be recalculated from the reporter's viewpoint.
- Katanya and menurut + source assign evidential responsibility without guaranteeing belief.
- Use quotation when exact colloquial wording matters; indirect speech can normalize register while preserving content.
Now practice Indonesian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Direct Quotation and Reporting ClausesA2 — Frame exact spoken or written wording with Indonesian quotation punctuation, reporting verbs, clause order, and register fidelity.
- Content Clauses with bahwaB1 — Use bahwa to package a statement, thought, or fact as an explicit propositional complement, especially in dense and formal writing.
- Main and Subordinate Clause RelationsB2 — Distinguish movable adverbial clauses from fixed content complements and noun-modifying relatives through scope and integration.
- kata, berkata, and mengatakan: Verb Family and UsageB1 — Follow kata from a word or utterance to berkata, proposition-selecting mengatakan, passive dikatakan, and hearsay katanya.
- pikir, berpikir, and memikirkan: Verb Family and UsageB1 — Distinguish formulaic pikir, intransitive berpikir, object-focused memikirkan, spontaneous terpikir, and the nouns pikiran and pemikiran.
- -nya: Pronoun, Definite Marker, and NominalizerB2 — Interpret -nya through its host and context as third-person reference, possession, discourse anchoring, nominalization, or stance.