When the reporting verb sits in a past tense — ha detto, disse, diceva, aveva detto, or disse in passato remoto — Italian re-aligns the tenses inside the embedded clause to a viewpoint anchored in the past. This is called the concordanza dei tempi al passato, and it is mechanical, predictable, and unforgiving. Get it right and your Italian sounds polished. Get it wrong and you sound like you skipped a key lesson. This page lays out every shift with worked examples, then dwells on the one shift English speakers consistently miss.
The trigger condition is simple: if the reporting verb is in the past, the embedded clause shifts. If the reporting verb is in the present, no shift. We'll come back to "no-shift" cases at the end.
The master shift table
| Direct tense | Indirect tense (after past reporting verb) |
|---|---|
| presente indicativo | imperfetto indicativo |
| passato prossimo | trapassato prossimo |
| imperfetto | imperfetto (unchanged) |
| passato remoto | trapassato prossimo (or passato remoto, in literary register) |
| trapassato prossimo | trapassato prossimo (unchanged) |
| futuro semplice | condizionale passato |
| futuro anteriore | condizionale passato |
| condizionale presente | condizionale passato |
| condizionale passato | condizionale passato (unchanged) |
| imperativo | di + infinitivo |
| congiuntivo presente | congiuntivo imperfetto |
| congiuntivo passato | congiuntivo trapassato |
| congiuntivo imperfetto | congiuntivo imperfetto (unchanged) |
| congiuntivo trapassato | congiuntivo trapassato (unchanged) |
Notice the pattern: present-tense forms shift one step into the past; perfect (compound) forms shift one step further back; tenses that already express anteriority don't move.
Presente → imperfetto
The most frequent shift. The original utterance was in the simple present; the recounted version uses the imperfetto.
«Sono stanco.» → Ho detto che ero stanco.
'I'm tired.' → I said I was tired.
«Lavoro a Roma.» → Ha detto che lavorava a Roma.
'I work in Rome.' → He said he worked in Rome.
«Mio padre fa il medico.» → Disse che suo padre faceva il medico.
'My father is a doctor.' → He said that his father was a doctor.
«Studio italiano da due anni.» → Mi spiegò che studiava italiano da due anni.
'I've been studying Italian for two years.' → He explained to me that he had been studying Italian for two years.
«Non capisco.» → Ammise che non capiva.
'I don't understand.' → He admitted he didn't understand.
The imperfetto in indirect speech reflects the simultaneity of the original utterance: at the moment Marco spoke, he was tired; we recount that "being tired" as imperfetto because it was an ongoing state at the time of speaking.
Passato prossimo → trapassato prossimo
If the original speaker placed the event in their own past, the recounted version pushes that past one further step backward.
«Ho visto Marco.» → Disse che aveva visto Marco.
'I've seen Marco.' → He said he had seen Marco.
«Sono andato in Italia.» → Ha detto che era andato in Italia.
'I went to Italy.' → He said he had gone to Italy.
«Ho mangiato troppo.» → Confessò che aveva mangiato troppo.
'I ate too much.' → He confessed he had eaten too much.
«Ti ho chiamato ieri.» → Mi disse che mi aveva chiamato il giorno prima.
'I called you yesterday.' → He told me he had called me the day before.
Note the auxiliary: avere stays avere, essere stays essere, but the auxiliary itself moves from passato prossimo (ho, sono) to imperfetto (avevo, ero), generating the trapassato prossimo.
Imperfetto stays imperfetto
A pleasant simplification: the imperfetto in the original utterance stays imperfetto in the indirect version. There is no further-back tense to push it into.
«Da bambino giocavo a calcio.» → Disse che da bambino giocava a calcio.
'As a child I used to play soccer.' → He said that as a child he used to play soccer.
«Era un giorno bellissimo.» → Raccontò che era un giorno bellissimo.
'It was a beautiful day.' → He told me it had been a beautiful day.
«Stavo dormendo quando hanno suonato.» → Mi disse che stava dormendo quando avevano suonato.
'I was sleeping when they rang.' → He told me he had been sleeping when they had rung.
The imperfetto's "background" feeling carries over intact.
Futuro → condizionale passato — the distinctive Italian shift
Here is where Italian differs sharply from English (and even from its Romance siblings). When the original speaker said something in the future, and you recount that with a past reporting verb, the recounted version uses the condizionale passato — what looks at first glance like "would have."
«Verrò.» → Disse che sarebbe venuto.
'I'll come.' → He said he would come.
«Studierò di più.» → Promise che avrebbe studiato di più.
'I'll study more.' → He promised he would study more.
«Ti chiamerò domani.» → Disse che mi avrebbe chiamato il giorno dopo.
'I'll call you tomorrow.' → He said he would call me the next day.
«Andremo al mare in agosto.» → Hanno detto che sarebbero andati al mare ad agosto.
'We'll go to the sea in August.' → They said they would go to the sea in August.
«Non lo farò mai.» → Giurò che non l'avrebbe fatto mai.
'I'll never do it.' → He swore he would never do it.
The futuro anteriore (compound future, "I will have done") similarly maps to condizionale passato:
«Quando arriverai, avrò già finito.» → Disse che quando sarei arrivato, avrebbe già finito.
'When you arrive, I'll have already finished.' → He said that when I arrived, he would have already finished.
Condizionale presente → condizionale passato
A present conditional in the original ("I'd like to come") becomes a past conditional in indirect form ("he said he'd like to have come").
«Vorrei venire.» → Disse che avrebbe voluto venire.
'I'd like to come.' → He said he would have liked to come.
«Mi piacerebbe.» → Disse che gli sarebbe piaciuto.
'I'd like it.' → He said he would have liked it.
«Sarebbe meglio non andare.» → Pensava che sarebbe stato meglio non andare.
'It'd be better not to go.' → He thought it would have been better not to go.
Imperativo → di + infinitivo
A direct command transforms into di + infinitive, and any clitics attach to the infinitive. This is covered in detail on the commands page; the brief view:
«Vieni!» → Mi ha detto di venire.
'Come!' → He told me to come.
«Non parlare!» → Mi ha detto di non parlare.
'Don't speak!' → He told me not to speak.
«Dammi il libro!» → Mi ha chiesto di dargli il libro.
'Give me the book!' → He asked me to give him the book.
Congiuntivo presente → congiuntivo imperfetto
When the original utterance contained a subjunctive (after penso che, voglio che, etc.), that subjunctive shifts back as well.
«Penso che Marco abbia ragione.» → Disse che pensava che Marco avesse ragione.
'I think Marco is right.' → He said he thought Marco was right.
«Voglio che tu venga.» → Disse che voleva che io venissi.
'I want you to come.' → He said he wanted me to come.
«Spero che sia possibile.» → Disse che sperava che fosse possibile.
'I hope it's possible.' → He said he hoped it was possible.
A worked, multi-tense example
Direct utterance:
«Domani vado a Roma e lì incontrerò Marco. Ho già prenotato il treno e ho letto la guida turistica. Se avrò tempo, visiterò anche il Colosseo, ma se non riesco, lo lascerò per la prossima volta.»
Recounted in the past:
Disse che il giorno dopo sarebbe andato a Roma e lì avrebbe incontrato Marco. Aveva già prenotato il treno e aveva letto la guida turistica. Se avesse avuto tempo, avrebbe visitato anche il Colosseo, ma se non ce l'avesse fatta, lo avrebbe lasciato per la volta successiva.
He said that the next day he would go to Rome and would meet Marco there. He had already booked the train and had read the tourist guide. If he had time, he would also visit the Colosseum, but if he couldn't manage it, he would leave it for the next time.
Six tense shifts in one passage: vado→sarebbe andato (futuro implied → condizionale passato), incontrerò→avrebbe incontrato (futuro → cond. passato), ho prenotato→aveva prenotato (passato prossimo → trapassato prossimo), ho letto→aveva letto, avrò→avesse avuto (futuro anteriore → cong. trapassato in conditional clause), visiterò→avrebbe visitato.
When NO shift happens — the present-reporting case
If the reporting verb itself is in the present (dice, dico, dicono), or sometimes in the passato prossimo when its result still holds in the present, you can leave the embedded tenses untouched. Practically, native speakers shift them anyway in many cases, but the strict rule allows non-shift after a present reporter.
Marco dice che è stanco.
Marco says he's tired.
Anna dice che ha visto Luca ieri.
Anna says she saw Luca yesterday.
Dicono che verranno domani.
They say they're coming tomorrow.
Dice che lavorerà fino a tardi.
He says he'll work late.
Pay attention to the contrast:
Marco dice che verrà. / Marco ha detto che sarebbe venuto.
Marco says he'll come. / Marco said he would come.
The same future event ("his coming") gets futuro with a present reporter and condizionale passato with a past reporter. This pair encapsulates the entire system.
Common mistakes
❌ Disse che verrà.
Wrong — futuro stays only with present reporting; with past reporting, must shift to condizionale passato.
✅ Disse che sarebbe venuto.
He said he would come.
❌ Disse che verrebbe.
Wrong — present conditional doesn't work as future-in-the-past; only the past conditional does.
✅ Disse che sarebbe venuto.
He said he would come.
❌ Mi ha detto che ho ragione.
Mismatched — past reporting needs the embedded tense to shift; should be 'avevo ragione'.
✅ Mi ha detto che avevo ragione.
He told me I was right.
❌ Disse che ha visto Marco.
Wrong — passato prossimo doesn't survive a past reporting verb; must be trapassato prossimo.
✅ Disse che aveva visto Marco.
He said he had seen Marco.
❌ Pensava che sia vero.
Wrong — congiuntivo presente cannot follow a past reporting verb; needs congiuntivo imperfetto.
✅ Pensava che fosse vero.
He thought it was true.
Key takeaways
- Past reporting verb triggers a backward shift; present reporting verb does not.
- Memorize the three high-frequency mappings: presente → imperfetto, passato prossimo → trapassato prossimo, futuro → condizionale passato.
- The futuro → condizionale passato mapping is the single most diagnostic feature of well-formed Italian indirect speech.
- Imperfetto and tenses already expressing anteriority don't shift — they stay where they are.
- Subjunctive mood survives the shift, but moves through its own backward sequence.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Reported Speech: OverviewB1 — How Italian transforms direct quotation into indirect (reported) speech — the four shifts that happen at once: pronouns, tenses, time markers, and introducing verbs.
- Reporting QuestionsB1 — How to convert direct questions into indirect form — yes/no questions with se, wh-questions with the wh-word as connector, and the indicative-vs-subjunctive choice in the embedded clause.
- Reporting CommandsB1 — How Italian transforms imperatives into indirect speech using the 'di + infinitive' construction — including clitic placement, negative commands, and the verbs that govern this pattern.
- Condizionale for Future-in-the-Past (Reported Speech)B1 — Why Italian uses the condizionale passato — not the presente — to report a future event from a past viewpoint, and why 'Ha detto che sarebbe venuto' confuses every English speaker on first contact.
- Condizionale Passato: FormationB1 — How to build the Italian past conditional — auxiliary, participle, agreement — and the three uses (past hypotheticals, past politeness, future-in-the-past) that English speakers usually miss.
- Sequence of Tenses (Concordanza dei Tempi)B2 — Once the main verb commits to a tense, the congiuntivo in the subordinate clause has only four cells to choose from — laid out by time relation and main-clause tense.