Many learners master the tense shifts of reported speech and then discover a surprising shortcut: if the reporting verb stays in the present, nothing has to shift at all. The contrast between dice que and dijo que is the clearest way to see this principle at work, but it applies to any reporting verb in any tense.
The Core Rule
Reported speech backshifts only when the reporting verb is in the past (dijo, contó, explicó, preguntó). With a present-tense reporting verb (dice, cuenta, explica, pregunta), the embedded verb keeps its original tense, because the statement is still "live" at the moment of reporting.
| Reporting verb | Embedded verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| dice que | No shift | Dice que viene mañana. |
| dijo que | Shifts backward | Dijo que venía al día siguiente. |
Dice que: Live Reporting
Dice que is a present-tense report: you are relaying, right now, what the speaker is saying (or has just said). Because the original statement is still relevant at the moment of reporting, tenses, pronouns, and even time words often stay the same.
Dice que tiene hambre.
He says he's hungry.
Ana dice que viene mañana a la reunión.
Ana says she's coming to the meeting tomorrow.
El doctor dice que debes descansar hoy.
The doctor says you should rest today.
Notice that mañana and hoy stay put. The speaker and the reporter share the same "now," so the time words don't need to shift.
Dijo que: Retrospective Reporting
Dijo que is a past-tense report: the original statement belongs to an earlier moment, so the embedded verb slides backward and the time words may also shift. See Tense Shifts and Time and Place Shifts for the full rules.
Dijo que tenía hambre.
He said he was hungry.
Ana dijo que vendría al día siguiente a la reunión.
Ana said she would come to the meeting the next day.
El doctor dijo que debías descansar ese día.
The doctor said you should rest that day.
Side-by-Side Comparison
The same original sentence can be reported with dice que or dijo que, producing two completely different-looking results. Compare:
Original: «Trabajo en un banco.» → Dice que trabaja en un banco.
Original: 'I work at a bank.' → He says he works at a bank.
Original: «Trabajo en un banco.» → Dijo que trabajaba en un banco.
Original: 'I work at a bank.' → He said he worked at a bank.
Other Present-Tense Reporting Verbs
This rule is not limited to decir. Any present-tense reporting verb triggers the same "no shift" behavior: cuenta que, explica que, comenta que, asegura que, pregunta si, and so on.
Mi hermana cuenta que está estudiando en Lima.
My sister says that she's studying in Lima.
El periodista asegura que el presidente viajará mañana.
The journalist claims that the president will travel tomorrow.
Mixed Cases: Present Reporting of Past Events
If the original sentence already described a past event, you report it with the same past tense after dice que. No backshift occurs; you simply carry the tense over.
Dice que ayer fue al médico.
He says he went to the doctor yesterday.
Pedro dice que ya terminó el proyecto.
Pedro says he already finished the project.
The Historical Present as a Storytelling Trick
Spanish speakers sometimes use dice que even when telling an old story, as a narrative device to make the scene feel more vivid. This is called the presente histórico, and you will hear it often in casual storytelling.
Y entonces ella me dice que no quiere volver a verme.
And then she tells me that she doesn't want to see me again.
Technically the event is in the past, but the speaker uses the present to pull the listener into the moment. Written formal Spanish usually prefers me dijo que no quería.
Quick Decision Guide
When faced with a reported sentence, ask yourself two questions:
- Is the reporting verb present or past?
- Present (dice, cuenta, explica) → no shift.
- Past (dijo, contó, explicó) → apply tense shifts.
- Has the time of reporting changed?
- No → keep time and place words as they are.
- Yes → adjust them (hoy → ese día, aquí → allí, and so on).
Understanding the difference between dice que and dijo que closes the loop on reported speech. With this final piece, you can move between direct and indirect speech, past and present reporting, statements, questions, and commands, and sound natural in every register of Latin American Spanish.
Related Topics
- Reported Speech OverviewB1 — How Spanish reports what someone else said using direct and indirect speech.
- Tense ShiftsB2 — How verb tenses move backward when reporting speech from a past moment in Spanish.
- Time and Place ShiftsB2 — How time and place references change when speech is reported from a different moment or location.