Reported speech in the past
When recounting what someone said, use reported speech (indirecte rede). Start with an introductory verb in the simple past tense, such as beweren (to claim), antwoorden (to answer), or benadrukken (to emphasize).
Like in English, the reported statement shifts one tense back in time: a present tense quote becomes simple past. These clauses are typically introduced by dat (that), which sends the verb to the end of the sentence.
| He claimed that he was not exaggerating. | Hij beweerde dat hij niet overdreef. |
| The boss claimed that the rumor was fake. | De baas beweerde dat het gerucht nep was. |
| The teacher emphasized that the remark was important. | De leraar benadrukte dat de opmerking belangrijk was. |
Reporting yes/no questions
To report a yes/no question, use of (if/whether) instead of dat. The verb still moves to the end of the clause.
| I asked if she gossiped about the rumor. | Ik vroeg of zij over het gerucht roddelde. |
| He asked if the problem wasn't too bad. | Hij vroeg of het probleem meeviel. |
Separable verbs at the end of a clause
If the reported statement uses a separable verb, like meevallen (to turn out better than expected) or tegenvallen (to disappoint), the prefix and verb rejoin into a single word at the end of the clause.
| The man answered that the work was not too bad. | De man antwoordde dat het werk meeviel. |
| She remarked that the film was disappointing. | Ze merkte op dat de film tegenviel. |
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