Reported speech in the past perfect
When your introductory verb is in the simple past (like zei or vertelde), the reported statement shifts one tense backward. A statement originally spoken in the present perfect or simple past shifts into the past perfect.
The past perfect is formed with the simple past of hebben (had / hadden) or zijn (was / waren) and a past participle. Because reported speech is usually introduced by dat (that), the auxiliary verb and the past participle both move to the end of the clause.
If the verb is separable, like toegeven (to admit), its past participle is written as a single continuous word (e.g., toegegeven).
| The man said that he had admitted the mistake. | De man zei dat hij de fout had toegegeven. |
Linking past events
When recounting multiple past events, you will often connect clauses to clarify the timeline using conjunctions like omdat (because), voordat (before), or nadat (after). Just like dat, these conjunctions send their verbs to the end of the clause.
| She told us that she had used the excuse, because she had forgotten the reason. | Ze vertelde ons dat ze het excuus had gebruikt, omdat ze de reden was vergeten. |
| The boss said that he had convinced the customer before we had decided. | De baas zei dat hij de klant had overtuigd voordat wij hadden beslist. |
You can apply the same past perfect word order to other separable verbs like toelichten (to clarify) and aantonen (to demonstrate), which also form single-word past participles.
| He explained that he had already clarified the misunderstanding. | Hij legde uit dat hij het misverstand al had toegelicht. |
| The colleague claimed that he had demonstrated that the excuse was fake. | De collega beweerde dat hij had aangetoond dat het excuus nep was. |