When reporting what someone else said, wrote, or thought, English usually shifts the tense backward (e.g., "I am resigning" becomes "He said he was resigning").
In Persian, reported speech is simpler: do not change the tense. Keep the exact tense the original speaker used, connecting it to the reporting verb with the complementizer که (that).
| He said that he has ten years of experience. | او گفت که ده سال سابقه دارد.u goft ke dah sâl sâbeqe dârad. |
The original speaker said, "I have ten years of experience." The Persian reported sentence retains this present tense (دارد), even though the reporting verb (گفت) is in the past.
| They said that the competition for the new promotion is very hard. | آنها گفتند که رقابت برای ترفیع جدید خیلی سخت است.ânhâ goftand ke reqâbat barâye tarfi'-e jadid kheyli sakht ast. |
Pronouns Shift, Tenses Stay
While the verb tense is frozen in the moment it was spoken, you still change the pronouns and verb endings to match the new perspective (just like in English).
| The second manager wrote in the email that he is resigning and retiring. | دومین مدیر در ایمیل نوشت که استعفا میدهد و بازنشسته میشود.dovvomin modir dar imeyl nevesht ke estefâ midahad va bâzneshaste mishavad. |
This tense retention rule applies not only to speech, but also to reporting thoughts, promises, and lies:
| I thought that they were firing him, but he got a promotion! | فکر کردم که او را اخراج میکنند، ولی ترفیع گرفت!fekr kardam ke u râ ekhrâj mikonand, vali tarfi' gereft! |
| The manager promised that he will give me leave tomorrow. | مدیر قول داد که فردا به من مرخصی میدهد.modir ghol dâd ke fardâ be man morakhkhasi midahad. |
| My colleague lied that he has work experience. | همکارم دروغ گفت که سابقهی کار دارد.hamkâram dorugh goft ke sâbeqe-ye kâr dârad |
Remember: add که, update the pronouns, and leave the tense exactly as you heard it!
| That colleague secretly told me that he is being transferred because of the competition. | آن همکار مخفیانه به من گفت که به خاطر رقابت منتقل میشود.ân hamkâr makhfiyâne be man goft ke be khâtere reqâbat montaqel mishavad. |