Reported Speech and Tense Retention
In English, when you report what someone said in the past, you usually change the tense of their original statement. For example, "I am busy" becomes "She said she was busy." This is known as backshifting.
Finnish is much simpler! When reporting speech using verbs like sanoa (to say) or kertoa (to tell), the tense in the että (that) clause remains exactly the same as what the original speaker used. There is no sequence of tenses to worry about.
If the original speaker used the present tense (for instance, Tämä puhelu on kiireellinen), keep it in the present tense, even if the reporting verb is in the past.
| The man said that this phone call was really urgent. | Mies sanoi, että tämä puhelu on todella kiireellinen. |
The same rule applies to the past tense. If a customer originally said, Minä jätin soittopyynnön (I left a callback request), relay it using that same past tense verb.
| The customer told me that he had left a callback request yesterday. | Asiakas kertoi minulle, että hän jätti soittopyynnön eilen. |
Negative statements work exactly the same way. The original speaker's tense is preserved without any changes.
| The boss said that he could not reach the expert whom you were looking for. | Pomo sanoi, että hän ei tavoita sitä asiantuntijaa, jota te etsitte. |
Relaying Intentions and Questions
Because Finnish doesn't have a separate future tense, the present tense is frequently used for future actions. When taking a message about someone's schedule, the present tense is kept exactly as spoken.
| The substitute informed me that she was doing the work today. | Sijainen ilmoitti minulle, että hän tekee työt tänään. |
If you need to report a yes/no question, attach the -ko/-kö suffix to the word being questioned. Just like statements, the tense of the original question remains entirely unchanged.
| I asked him if the absence was a problem today. | Kysyin häneltä, onko poissaolo ongelma tänään. |
Whether relaying what happens today or what will happen tomorrow, rely on the exact tense the original speaker used.
| The boss said that he would send the confirmation tomorrow. | Pomo sanoi, että hän lähettää vahvistuksen huomenna. |