Backshifting Past Tense Quotes
When you report speech using a past-tense reporting verb (like "said" or "announced"), the tense of the original quote shifts one step backward in time.
If the original statement was already in the simple past (Pretérito Perfeito Simples), it must shift back into the compound past perfect (Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto) in reported speech.
To form the compound past perfect, use the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb ter (such as tinha, tínhamos, or tinham) followed by the past participle of the main verb (usually ending in -ado or -ido).
For example, if a source originally said, "The president denied the headline" (O presidente desmentiu a manchete), the reported version replaces the simple past with tinha desmentido.
| The source said that the president had denied the headline. | A fonte disse que o presidente tinha desmentido a manchete. |
| The newspaper informed that it had published an exclusive headline. | O jornal informou que tinha publicado uma manchete exclusiva. |
| The journalist confirmed that a source had given him the exclusive news. | O jornalista confirmou que uma fonte lhe tinha dado a notícia exclusiva. |
Reporting on the News
This grammatical shift is essential when summarizing yesterday's news events, whether you are talking about public statements, broadcasts, or exclusive interviews. You will frequently hear reporters and spokespeople using verbs like esclarecer (to clarify) and anunciar (to announce) to frame these past perfect clauses.
Note that irregular past participles (like escrito for escrever) work exactly the same way in this tense structure.
| The spokesperson explained that he had written the statement during the morning. | O porta-voz explicou que tinha escrito a declaração durante a manhã. |
| We said that the minister had clarified the statement. | Nós dissemos que o ministro tinha esclarecido a declaração. |
| They announced that the report had shown the whole event. | Eles anunciaram que a reportagem tinha mostrado todo o acontecimento. |
| The spokesman clarified that the broadcast had failed. | O porta-voz esclareceu que a emissão tinha falhado. |