Introduction to Reported Speech
When you repeat or report what someone else said without quoting them directly, you are using reported speech (discurso indireto). To connect your reporting verb (like "claimed" or "whispered") to the statement, use the conjunction que (that).
Shifting Present to Imperfect
When your reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the original statement shifts backward in time. If the original quote was in the present tense (Presente do Indicativo), it changes to the imperfect tense (Pretérito Imperfeito) in reported speech.
For example, if a neighbor originally says, "I work at home" (trabalho em casa), the reported version becomes "He claimed that he worked at home" (afirmou que trabalhava em casa).
Here are some common reporting verbs to help you share neighborhood gossip:
| The curious neighbor claimed that he worked at home. | O vizinho curioso afirmou que trabalhava em casa. |
| They commented that the gossip was a lie. | Eles comentaram que a coscuvilhice era uma mentira. |
Prepositions in Reported Speech
Some verbs require a specific preposition. For example, queixar-se (to complain) is followed by de (about). When connecting to a que clause in reported speech, you must keep the preposition, forming de que.
| She complained that she had no money. | Ela queixou-se de que não tinha dinheiro. |
More Reporting Verbs
You can also use verbs like murmurar (to whisper), confessar (to confess), and fingir (to pretend) to describe exactly how the neighbors were talking.
| He whispered to me that the woman spied on the neighbors. | Ele murmurou-me que a mulher espiava os vizinhos. |
| The husband confessed that the argument was dangerous. | O marido confessou que a discussão era perigosa. |
| The curious girl pretended that she was sleeping. | A rapariga curiosa fingiu que dormia. |