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### Reported Speech: Present to Imperfect

When catching up at an event like a reunion, you will often report what other people said. This is known as reported speech (*estilo indirecto*).

To report a statement, use a reporting verb like **decir** (to say), **mencionar** (to mention), or **jurar** (to swear), followed by the conjunction **que** (that).

When the reporting verb is in a past tense (like the preterite), the verb in the reported statement shifts one step back in time. Specifically, a quote originally spoken in the **present tense** shifts to the **imperfect tense**.

{{item:792900}}

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Notice how the original present-tense ideas ("We *miss* it", "He *is aging*") become imperfect (*extrañaban*, *envejecía*) because the reporting verbs (*dijeron*, *mencionó*) are in the past.

Other common reporting verbs include **contar** (to tell), **explicar** (to explain), and **comentar** (to comment). The same rule applies:

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When reporting multiple statements from the same person, you can link them together using **y que** (and that):

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Reported speech (present to imperfect)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
alumnus	el exalumno
to miss	extrañar
graduation	la graduación
The alumni said that they missed their graduation.	Los exalumnos dijeron que extrañaban su graduación.
to age	envejecer
An alumnus mentioned that the teacher was aging very badly.	Un exalumno mencionó que el profesor envejecía muy mal.
gray-haired	canoso
They said that the teacher wasn't aging, but that he was gray-haired.	Dijeron que el profesor no envejecía, sino que estaba canoso.
to swear	jurar
nickname	el apodo
He swore that he didn't remember the nickname of the gray-haired guy.	Él juró que no recordaba el apodo del chico canoso.
They told me that he still hated his old nickname.	Me contaron que él todavía odiaba su viejo apodo.
She swore that she really missed our band thing.	Ella juró que extrañaba mucho lo de nuestra banda.
to reside	residir
to practice (a profession)	ejercer
They told me that your cousin resided in Mexico and practiced medicine.	Me dijeron que tu primo residía en México y ejercía la medicina.
to set up	montar
He explained that he was no longer practicing, because he was setting up a new business.	Él explicó que ya no ejercía, porque montaba un negocio nuevo.
He commented that he resided in the city and that he was setting up an agency.	Comentó que residía en la ciudad y que montaba una agencia.
The principal confessed that he used to cry at every graduation.	El director confesó que solía llorar en cada graduación.