Reporting the facts
In a courtroom, witnesses and lawyers constantly have to report what other people said. When you recount someone else's words, you use "reported speech" (estilo indirecto).
If the reporting verb (like dijo or declaró) is in the past, and the original statement was made in the present tense, the reported verb shifts to the imperfect. Think of it as taking a step back in time to match the past context.
For example, if a witness's original direct quote was "No *conozco al ladrón"* (I don't know the thief), here is how it looks as reported speech:
| The witness testified that he did not know the thief. | El testigo declaró que no conocía al ladrón. |
Notice how the present tense conozco becomes the imperfect conocía.
| The thief confessed that he wanted to escape. | El ladrón confesó que quería escapar. |
| The lawyer claimed that his client didn't want to commit the crime. | El abogado aseguró que su cliente no quería cometer el crimen. |
Courtroom reporting verbs
While decir (to say) is always useful, you'll hear much more formal reporting verbs on the witness stand. Verbs like declarar (to testify), afirmar (to state), asegurar (to assure/claim), and confesar (to confess) follow the exact same rule.
| The suspect confessed that he was threatening the judge. | El sospechoso confesó que amenazaba al juez. |
| The girl stated that the boss was looking for the employee. | La chica afirmó que el jefe buscaba al empleado. |
When you need to report a question rather than a statement, use si (if/whether) instead of que to connect the two parts of the sentence:
| The prosecutor asked if you wanted to testify. | El fiscal preguntó si usted quería declarar. |