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### 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:

{{item:782375}}

Notice how the present tense *conozco* becomes the imperfect *conocía*.

{{item:782387}}

{{item:782379}}

### 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.

{{item:782382}}

{{item:782388}}

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:

{{item:782390}}

Reported speech for the present (dijo que...)

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
the prosecutor	el fiscal
to state	afirmar
to flee	huir
The prosecutor stated that the suspect was fleeing.	El fiscal afirmó que el sospechoso huía.
to testify	declarar
The witness testified that he did not know the thief.	El testigo declaró que no conocía al ladrón.
to assure	asegurar
to commit	cometer
the crime	el crimen
The lawyer claimed that his client didn't want to commit the crime.	El abogado aseguró que su cliente no quería cometer el crimen.
to confess	confesar
to threaten	amenazar
The suspect confessed that he was threatening the judge.	El sospechoso confesó que amenazaba al juez.
The woman testified that she wanted to flee with me.	La mujer declaró que quería huir conmigo.
The guard assured that the prosecutor knew the truth.	El guardia aseguró que el fiscal sabía la verdad.
to witness	presenciar
The jury said that they were not witnessing a real trial.	El jurado dijo que no presenciaba un juicio verdadero.
The thief confessed that he wanted to escape.	El ladrón confesó que quería escapar.
The girl stated that the boss was looking for the employee.	La chica afirmó que el jefe buscaba al empleado.
We proved that the suspect was hiding the weapon.	Nosotros comprobamos que el sospechoso escondía el arma.
The prosecutor asked if you wanted to testify.	El fiscal preguntó si usted quería declarar.
The witness said that he was witnessing the crime.	El testigo dijo que él presenciaba el crimen.
You said that the thief was committing the crime and threatening the guard.	Usted dijo que el ladrón cometía el crimen y amenazaba al guardia.
sentence, phrase	la frase
I do not understand this sentence.	No entiendo esta frase.
That sentence is very long.	Esa frase es muy larga.