ELONIO
Log inSign up

El periodista relató que el presentador había cancelado el noticiero.

El periodista relató que el presentador había cancelado el noticiero.
The journalist recounted that the anchor had canceled the newscast.
From Lesson 358:Reported speech (past to pluperfect)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El periodista relató que el presentador había cancelado el noticiero.

Why is había cancelado (past perfect) used here instead of just the preterite canceló?
This is a classic example of the sequence of tenses in reported speech. Because the main reporting verb (relató) is already in the past, an action that happened before that past event needs to be pushed further back into the past perfect (había cancelado). It means the canceling happened before the journalist recounted it.
Doesn't the phrase relató que trigger the subjunctive?
Not in this case. Verbs of communication (like relatar, decir, or explicar) only trigger the subjunctive when they are used to give a command or influence behavior (e.g., "He told the anchor to cancel it"). Because the journalist is merely reporting a fact or sharing information, the verb that follows stays in the indicative mood.
A quick reminder: why is it el periodista when the word ends in "-a"?
Nouns ending in -ista that refer to professions or beliefs (like periodista, dentista, or artista) are invariable, meaning the word itself doesn't change based on gender. You just change the article. Here, the masculine article el tells us this is a male journalist. If it were a female journalist, it would be la periodista.
Is presentador the only word for a news "anchor"?
A presentador generally means a host or presenter for any kind of show or event. When paired with news, it translates well to "anchor." However, in many parts of Latin America, you will also frequently hear the word conductor (or conductora) used to mean TV host or anchor.
Is noticiero the standard word for "newscast" everywhere?
In Latin America, noticiero is indeed the standard and most common word for a television or radio news broadcast. If you consume Spanish media from Spain, however, you will almost exclusively hear telediario or informativo instead.

Learn El periodista relató que el presentador había cancelado el noticiero and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →