When you want to share gossip, relay news, or report what someone else has said, you use indirect speech. In Swedish, this is usually done by connecting a main clause (like "He says") to a subordinate clause with the word att (that).
Pronoun shifting
When you report someone else's words, you often need to change the pronouns so the sentence makes sense from your perspective. If a woman says "I am pregnant," someone else reporting this will shift the "I" to "she".
Common reporting verbs
While säga (to say) is the most common verb for indirect speech, you can use many others to add detail to your stories, such as höra (to hear), påstå (to claim), or förklara (to explain).
Reporting questions with "om"
If you are reporting a yes/no question, or expressing curiosity about whether a rumor is true, you do not use att. Instead, you connect the clauses using om (if/whether).
Telling "to" someone
If you want to specify who is receiving the news, use the verb berätta (to tell). Unlike English, Swedish requires the preposition för (for/to) before the listener.