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### Reported Speech and Backshifting

When you report what someone said, thought, or claimed in the past, your main reporting verb (like *sa*, said) is in the past tense. Because of this, the verb in the reported *att*-clause (that-clause) usually shifts "back" one step into the past tense as well.

| Direct Speech (Present) | Reported Speech (Past) |
|---|---|
| *vill* (want) | *ville* (wanted) |
| *vet* (know) | *visste* (knew) |
| *är* (is/are) | *var* (was/were) |

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### Future in the Past and Word Order

If the original statement referred to the future using *ska* (will), it backshifts to *skulle* (would) when reported in the past. 

Additionally, reported statements are subordinate clauses. This means they follow strict subordinate word order: sentence adverbs like *aldrig* (never), *bara* (just), or *inte* (not) must be placed **before** the conjugated verb.

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### Dealing with Rumors: Other Reporting Verbs

When navigating gossip or clearing up misunderstandings, you will use a variety of reporting verbs like *förneka* (deny) or *vara övertygad* (be convinced). 

Note that some reporting expressions require the preposition *om* (about/of) right before the *att*-clause. The rules for backshifting and adverb placement remain exactly the same.

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Reported speech in the past (sa att)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
to hide (conceal, e.g., feelings or truth)	dölja
She said that she wanted to hide the truth.	Hon sa att hon ville dölja sanningen.
to whisper	viska
The boss whispered that he knew the secret.	Chefen viskade att han visste hemligheten.
the lie	lögnen
The colleague claimed that the lie was dangerous.	Kollegan påstod att lögnen var farlig.
to spread	sprida
The neighbor said that she would never spread the lie.	Grannen sa att hon aldrig skulle sprida lögnen.
the joke	skämtet
He whispered that it was just a joke.	Han viskade att det bara var ett skämt.
Did they say that someone was spreading the gossip at the office?	Sa de att någon spred skvallret på kontoret?
to exaggerate	överdriva
Lars denied that he exaggerated the story.	Lars förnekade att han överdrev berättelsen.
made up	påhittad
We thought that the story was probably made up.	Vi trodde att berättelsen antagligen var påhittad.
convinced	övertygad
The woman was convinced that the rumor was true.	Kvinnan var övertygad om att ryktet stämde.
surprising (astonishing)	förvånande
It was actually surprising that she hid the truth.	Det var faktiskt förvånande att hon dolde sanningen.
to assure	försäkra
He assured me that the excuse was not made up.	Han försäkrade mig om att ursäkten inte var påhittad.
I was convinced that the joke was actually a lie.	Jag var övertygad om att skämtet egentligen var en lögn.
Did Anna say that she did not want to exaggerate the problem?	Sa Anna att hon inte ville överdriva problemet?
The boy assured us that he never lied.	Pojken försäkrade oss om att han aldrig ljög.
Unfortunately, the news was very surprising for the family.	Tyvärr var nyheten mycket förvånande för familjen.
The boss said that they would spread the information soon.	Chefen sa att de skulle sprida informationen snart.
We confirmed that the colleague spread the rumor.	Vi bekräftade att kollegan spred ryktet.
according to	enligt
According to the newspaper it is getting colder.	Enligt tidningen blir det kallare.
According to her the meeting started at nine.	Enligt henne började mötet klockan nio.

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