When recounting events from a press conference, you'll often need to report what an official said without quoting them directly.
| The spokesperson did not want to make a statement until the press conference had started. | Talespersonen ville inte uttala sig förrän presskonferensen hade börjat. |
Reporting the Present in the Past
When using indirect speech to report what someone said in the past, their original references to time and place must shift to match your current perspective. For example, if a director originally said "I cannot give the announcement today," it must become "that day."
Shift these "present" time and place words as follows:
- i dag (today) becomes den dagen (that day)
- i kväll (tonight) becomes den kvällen (that evening)
- här (here) becomes där (there)
| The director confirmed that she could not give the announcement that day. | Direktören bekräftade att hon inte kunde ge beskedet den dagen. |
| The police announced that they would end the press conference there that evening. | Polisen meddelade att de skulle avsluta presskonferensen där den kvällen. |
Shifting the Future: The Following Day
If the speaker originally referenced i morgon (tomorrow), the past indirect speech must shift this to "the following day." In Swedish, use därpå (following/after that).
| following | därpå |
- i morgon (tomorrow) becomes dagen därpå (the following day)
- nästa vecka (next week) becomes veckan därpå (the following week)
| The minister claimed that he would resign the following day. | Ministern påstod att han skulle säga upp sig dagen därpå. |
| The researcher said that they would publish the result the following week. | Forskaren sa att de skulle publicera resultatet veckan därpå. |
Shifting the Past: The Previous Day
Likewise, if the speaker originally referenced i går (yesterday) to talk about when they ended a project, you must shift it to "the previous day." Use the adjective föregående (previous).
| previous | föregående |
- i går (yesterday) becomes föregående dag (the previous day)
- förra veckan (last week) becomes föregående vecka (the previous week)
| The spokesperson explained that they had ended the project the previous day. | Talespersonen förklarade att de hade avslutat projektet föregående dag. |
| He mentioned that the director had not been at the office the previous week. | Han nämnde att direktören inte hade varit på kontoret föregående vecka. |
Adding Some Drama
Now you can navigate complex timelines when reporting on corporate or political scandals—such as when an official denies knowing about a bribe.
| The boss denied that the minister knew about the bribe. | Chefen förnekade att ministern kände till mutan. |
