Indirect style with simple pasts

What is indirect speech in Spanish?

• Direct speech: you repeat the exact words, with quotes.

  Juan: "Me gusta negociar la oferta."

• Indirect speech: you report the idea, without quotes.

  Juan me dijo que le gustaba negociar la oferta.

• In this unit, we focus on indirect speech in the past:

  Me dijo que… / Me preguntó si… / Recordó que…

Step 1 – The basic structure

For almost all sentences you need three parts:

1. Introductory verb in the past
   dijo, comentó, preguntó, recordó
2. Connector
   que (for statements) or si (for yes/no questions)
3. Reported sentence with adapted tense and pronouns

Mini-check: In indirect speech, ask yourself: Do I have a past introductory verb + que/si + a changed verb?

Step 2 – The key tense change (backshift)

When the introductory verb is in the past (dijo, preguntó, recordó…), Spanish normally moves the original tense one step back.

• Present → Imperfect

  "es" → "era"; "tengo" → "tenía"; "quiero" → "quería"

• Ir a + infinitive → Imperfect of ir a

  "voy a rechazar" → "iba a rechazar"

• Finished past (indefinido) → Pluscuamperfecto

  "envié" → "había enviado"

Self-check (tense): If the original sentence is in the present or in a simple future with ir a, your indirect version should usually have an imperfect form.

Step 3 – Statements vs yes/no questions

In your book you see two main types:

1. Statements (no question mark)
   • Use que.
   • Use normal Spanish word order (subject + verb).

   Ejemplo:
   Ana: "La oferta es positiva."
   → Ana me dijo que la oferta era positiva.

2. Yes/no questions (answer = sí / no)
   • Use si (no accent).
   • No question word order, only a normal sentence.

   Ejemplo:
   El cliente: "¿Aceptas esta oferta final?"
   → El cliente preguntó si aceptaba esa oferta final.

Important: In indirect questions, there is no question mark and no inversion in Spanish.

• El jefe preguntó si vamos a aceptar la propuesta.
  → El jefe preguntó si íbamos a aceptar la propuesta.

Step 4 – Pronoun and subject changes

In indirect speech, you speak from your perspective, not from the original speaker.

Typical pronoun movements (but always check the context):

• yo → él / ella
• nosotros → ellos (if you are not part of the group)
• me → le (or nos / les depending on who receives the action)
• esta oferta → esa oferta (when the offer is not “here” now)

Self-check (pronouns): Ask: "From my point of view now, who is ‘I’? Who is ‘you’?" and change pronouns accordingly.

Step 5 – Time and place words

Often you also need to move time and place a step "away" from the original moment.

Tip: You do not always need to change these words, but in past reports it is often more natural.

Typical A2 mistakes to avoid

• Keeping the verb in the present

  Ana me dijo que la oferta es muy buena.

  Ana me dijo que la oferta era muy buena.

• Forgetting "que" or "si"

  El jefe dijo la oferta era positiva.

  El jefe dijo que la oferta era positiva.

  El cliente preguntó aceptábamos la oferta.

  El cliente preguntó si aceptábamos la oferta.

• Using the conditional where you only need imperfect

  El jefe preguntó si aceptaríamos la propuesta.

  El jefe preguntó si aceptábamos la propuesta.

• Not adapting pronouns

  Ella dijo que me gusta esta oferta.

  Ella dijo que le gustaba esa oferta.

Fast checklist: Can I form past indirect speech?

1. Introductory verb: Did I use a past form?
   dijo, comentó, preguntó, recordó, explicó…
2. Connector:
   • que for statements
   • si for yes/no questions
3. Tense backshift:
   • Present → Imperfect
   • Ir a + infinitive (future) → Imperfect of ir a
   • Pretérito indefinido → Pluscuamperfecto (if you want to show it was already finished)
4. Pronouns and possessives: Did I change yo, tú, nosotros, me, mi, tu etc. to match who is speaking now?
5. Time and place words: Do I need to change hoy → ese día, mañana → al día siguiente, aquí → allí?

If you can say "yes" to these points with your own examples, you have operational control of indirect speech at A2 level.