Direct & Indirect Speech
In Spanish, direct speech repeats exactly what someone said. Indirect speech conveys their message without quoting them word for word. This guide dives into both and touches on indirect questions.
🌊Audio Example
El salvavidas dijo: "Las olas están fuertes hoy".
🏄Audio Example
El salvavidas dijo que las olas estaban fuertes ese día.
Direct Speech
Direct speech repeats a speaker's exact words and typically uses quotation marks or dashes. The reporting verb introduces the quote and keeps the original tense and person.
🏄♀️Audio Example
María dijo: "Me gusta surfear".
Format
Show the speaker with a reporting verb, then include the exact phrase between quotes or after a dash, and keep the verbal forms as in the original utterance.
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ☀️ "El mar está perfecto," dijo él. | "The sea is perfect," he said. |
| 🌅 "El viento es suave," dijo ella. | "The wind is gentle," she said. |
| 🏄 "La marea sube," dijo él. | "The tide is rising," he said. |
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Indirect Speech
Indirect speech reports what someone said without quoting verbatim, often introduced by que and requiring adjustments to tense, pronouns, and time expressions.
🗓️Audio Example
Él dijo que vendría más tarde.
Format
Use a reporting verb followed by que for statements, and change the original sentence to fit the new perspective and time frame with appropriate backshifts.
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌪️ Él dijo que el viento estaba cruzado. | He said that the wind was cross-shore. |
| 🌧️ Ella dijo que la lluvia hacía difícil ver las olas. | She said that the rain made it hard to see the waves. |
| 🏖️ Él dijo que la marea estaba bajando y cerraba las series. | He said that the tide was falling and closing out the sets. |
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Backshifting Tenses
Backshifting moves verb tenses back one step when changing from direct to indirect speech aligning the reported action with the reporting time and preserving meaning.
Present Tense to Imperfect
When the original is in the present, the reported clause commonly shifts to the imperfect: estoy becomes estaba to show a past-referenced ongoing state.
🏄♂️Audio Example
Él dijo que estaba surfeando las olas grandes.
| Direct Speech Spanish | Indirect Speech Spanish | Direct Speech English | Indirect Speech English |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Estoy en la playa" | estaba en la playa | "I am at the beach" | I was at the beach |
| "Estoy cansado" | estaba cansado | "I am tired" | I was tired |
| "Estoy listo" | estaba listo | "I am ready" | I was ready |
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Preterite to Past Perfect
A preterite in direct speech typically becomes the past perfect in indirect speech to show an earlier completed action relative to the reporting moment.
🏆Audio Example
Él dijo que había surfeado la ola más larga del campeonato.
| Direct Speech Spanish | Indirect Speech Spanish | Direct Speech English | Indirect Speech English |
|---|---|---|---|
| "He terminado" | había terminado | "I have finished" | I had finished |
| "Has llegado" | habías llegado | "You have arrived" | You had arrived |
| "Han comido" | habían comido | "They have eaten" | They had eaten |
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Future to Conditional
Future forms in direct speech usually shift to the conditional in indirect speech, so iré becomes iría to reflect reported intent from a past perspective.
🌅Audio Example
Ella dijo que iría a la playa al amanecer.
| Direct Speech Spanish | Indirect Speech Spanish | Direct Speech English | Indirect Speech English |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Irá a la playa" | iría a la playa | "He will go to the beach" | He would go to the beach |
| "Iremos al mar" | iríamos al mar | "We will go to the sea" | We would go to the sea |
| "Irán a surfear" | irían a surfear | "They will go surfing" | They would go surfing |
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Indirect Questions
Indirect questions embed a question within a reporting structure, dropping quotation marks and using introductory verbs plus the appropriate question word like cuándo, dónde or si.
🏖️Audio Example
María preguntó si podía regresar enseguida.
Format
Begin with a reporting verb, follow with the question word if needed, and state the clause as a declarative sentence while backshifting tense when required.
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌊 "¿A qué hora cambiará la marea?" preguntó ella. | "What time will the tide change?" she asked. |
| 🧭 Él preguntó dónde estaba el punto de viento limpio. | He asked where the windward clean spot was. |
| 🔍 Ella quiso saber si habría serie por la punta. | She wanted to know if there would be a set at the point. |
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Summary
Direct speech keeps the original wording, punctuation, and tense; indirect speech reframes the message within the narrator's perspective with any needed backshifts and time changes.
🪴Audio Example
Ella me dijo que cuidara la planta mientras ella surfeaba.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025