Reported statements
In short
Tense after da = tense of the original words. No backshift.
| Original | Reported |
|---|---|
| „Radim.“ | Rekao je da radi. |
| „Radio sam.“ | Rekao je da je radio. |
| „Radiću.“ | Rekao je da će raditi. |
People shift to your point of view: ja → on/ona, ti (to you) → ja, moj → njegov/njen.
| Then | Reported later |
|---|---|
| danas | tog dana |
| juče | dan ranije |
| sutra | sledećeg dana |
| sada | tada |
| ovde | tamo |
B1 · Lesson 44 · Upravni i neupravni govor: izjave
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
When you pass on what somebody said, you can quote their exact words — Marko je rekao: „Radim do kasno.“ — or you can build the words into your own sentence: Marko je rekao da radi do kasno. The first is direct speech (upravni govor), the second reported speech (neupravni govor). You already know the tool for the second: a da-clause after a verb of saying or thinking.
The good news: the tense does not move
English pushes the verb one step into the past when it reports: 'I am working' becomes he said he was working, 'I will come' becomes he said he would come. Serbian does not do this. Whatever tense the speaker used, you keep it after da — even though rekao je itself is in the past. Take the tense of the ORIGINAL words and change nothing.
| What Marko said | How you report it | English report |
|---|---|---|
| „Radim do kasno.“ (present) | Marko je rekao da radi do kasno. | Marko said he was working late. |
| „Radio sam do kasno.“ (past) | Marko je rekao da je radio do kasno. | Marko said he had worked late. |
| „Radiću do kasno.“ (future) | Marko je rekao da će raditi do kasno. | Marko said he would work late. |
| Original words | Reported |
|---|---|
| „Živim sama.“ | Rekla je da živi sama. |
| „Izgubio sam ključ.“ | Rekao je da je izgubio ključ. |
| „Bila sam na moru.“ | Rekla je da je bila na moru. |
| „Neću zakasniti.“ | Rekla je da neće zakasniti. |
The trap: an English speaker hears he said he was working and writes da je radio. That is a different message — it means he had been working earlier. If Marko's own words were in the present, the report is in the present: rekao je da radi. Before you write the verb, ask yourself: what exactly did the person say?
What does change: the people
The pronouns, the possessives and the verb endings change to fit your point of view, exactly as in English. The speaker's ja becomes on or ona; the ti they said to you becomes ja; moj becomes njegov or njen (njena with a feminine noun).
| Original words | Reported |
|---|---|
| Ana: „Moj brat je bolestan.“ | Ana je rekla da je njen brat bolestan. |
| Ana: „Moja sestra radi u Beogradu.“ | Ana je rekla da njena sestra radi u Beogradu. |
| Marko to you: „Ti si u pravu.“ | Marko mi je rekao da sam u pravu. |
| You to him: „Ne verujem ti.“ | Rekao sam mu da mu ne verujem. |
| He to you: „Sve sam završio.“ | Rekao si mi da si sve završio. |
Use njen / njegov, not svoj, when the possessor is the person who spoke: in da je njen brat bolestan the subject of the da-clause is brat, not Ana, so svoj has nothing to point back to.
What also changes: here and now
Words like today, yesterday, here point at the moment and place of speaking. If you report the words later or somewhere else, swap them for words that point from your moment and place. If you report them the same day in the same place, nothing needs to change: Rekao je da će doći sutra is fine when sutra is still tomorrow.
| In the original | Reported later / elsewhere | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| danas | tog dana | that day |
| juče | dan ranije, prethodnog dana | the day before |
| sutra | sledećeg dana | the next day |
| sada | tada | then, at that time |
| ovde | tamo | there |
| ovaj | taj | that |
It works the other way round too: if your friend said „Doći ću sutra“ yesterday, today you report it as Juče mi je javila da će doći danas.
Verbs for reporting
- reći (rekao je, rekla je) — to say, to tell; the person told is in the dative: rekla mi je
- kazati (kazao je, kazala je) — to say, to tell; the same meaning, a little more colloquial
- javiti (javio je) — to let know, to report; the usual verb for news: Novinar je javio da...
- tvrditi (tvrdio je) — to claim, to insist
- misliti (mislio sam) — to think, for reporting your own or somebody's thoughts
- In the news you will also hear izjaviti (to state), saopštiti (to announce officially), naglasiti (to stress) and uveravati (to assure) — all followed by da in exactly the same way.
Reported questions work the same way with da li or a question word (Pitao je da li radim) — you met them earlier. Everything above about tense, people and time applies to them as well.
Check what you read
5 of the 16 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
„Umoran sam.“ → Petar je rekao da ___ umoran.
„Živim u Novom Sadu.“ → Milica je rekla da(živeti) u Novom Sadu.
Your friend told you: „Radim.“ How do you report it?
„Izgubio sam novčanik.“ → Rekao je da ___ novčanik.
„Vratiću se u osam.“ → Rekao je da(hteti) se vratiti u osam.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Mislila sam da si već otišao kući.
I thought you had already gone home.
Marko je rekao da radi do kasno.
Marko said he was working late.
Rekao sam mu da mu ne verujem.
I told him I didn't believe him.
Rekao si mi da si sve završio.
You told me you had finished everything.
Juče mi je javila da će doći danas.
Yesterday she let me know she would come today.
Ana je rekla da je njen brat bolestan.
Ana said her brother was ill.
Marko je rekao da je radio do kasno.
Marko said he had worked late.
Advokat je naglasio da je njegov klijent nevin.
The lawyer stressed that his client was innocent.
Marko mi je rekao da sam u pravu.
Marko told me I was right.
Rekla sam ti da neću doći na sastanak.
I told you I wouldn't come to the meeting.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 58
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
I told him I didn't believe him.
Man speaking. My words: „Ne verujem ti.“