reported speech imperative exercises pdf

Transforming from direct and indirect speech requires knowledge of diverse grammatical elements. Reported Speech: Additional Spanish Resources This example implies that I’m immediately telling you what our friend said. She says she can’t go because she’s busy. However, the tense of the original statement doesn’t change when talking about facts or when the action is still relevant (it just happened).ĭice que no puede ir porque está ocupada. In this case, I backshifted the verb because the original action (arrival time) had already passed. Everybody is asking me what time you’re supposed to arrive and I repeat what you said: You’ll say:īut the time comes, and you’re not here. Let’s say you’re traveling and you call me today to tell me when you arrive. We only change the tense of a verb when the original action already took place.

To help you understand and apply backshifting in reported speech, I’ve prepared this table that compares the original tenses with their backshifted equivalents: In Spanish grammar, this is known as backshifting. In simple words, we must change the tense of the original verb to maintain a logical sequence. When it comes to reported speech, verb conjugations are one of the major adjustments you must make. Take this graphic as an example: Spanish Reported Speech: Verb Backshifting When using reported speech in Spanish you’re repeating what another person said, we must do some modifications to preserve the meaning of the original sentence. The doctor suggested that she exercise more. Mom said that you should open the windows.Įl doctor le sugirió que hiciera más ejercicio.

Reported speech imperative exercises pdf