Discurso direto vs. discurso indireto
When you report what someone said, Portuguese (like English) shifts the original words. If the reporting verb is in a past tense (disse, perguntou, respondeu), every tense in the reported clause typically moves back one rung: presente → imperfeito, pretérito perfeito → mais-que-perfeito composto, futuro → condicional. Time and place markers shift too: hoje → naquele dia, amanhã → no dia seguinte, aqui → ali. Pronouns swap to match the new speaker. Get the tense map right and reported speech is mostly mechanical.
Direct vs. indirect — what changes
Discurso direto quotes the original words verbatim, usually inside quotes: Ele disse: "Estou cansado." = He said: "I'm tired." Discurso indireto integrates the report into the sentence, dropping the quotes and adding que: Ele disse que estava cansado. = He said he was tired. Three things shift in the move: (1) tense — typically one rung back if the reporting verb is past; (2) time/place adverbs — anchored relative to the original moment, not the reporting moment; (3) personal pronouns and possessives — adjusted to the new speaker's perspective. The conjunction que is mandatory in EP indirect statements (English often drops 'that').
The tense map — concordância dos tempos
When the reporting verb is in a PAST tense (disse, perguntou, respondeu, contou, explicou, avisou), the reported clause shifts back: presente → imperfeito ("Estou cansado" → disse que estava cansado); pretérito perfeito → mais-que-perfeito composto ("Comi" → disse que tinha comido); futuro do indicativo → condicional ("Irei" → disse que iria); imperativo → conjuntivo (imperfeito) ("Vai!" → pediu-lhe que fosse); presente do conjuntivo → imperfeito do conjuntivo ("Talvez venha" → disse que talvez viesse). The imperfeito, mais-que-perfeito, and condicional themselves don't shift further — they're already past-anchored. When the reporting verb is in the PRESENT (diz que..., pergunta se...), no tense shift happens — the reported tense stays as is.
Time and place shifts
Anchors that pointed to the speaker's original 'now' must be re-anchored to the past moment of speaking: hoje → naquele dia / nesse dia (today → that day); ontem → no dia anterior / na véspera (yesterday → the day before); amanhã → no dia seguinte (tomorrow → the next day); agora → naquele momento / então (now → at that moment / then); esta semana → naquela semana; este mês → naquele mês; aqui → ali / lá (here → there); este → aquele (this → that). Ele disse: "Hoje vou ao cinema." → Ele disse que naquele dia ia ao cinema. Time/place shifts are not as rigid as tense shifts — if the reported event is still 'today' relative to the reporting moment, you can keep hoje: hoje de manhã ele disse que hoje vai ao cinema is fine. The shift is mandatory only when the time has actually moved.
Reporting questions — perguntar se / perguntar + Q-word
Yes/no questions become perguntar + se (whether/if): "Estás bem?" → Perguntou-me se eu estava bem. = He asked me if I was OK. Wh-questions keep the question word and drop the inversion: "Onde moras?" → Perguntou-me onde eu morava. "Quando chegaste?" → Perguntou-me quando eu tinha chegado. Note: in indirect questions, EP often keeps the subject-verb order natural (onde eu morava) rather than inverting. Question marks disappear in indirect speech — it becomes a statement reporting a question. The reporting verb for orders is pedir or mandar, and the imperative becomes conjuntivo: "Fecha a porta!" → Pediu-me que fechasse a porta.
Pronouns and possessives — perspective shift
First-person references in the original become third-person in the report (or whatever fits the new speaker): Ela disse: "O MEU cão está doente." → Ela disse que o SEU cão estava doente. = She said her dog was sick. "Eu vi-te ontem." said by Ana to Pedro → A Ana disse-lhe que o tinha visto no dia anterior (or disse ao Pedro que o tinha visto...). The clitic position rules from lesson 31 still apply: que triggers próclise, so disse que o tinha visto, not disse que tinha visto-o. When reporting reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun shifts too: "Levantei-me cedo" said by João → disse que se tinha levantado cedo (or se levantara cedo).
Reporting verbs and their flavors
Beyond the basic dizer que, Portuguese has rich vocabulary for reporting: afirmar que (to state), contar que (to recount), explicar que (to explain), responder que (to answer), avisar que (to warn), garantir que (to assure), acrescentar que (to add), negar que (to deny — triggers conjuntivo!), admitir que (to admit). Two key constructions: pedir que + conjuntivo (to ask that — for requests/orders): pediu que viesse. dizer para + infinitive is a colloquial alternative to dizer que: disse para eu ir = he told me to go. After verbs of doubt or denial (duvidar que, negar que), the reported clause uses conjuntivo: negou que tivesse mentido = he denied having lied. PT and BR share the tense-shift rules; BR speech sometimes simplifies (ele disse que está cansado keeping presente) — heard, but the textbook estava cansado is the safe choice for B2.
