In short

Reporting what someone said is discurso indireto: instead of quoting their exact words (discurso direto), you fold them into a subordinate clause after a verb like dizer, perguntar or pedir. Two things then change together. First, the linker: statements come in with que, yes/no questions with se, other questions with their question word, and commands with para + infinitivo. Second, if the reporting verb is in the past (disse, perguntou), the quoted verb usually shifts one step back in time - present becomes imperfeito, the perfeito simples becomes tinha + participle - and the “here and now” words (eu, agora, hoje, aqui, este) move to a “there and then” footing. Master those two moves and you can retell any conversation.

The rule

The two moves

Turning direct into indirect speech is always the same pair of operations, done in this order:

1. Attach the quote to a reporting verb with the right linker. No more quotation marks, no more question-mark or exclamation-mark, and the word order becomes that of an ordinary statement.
2. Backshift, but only after a past reporting verb. Move the verb tense one notch into the past, and adjust every word that pointed at the original speaker’s time, place and identity.

If the reporting verb is in the present (diz que, pergunta se), skip move 2 entirely - nothing shifts: Ele diz que está cansado keeps the present está.

Choosing the linker

The type of the original sentence decides how it plugs in:

• Statement -> que: “Chove muito.” -> Ele disse que chovia muito.
• Yes/no question -> se: “Tens fome?” -> Perguntou se eu tinha fome.
• Wh-question -> its question word (quem, o que, onde, quando, porque, como, qual): “Onde moras?” -> Perguntou onde eu morava. Note that the direct-question é que (Lesson 15) disappears: Onde é que moras? still becomes perguntou onde eu morava.
• Command or request -> para + infinitivo (often with the personal infinitive of Lesson 37): “Fecha a porta.” -> Pediu-me para fechar a porta.

The tense backshift (reporting verb in the past)

This is concordância dos tempos. Each original tense drops one step:

• Presente -> pretérito imperfeito: “Trabalho aqui.” -> Disse que trabalhava ali.
• Pretérito perfeito simples -> mais-que-perfeito composto (tinha + participle, Lesson 25): “Comprei o carro.” -> Disse que tinha comprado o carro.
• Futuro / ir + infinitivo -> condicional / ia + infinitivo: “Farei isso.” -> Disse que faria isso.; “Vou sair.” -> Disse que ia sair.

Three tenses are already “back” as far as they go, so they do not move - copy them across unchanged: the imperfeito (estava a chover -> disse que estava a chover), the condicional (gostaria -> disse que gostaria), and the mais-que-perfeito composto (tinha feito -> disse que tinha feito).

Shifting the “here and now”

A quote is anchored to the moment it was spoken; once you retell it later, those anchors have to move. This is deixis, and English does exactly the same thing (“today” -> “that day”).

• People: eu/tu -> ele/ela; nós -> eles; the possessive meu -> dele/dela, nosso -> deles.
• Time: agora -> naquele momento / nessa altura; hoje -> naquele dia; ontem -> no dia anterior / na véspera; amanhã -> no dia seguinte; esta semana -> naquela semana.
• Place and pointing: aqui -> ali / lá; este/esta -> aquele/aquela; the verb vir (“come”) often becomes ir (“go”).

Reporting questions

An indirect question is not a question - it is a statement with a question buried in it, so it takes statement punctuation (a full stop, never ”?”) and statement word order (no subject-verb inversion is needed). Yes/no questions need se; everything else keeps its question word. Compare “Quando chega o comboio?” (direct, with inversion and ”?”) to Perguntei quando o comboio chegava (indirect, plain order, backshifted).

Reporting commands and requests

A direct order is an imperative (Lesson 19); reported, it becomes dizer/pedir + para + infinitive, or pedir/dizer que + present subjunctive (Lesson 33) after a present reporting verb. The para + infinitivo pattern is the everyday EP choice and needs no subjunctive: “Espera aqui!” -> Disse-me para esperar ali. Mandar stays outside that frame: it takes a bare infinitive, never para + infinitive - O médico mandou-me ficar em casa - and that same bare infinitive gives the causative “have something done”: Mandei arranjar o carro.

Forms & patterns

Which linker for which sentence type:

The tense backshift after a past reporting verb:

Moving the “here and now”:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Ela disse que está cansada (reporting a past remark) -> Ela disse que estava cansada - after a past reporting verb the presente shifts to the imperfeito.
• Perguntou onde é que eu morava -> Perguntou onde eu morava - an indirect question drops the direct-question é que; it takes plain statement order.
• Perguntou que eu tinha fome -> Perguntou se eu tinha fome - a yes/no question is introduced by se, never que.
• Perguntei quando o comboio chegava? -> Perguntei quando o comboio chegava. - an indirect question ends in a full stop, not a question mark; it is a statement.
• Disse que comprou a casa (careful written style) -> Disse que tinha comprado a casa - a finished event before the report backshifts to the mais-que-perfeito composto (tinha comprado).
• Disse que chegará tarde -> Disse que chegaria tarde - after a past reporting verb the futuro becomes the condicional (as in Lesson 32).
• Pediu que fechar a porta / Pediu para fecha a porta -> Pediu para fechar a porta - a reported command uses para + infinitivo (or pediu que + present subjunctive), never a bare imperative.

Tips

• Work in the fixed order: linker first, then backshift. Swap in que / se / question word / para, strip the ”?” and the quotation marks, and only then move the tenses and the agora/hoje/aqui/este words.
• Backshift only fires when the reporting verb is past. Report with a present verb (diz que, pergunta se) and everything stays exactly as spoken - a quick way to dodge the whole shift when you are unsure.
• Memorise the three tenses that never move: imperfeito, condicional, mais-que-perfeito composto (tinha feito). If the original already uses one of them, copy it straight across.
• In careful and written EP the perfeito simples backshifts to tinha + participle, but in everyday speech you will often hear it simply left in place (Disse que comprou a casa). Learn the full backshift, but do not be surprised by the spoken shortcut.
• For “why” questions keep porque in the indirect form (Perguntou porque não vinhas), and remember o que stays o que (Perguntei o que ela queria) - do not add é que.
• In Brazil: reported commands also use pedir + para + infinitivo, but the everyday clitic sits before the verb (Ele me disse que…), whereas neutral EP keeps enclisis (Ele disse-me que…).