LingoflyReported speech: the tense does not shift
In reported speech the tense does not move. Whatever the person said stays in that tense: Rekel je: Sem utrujen becomes Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stays present, although 'said' is past. For example: “Novinar je rekel, da vira ne bo razkril” — The journalist said he would not reveal the source. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In reported speech the tense does not move. Whatever the person said stays in that tense: Rekel je: Sem utrujen becomes Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stays present, although 'said' is past.
What changes is the person and the words for time and place: Rekel je, da mi naslednji dan prinese tja. The pronoun moves to the listener, jutri becomes naslednji dan, sem becomes tja.
A question with kje, kdaj or zakaj keeps its word: Vprašal je, kje stanujem. A question without one takes ali: Vprašal je, ali pridem — he asked whether I was coming.
An order goes over through naj plus the present: Rekel je, naj počakam. Naj follows the person told: naj počaka, naj počakajo. The comma before da, ali and naj is always there.
Table
| direct speech | reported | what changed |
|---|---|---|
| "Sem utrujen." | Rekel je, da je utrujen | only the person |
| "Pridem jutri." | Rekel je, da pride naslednji dan | the person and “tomorrow” |
| "Bil sem tam." | Rekel je, da je bil tam | nothing, the tense stays |
| "Kje si?" | Vprašal je, kje sem | the question word holds |
| "Prideš?" | Vprašal je, ali pridem | ali added |
| "Počakaj!" | Rekel je, naj počakam | imperative → naj |
| "Ne hodi tja." | Rekel je, naj ne hodim tja | naj + ne |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Reported speech: how does it work in Slovenian?
In reported speech the tense does not move. Whatever the person said stays in that tense: Rekel je: Sem utrujen becomes Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stays present, although 'said' is past.
What does it look like in a Slovenian example sentence?
“Novinar je rekel, da vira ne bo razkril” — The journalist said he would not reveal the source. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.