Reported speech: the tense does not shift
The main rule fits on one line and should be memorized before everything else: the tense in reported speech does not move. Whatever was said stays in the tense it was said in. Rekel je: "Sem utrujen." → Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stayed 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…
How it works
The main rule fits on one line and should be memorized before everything else: the tense in reported speech does not move. Whatever was said stays in the tense it was said in. Rekel je: "Sem utrujen." → Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stayed present, although 'said' is past.
Learners of English have to unlearn the obligatory backshift — He said he was tired. Slovenian has no such machine at all. Rekla je, da pride jutri — she said she's coming tomorrow; Rekla je, da bo prišla would mean she said 'I WILL come', with stress on the future, not 'I'm coming'.
Only what changes in English changes here too: the person, and the pointers to time and place. "Jaz ti jutri prinesem sem." → Rekel je, da mi naslednji dan prinese tja**. The pronoun moves from speaker to reporter, jutri becomes naslednji dan, sem (here) becomes tja` (there).
A question is reported differently. A question with the word kje, kdaj, zakaj keeps its word: Vprašal je, kje stanujem. A question without a question word takes ali or the bookish če: "Prideš?" → Vprašal je, ali pridem — he asked whether I'm coming. Slovenian puts 'whether' first in the clause, not inside it.
An order or a request goes through naj with the present tense: "Počakaj!" → Rekel je, naj počakam — he told me to wait. There is no infinitive here, and naj takes the person of the one being told: naj počaka, naj počakajo. The comma before da, ali, naj and the question word is obligatory.
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
- Novinar je rekel, da vira ne bo razkrilThe journalist said he would not reveal the source
- Vprašali so me, ali sem že vložil vlogoThey asked me whether I had already filed the application
- Uradnica je rekla, naj prinesem še overjeno kopijoThe clerk told me to bring another certified copy
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?
The main rule fits on one line and should be memorized before everything else: the tense in reported speech does not move. Whatever was said stays in the tense it was said in. Rekel je: "Sem utrujen." → Rekel je, da je utrujen. The present stayed present, although 'said' is past.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“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.