Exercises + Written explanation: learnamo.com/il-discorso-indi...
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Reporting the words spoken by someone else can be really frustrating in Italian! There are too many changes in verb moods and tenses, aren’t they? But don’t worry! We have created the best lesson about direct discourse that’s ever been made!! (Modesty is not our thing)
ITALIAN REPORTED SPEECH
The Indirect Discourse is the means to report what is said (news, questions, commands…)
You need to be very careful with tense concordance, on the basis of what we have to report (news, questions, commands) and on the basis of the tense of what we are reporting: present (“dice (he says), chiede (he asks), ordina (he orders)…”) or past (“ha detto (he said), chiese (he asked), ha ordinato (he ordered)…”).
To report NEWS, INFORMATION
Dice che… (He says that…) Ha detto che… (He said that…)
Present («Ho fame» → I’m hungry) Present (… ha fame → … he is hungry) Imperfect (… aveva fame → … he was hungry)
Imperfect («Avevo un cane» → I had a dog) Imperfect (… aveva un cane → … he had a dog) Imperfect (… aveva un cane → … he had a dog)
Passato prossimo («Sono tornata» → I’m back) Passato prossimo (… è tornata → … she is back) Trapassato prossimo (… era tornata → … she was back)
Passato remoto («Vidi» → I saw) Passato remoto (… vide → … he saw) Trapassato prossimo (… aveva visto → … he had seen)
Trapassato prossimo («Avevo letto» → I had read) Trapassato prossimo (… aveva letto → … he had read) Trapassato prossimo (… aveva letto → … he had read)
Simple future («Mangerò» → I will eat) Simple future (… mangerà → … he will eat) Conditional past (… avrebbe mangiato → he would have eaten)
Futuro anteriore («Avrò dormito» → I will have slept) Futuro anteriore (… avrà dormito → … he will have slept) Conditional past (… avrebbe dormito → … he would have slept)
If the subject of the main clause is the same as the subordinate clause, you can also use the implicit form DI + INFINITIVE
Example:
(Lei) Dice che (lei) ha fame → Dice di avere fame (She says she is hungry)
(Lei) Dice che è (lei) tornata → Dice di essere tornata (She says he is back)
(Lei) Dice che (loro) sono andati → Dice di essere andati (She says they are gone)
To report QUESTIONS:
Chiede se… (he asks if …) Ha chiesto se… (he asked if…)
Present indicative («Parti?» → Are you leaving?) Present indicative (… parto → … I’m leaving) Imperfect subjunctive (… partissi → … I was leaving)
Imperfect indicative («Dormivi?» → were you sleeping?) Imperfect indicative (… dormivo → … I was sleeping) Imperfect subjunctive (… dormissi → … I was sleeping)
Passato prossimo indicative («Hai cenato?» → Have you had dinner?) Passato prossimo indicative (… ho cenato → … I’ve had dinner) Trapassato subjunctive (… avessi cenato → … I had had dinner)
Passato remoto indicative («Tornasti?» → Did you come back?) Passato remoto indicative (… tornai → … I came back) Trapassato subjunctive (… fossi tornata → … I was back)
Trapassato prossimo indicative («Avevi letto?» → Had you read?) Trapassato prossimo indicative (… avevo letto → … I had read) Trapassato subjunctive (… avessi letto → … I had read)
Simple future indicative («Mangerai?» → Will you eat?) Simple future indicative (… mangerò → … I will eat) Conditional past (… avrei mangiato → … I would eat)
Futuro anteriore («Avrà sognato?» → Will he have dreamt?) Futuro anteriore (… avrà sognato → … He will have dreamt) Conditional past (… avrebbe sognato → … He would dream)
BE CAREFUL!!!
If we report questions, we can’t use the implicit form (DI + INFINITIVE)!!!
To report ORDERS, COMMANDS:
Ordina che … (He orders that) Ha ordinato che … (He ordered that)
Imperative («Prendi!» → Take!) Present subjunctive (… io prenda → … I take) Imperfect subjunctive (… io prendessi → … I took)
Imperative («Lasciate!» → Leave!) Present subjunctive (… noi lasciamo → … we leave) Imperfect subjunctive (… noi lasciassimo → … we left)
The implicit form DI + INFINITO can be used in this case too (IMPORTANT: the concordance of the subject between the main clause and the subordinate is not necessary!)
Example:
Gli ordina che mangi → Gli ordina di mangiare (He orders him to eat)
Ordina che io vada all’ufficio → Mi ordina di andare all’ufficio (He orders me to go the office)
N.B.
The verb chiedere (to ask) can be also used to report orders:
Gli chiede che compri un gelato → Gli chiede di comprare un gelato (He asks him to buy an ice cream)