Reported Speech

Overview of Reported Speech in Persian

In this chapter you learn how Persian reports what someone said, thought, or asked. You already know basic tenses and the subjunctive from earlier and neighboring chapters, so here we focus on the structure and special patterns that are unique to reported speech itself.

Persian usually keeps reported speech quite close to the original words. There is often no big change in tense, but there are important changes in pronouns, time words, and sometimes in mood (indicative vs subjunctive). You also meet several common reporting verbs, especially گفتن “to say” and پرسیدن “to ask”.

Example:
او گفت که خسته است.
u goft ke khaste ast.
He said that he is tired. / He said he was tired.

Here, او گفت is the reporting clause, and که خسته است is the content clause.

Reporting Clauses and the Particle «که»

The typical pattern in Persian is:

$$\text{Subject} + \text{reporting verb} + (که) + \text{clause}$$

The particle که usually introduces what was said, just like “that” in English, but it can occasionally be omitted in informal speech.

Examples:
او گفت که می‌آید.
u goft ke mi-âyad.
He said that he is coming.

مریم گفت دیر کرده‌ام.
Maryam goft dir karde-am.
Maryam said I am late.

Second sentence without که is informal and fully acceptable.

Very common reporting verbs are:

گفتن “to say”
پرسیدن “to ask”
فکر کردن “to think”
باور داشتن “to believe”
اعتراض کردن “to object, protest”
پیشنهاد کردن “to suggest”
قول دادن “to promise”

In many cases, the reporting clause comes first, but it can also come after the content clause, especially in written or narrative style:

گفت که خسته است.
He said that he is tired.

خسته است، گفت.
He is tired, he said.

The second order is more literary or stylistic.

Shifts in Pronouns and Time Expressions

Persian usually keeps the tense forms in the content clause, but you must adjust pronouns and time expressions to fit the new speaker and the new time.

Pronoun shifts

In direct speech:
او گفت: «من خسته‌ام.»
u goft: «man khaste-am.»
He said, “I am tired.”

In reported speech:
او گفت که خسته است.
u goft ke khaste ast.
He said that he is tired.

The original “I” (من) becomes “he” (او) from the perspective of the reporter. You could also keep the pronoun and adjust the verb, but that is less natural if you are not the original speaker:

Less natural here:
او گفت که من خسته‌ام.
He said that I am tired.
This now means: He said that I (the reporter) am tired, which is a different meaning.

So you must choose pronouns according to who is speaking and whose words you are reporting.

Another example:
من گفتم: «ما فردا می‌رویم.»
man goftam: «mâ fardâ mi-ravim.»
I said, “We are going tomorrow.”

Reported by a third person:
او گفت که آنها فردا می‌روند.
u goft ke ânhâ fardâ mi-ravand.
He said that they are going tomorrow.

Here, ما “we” becomes آنها “they”.

Time and place expressions

Time and place words often need to be shifted because the reference point changes from the original speaker to the current moment of reporting.

Common shifts:

امروز “today” can become آن روز “that day”
دیروز “yesterday” can become روز قبل “the day before”
فردا “tomorrow” can become روز بعد “the next day”
اینجا “here” can become آنجا “there”
الان “now” can become آن موقع, آن وقت “then, at that time”

Example:
Direct:
او گفت: «امروز خسته‌ام.»
u goft: «emruz khaste-am.»
He said, “I am tired today.”

Reported later:
او گفت که آن روز خسته بوده.
u goft ke ân ruz khaste bude.
He said that he was tired that day.

If you are speaking on the same day, you can keep امروز:
او گفت که امروز خسته است.
He said that he is tired today.

So the choice depends on when you report the speech.

Tense and Aspect in Reported Statements

Unlike English, Persian does not have a strict sequence of tenses rule. The tense in the reported clause usually keeps the original time reference as it is. You choose the tense based on the real time of the action, not on the tense of the reporting verb.

Present about present

Direct:
او گفت: «درس می‌خوانم.»
u goft: «dars mi-xânam.»
He said, “I study / I am studying.”

Reported:
او گفت که درس می‌خواند.
u goft ke dars mi-xânad.
He said that he studies.

You can also say:
او گفت که دارد درس می‌خواند.
He said that he is studying.
Here you use present continuous for extra nuance; this belongs to your knowledge of aspect.

Past about past

Direct:
او گفت: «دیروز دیر رسیدم.»
u goft: «diruz dir residam.»
He said, “I arrived late yesterday.”

Reported:
او گفت که دیروز دیر رسیده.
u goft ke diruz dir reside.
He said that he arrived late yesterday.

Or:
او گفت که دیروز دیر رسیده بود.
He said that he had arrived late yesterday.
Here you use past perfect to stress that it was before another past reference point.

Future reference

Direct:
او گفت: «فردا می‌آیم.»
u goft: «fardâ mi-âyam.»
He said, “I will come tomorrow.”

Reported:
او گفت که فردا می‌آید.
u goft ke fardâ mi-âyad.
He said that he will come tomorrow.

If you are reporting after “tomorrow” is already past, you adjust both tense and time word, using appropriate past forms which you already know.

Indicative vs Subjunctive in Reported Content

Sometimes the reported content is a simple statement. Then you use the indicative, as in the examples above. In other cases the original speech is a wish, order, suggestion, or necessity. Then Persian usually uses the subjunctive in the content clause, especially after certain verbs.

You learned the subjunctive in another chapter, so here we only show how it appears specifically in reported speech.

Orders and commands

Direct:
او گفت: «برو!»
u goft: «boro!»
He said, “Go!”

Reported:
او گفت که بروم.
u goft ke beravam.
He said that I should go.

If the command was to another person, you adjust the subject:
او به من گفت: «برو.»
u be man goft: «boro.»
He said to me, “Go.”

Reported:
او به من گفت که بروم.
u be man goft ke beravam.
He told me to go.

So reports of commands use که + subjunctive.

Requests and suggestions

Direct:
گفت: «لطفاً در را ببند.»
goft: «lotfan dar râ beband.»
He said, “Please close the door.”

Reported:
گفت که در را ببندم.
goft ke dar râ bebendam.
He said that I should close the door.

Another example with suggestion:
او پیشنهاد کرد: «زودتر حرکت کنیم.»
u pishnehâd kard: «zudtar harekat konim.»
He suggested, “Let’s leave earlier.”

Reported:
او پیشنهاد کرد که زودتر حرکت کنیم.
u pishnehâd kard ke zudtar harekat konim.
He suggested that we leave earlier.

Here حرکت کنیم is subjunctive.

Wishes, hopes, intentions

After verbs like امیدوار بودن “to hope”, دوست داشتن “to want, love”, تصمیم گرفتن “to decide”, you again see subjunctive in the content clause when the original meaning is non-factual.

گفت: «امیدوارم قبول شوی.»
goft: «omidvâram ghobul šavi.»
He said, “I hope you pass.”

Reported:
گفت که امیدوار است قبول شوم.
goft ke omidvâr ast ghobul šavam.
He said that he hopes I will pass.

Or:
او تصمیم گرفت: «فردا بروم.»
u tasmim gereft: «fardâ beravam.»
He decided, “I will go tomorrow.”

Reported:
او تصمیم گرفت که فردا برود.
u tasmim gereft ke fardâ beravad.
He decided that he would go tomorrow.

Reporting Yes/No Questions

Reported questions do not keep the question word order. In Persian, you turn the question into a statement-like clause, then connect it with a special phrase that shows it is a question in reported form.

For yes/no questions, Persian uses either:

آیا … یا نه “whether … or not”
که … یا نه “that … or not”
or simply می‌خواهد بداند که “wants to know whether/if”

Using «آیا … یا نه»

Direct:
او پرسید: «آیا آماده‌ای؟»
u porsid: «âyâ âmâde-i?»
He asked, “Are you ready?”

Reported:
او پرسید که آیا آماده است یا نه.
u porsid ke âyâ âmâde ast yâ na.
He asked whether he is ready or not.

The reported clause آماده است is in statement order, not question order.

Another example:
او پرسید: «آیا او را دیده‌ای؟»
u porsid: «âyâ u râ dide-i?»
He asked, “Have you seen him?”

Reported:
او پرسید که آیا او را دیده‌ام یا نه.
u porsid ke âyâ u râ dide-am yâ na.
He asked whether I have seen him or not.

You choose pronouns to reflect who is “I” here.

Using «می‌خواهد بداند»

In everyday speech you often say:

او می‌خواست بداند که …
He wanted to know whether …

Example:
Direct:
او پرسید: «می‌آیی؟»
u porsid: «mi-âyi?»
He asked, “Are you coming?”

Reported:
او می‌خواست بداند که می‌آیم یا نه.
u mixâst bedânad ke mi-âyam yâ na.
He wanted to know whether I am coming or not.

Or in third person:
او می‌خواست بداند که می‌آید یا نه.
He wanted to know whether he is coming or not.

In many contexts, especially in written style, یا نه may be dropped if the meaning is clear.

Reporting Wh‑questions

Wh‑questions (who, what, where, etc.) keep the question word, but again you use statement order, not question order. The wh‑word becomes part of the content clause.

Common question words:
چه “what”
کی “who / when (informal for when in speech)”
چه کسی “who”
کجا “where”
چرا “why”
چطور / چگونه “how”
چند “how many / how much”
کِی “when”

Structure

Reporting verb + wh‑word + clause in statement order

Example:
Direct:
او پرسید: «کجا می‌روی؟»
u porsid: «kojâ mi-ravi?»
He asked, “Where are you going?”

Reported:
او پرسید کجا می‌روم.
u porsid kojâ mi-ravam.
He asked where I am going.

No extra که is necessary here, though some speakers might say:
او پرسید که کجا می‌روم.
Both are used.

More examples:
Direct:
او پرسید: «کی می‌رسید؟»
u porsid: «key mi-resid?»
He asked, “When do you arrive?”

Reported:
او پرسید کی می‌رسیم.
u porsid key mi-resim.
He asked when we arrive.

Direct:
او پرسید: «چرا دیر کردی؟»
u porsid: «čerâ dir kardi?»
He asked, “Why were you late?”

Reported:
او پرسید چرا دیر کرده‌ام.
u porsid čerâ dir karde-am.
He asked why I was late.

In each case, Persian uses the wh‑word directly with the reporting verb and the following clause looks like a statement, not an actual question.

Reporting Thoughts, Beliefs, and Knowledge

Reported speech in Persian also covers what people think, believe, know, or remember. This often uses verbs like فکر کردن, باور داشتن, می‌دانستن, and یادش بودن “to remember”.

These are often not “speech” in a literal sense, but the structure is the same as with گفتن and پرسیدن.

Examples:
او فکر می‌کرد که حق با اوست.
u fekr mikard ke haq bâ ust.
He thought that he was right.

من می‌دانستم که او نمی‌آید.
man midânestam ke u na-mi-âyad.
I knew that he would not come.

آنها باور دارند که این کار سخت است.
ânhâ bâvar dârand ke in kâr saxt ast.
They believe that this work is hard.

یادم هست که اولین‌بار دیر رسیدم.
yâdam hast ke avalin-bâr dir residam.
I remember that I arrived late the first time.

Although these are technically not “reported speech,” mastering them is essential because they use identical mechanics: reporting clause + که + content clause, with all the same adjustments of pronouns and time expressions.

Stylistic Variations and Omission of «که»

In casual spoken Persian, speakers often omit که when the sentence feels clear and short. You should first become comfortable with the full form that includes که, then notice where native speakers drop it.

Examples with omission:
فکر کردم اشتباه کرده‌ام.
fekr kardam eštbâh karde-am.
I thought (that) I had made a mistake.

می‌دونم دیر شده.
midoonam dir šode.
I know (that) it is late.
(Standard spelling: می‌دانم دیر شده.)

مامان گفت زود برگرد.
mâmân goft zud bargard.
Mom said (that I should) come back soon.

Here the subjunctive is understood, even after omission of که.

In more formal writing, that same content would usually be:
فکر کردم که اشتباه کرده‌ام.
می‌دانم که دیر شده.
مامان گفت که زود برگردم.

Vocabulary Table