Yo se lo había dicho a mi mujer.
I had told my wife.
Dijo que se lo había dicho a su mujer.
He said he had told his wife.The imperfect does not change either.
Yo la quería mucho.
I loved her very much.
Dijo que la quería mucho.
He said he loved her very much.33.3.3 Verbs for reporting statements
Decir, ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, is the most common verb used when reporting statements,
specially in the spoken language. In very formal speech and in writing you will
encounter verbs like afirmar, ‘to state’, ‘to declare’, agregar, añadir, ‘to add’,
comentar, ‘to comment’, explicar, ‘to explain’, expresar, ‘to express’. Other
reporting verbs may reveal the intention of the statement, for example aconsejar,
‘to advise’, advertir, ‘to warn’, asegurar, ‘to assure’, esperar, ‘to hope’, negar, ‘to deny’,
prometer, ‘to promise’.
Afirmó que estaría dispuesto a hacerlo.
He stated he would be willing to do it.
Agregó/añadió que no le importaba lo que dijeran.
He/she added that he/she didn’t mind what people said.
Me aconsejaron que no lo comprase.
They advised me not to buy it.33.4 Reporting questions
The changes which may affect interrogative sentences when being reported are similar
to those undergone by statements. The reporting verb, usually preguntar, can take the
present (e.g. pregunta, ‘he/she asks’), the perfect (e.g. ha preguntado, ‘he/she has
asked’), the imperfect (e.g. preguntaba, ‘he/she was asking’) or, more commonly, the
preterite (preguntó, ‘he/she asked’). This must be followed by si, ‘if’ or ‘whether’, in the
case of questions which require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Si is not used when reporting
questions introduced by an interrogative word.¿Ha llegado Amalia?
Has Amalia arrived?
El gerente pregunta si ha llegado Amalia.
The manager asks if Amalia has arrived.
¿Te gusta vivir aquí?
Do you like living here?
Me preguntabas si me gusta vivir aquí. Pues, la verdad es que no.
You were asking me if I like living here. Well, not really.
¿Recibió mamá mi carta?
Did mother receive my letter?REPORTING 33.4