LangritReporting what someone said
Indirect speech reports statements, questions, and thoughts without quoting them literally. Dutch uses three types of subclause, and in all of them the conjugated verb moves to the end.
| Reported item | Conjunction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| statement | dat | Hij zegt dat hij moe is. |
| yes/no question | of | Ze vraagt of ik meega. |
| open question | question word | Ik weet niet waar hij woont. |
Statements with dat
Direct: Hij zegt: "Ik ben moe." — He says: "I am tired."
Indirect: Hij zegt dat hij moe is. — He says that he is tired.
The verb is moves to the end of the dat-clause. More examples:
- Zij vertelt dat ze een nieuwe baan heeft. — She says that she has a new job.
- Ik denk dat het morgen regent. — I think that it will rain tomorrow.
Unlike English, standard Dutch does not drop dat: "He says he is tired" still needs dat in Dutch.
Yes/no questions with of
Direct: Kom je mee? — Are you coming along?
Indirect: Ze vraagt of ik meekom. — She asks whether I am coming along.
Of corresponds to English "if / whether":
- Hij vraagt of de winkel open is. — He asks whether the shop is open.
- Ik weet niet of ze thuis is. — I do not know if she is home.
Open questions with a question word
When the direct question starts with a question word (waar, wie, wat, hoe, waarom, wanneer), that word introduces the subclause. Again, the verb goes to the end:
- Ik weet niet waar hij woont. — I do not know where he lives.
- Ze vraagt hoe laat de trein vertrekt. — She asks what time the train leaves.
- Kun je me vertellen waarom je te laat bent? — Can you tell me why you are late?
A classic mistake is keeping the question word order: Ik weet niet waar woont hij is wrong; the verb must be final.
Tense backshift: milder than English
English often shifts the tense back ("He said that he was tired"). Dutch does this less strictly. If the reported fact is still true, the present tense is perfectly normal after a past reporting verb:
- Hij zei dat hij moe is. — He said that he is (still) tired.
- Ze vertelde dat ze in Utrecht woont. — She said that she lives in Utrecht.
Backshift to the past is used when the situation itself lies in the past:
- Hij zei dat hij gisteren moe was. — He said that he was tired yesterday.