The tense does not move
This is the good news: Persian keeps the speaker's original tense. Only the pronouns change.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| علی گفت: «فردا میآیم.» | علی گفت که فردا میآید. |
| مریم گفت: «خستهام.» | مریم گفت که خسته است. |
| گفت: «دیروز رفتم.» | گفت که دیروز رفت. |
| گفت: «کار کردهام.» | گفت که کار کرده است. |
English would say "Ali said he was coming". Persian says میآید, the present, because that is what Ali said.
Direct quotation
Persian uses the angle quotes « and », with a colon after the verb of speaking: او گفت: «نمیدانم.»
که
که introduces the reported clause. It is standard in writing and often dropped in speech: گفت فردا میآید.
Useful verbs: گفت (said), پرسید (asked), جواب داد (answered), فکر میکرد (thought), توضیح داد (explained).
Reported questions
A question word stays where it is, and the word order does not change, because it never changed in the direct question either:
- پرسید: «کجا میروی؟» → پرسید که کجا میروم. — He asked where I was going.
- پرسید: «کِی میآیی؟» → پرسید که کِی میآیم.
A yes/no question is introduced by آیا or که آیا:
- پرسید: «وقت داری؟» → پرسید که آیا وقت دارم. — He asked whether I had time.
Reported commands
A command becomes the present subjunctive, with the person adjusted:
- گفت: «برو!» → گفت که بروم. — He told me to go.
- گفت: «صبر کنید.» → گفت که صبر کنیم. — He told us to wait.
- خواهش کرد که کمکش کنیم. — He asked us to help him.
Watch out as an English speaker
- No backshift: ✗ گفت که فردا میآمد. / ✓ گفت که فردا میآید.
- A reported command is a subjunctive, not an infinitive: ✗ گفت رفتن. / ✓ گفت که بروم.
- English "asked if" is not اگر: ✗ پرسید اگر وقت دارم. / ✓ پرسید که آیا وقت دارم.
- که is one word for "that", "who" and "which"; do not look for a different one each time.
Example dialogue
علی چه گفت؟ — What did Ali say?
گفت که فردا نمیتواند بیاید. — He said that he can't come tomorrow.
پرسید که ما کِی میرویم؟ — Did he ask when we are going?
بله، و گفت که بدون او شروع کنیم. — Yes, and he told us to start without him.