B2 · Obere Mittelstufe Kapitel 49

Direct and Indirect Reported Speech

5 Gesamtregeln
1 Min.
Regeln in diesem Kapitel Schnelle Übung

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of relaying conversations accurately and naturally in Bulgarian.

  • Identify the structural differences between direct and indirect speech.
  • Apply necessary tense shifts when reporting past statements.
  • Adjust pronouns and temporal adverbs to maintain logical consistency.
Master the art of relaying conversations.

Was du lernen wirst

Master the transformation between direct and indirect reported speech, including necessary tense and pronoun changes. This chapter is crucial for conveying conversations.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: Accurately convert direct quotes into indirect reported speech.

Tipps & Tricks (4)

💡

The Keyboard Shortcut

On a Windows PC, use Alt+0132 for „ and Alt+0147 for “. On a Mac, it's Option+Shift+W and Option+W.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Direct Speech (Пряка реч)
💡

The 'Dali' Trick

If you can answer a question with 'Yes' or 'No', use 'дали' to report it. If not, use the question word (who, where, when).
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Indirect Speech (Непряка реч) - Introduction
🎯

The 'E' Test

If you can add 'I saw it' to the sentence, keep the 'е'. If you have to add 'They say that', drop the 'е'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Tense Changes in Indirect Speech
🎯

The Camera Rule

Always imagine the 'camera' has moved from the speaker to you. If the camera moved, 'here' must become 'there'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Pronoun and Adverb Changes in Indirect Speech

Wichtige Vokabeln (5)

пряка реч direct speech непряка реч indirect speech съюз conjunction (e.g., че) съгласуване на времената sequence of tenses заповед command

Real-World Preview

briefcase

Office Gossip

Review Summary

  • Subject + verb + : „Quote“
  • Subject + verb + че + subordinate clause
  • Verb + да + verb

Häufige Fehler

Reported speech requires changing the pronoun to match the subject of the reporting verb.

Wrong: Той каза, че аз съм готов.
Richtig: Той каза, че той е готов.

Questions require 'дали' instead of 'че'.

Wrong: Тя ме попита, че идвам ли.
Richtig: Тя ме попита дали идвам.

Adverbs of place must shift from the speaker's location to the reporter's perspective.

Wrong: Той каза, че ще дойде тук.
Richtig: Той каза, че ще дойде там.

Next Steps

You have mastered a complex and vital skill! Keep practicing by turning your daily conversations into reported reports.

Listen to a Bulgarian podcast and summarize one quote in your own words.

Continue to: Aspect in Complex Sentence Structures

Schnelle Übung (10)

Correct the mistake in the reported question.

Find and fix the mistake:

Тя ме попита дали искам ли кафе.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Тя ме попита дали искам кафе.
You cannot use 'дали' and 'ли' in the same sentence.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Indirect Speech (Непряка реч) - Introduction

Find the mistake in the reported sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Вчера той ми каза, че ще дойде утре.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: утре
Since it was said yesterday, 'утре' should be 'днес' or 'на следващия ден' depending on when you report it.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Pronoun and Adverb Changes in Indirect Speech

Choose the correct conjunction for a statement.

Иван каза, ___ е уморен.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: че
We use 'че' to report a statement or a fact.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Indirect Speech (Непряка реч) - Introduction

Fill in the correct pronoun.

Мария каза: 'Аз съм тук'. -> Мария каза, че ___ е там.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: тя
The pronoun 'аз' (I) shifts to 'тя' (she) to match Maria.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Indirect Speech (Непряка реч) - Introduction

Поправете грешката в изречението.

Find and fix the mistake:

„Не искам“, каза той, „Да тръгвам.“

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Since 'да тръгвам' is a continuation of the same sentence, it should not be capitalized.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Direct Speech (Пряка реч)

Choose the correct reported version of: „Къде е Иван?“

Той попита...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: къде е Иван
We keep the original tense and word order.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reporting Questions and Commands

Choose the correct adverb for indirect speech.

Тя каза: „Ела тук“. → Тя му каза да отиде ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: там
'Тук' (here) shifts to 'там' (there) in indirect speech.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Pronoun and Adverb Changes in Indirect Speech

Choose the correct renarrative form for: Той каза, че (работи) много.

Той каза, че ___ много.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: работел
The renarrative present of 'работи' is 'работел' (3rd person, auxiliary dropped).

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Tense Changes in Indirect Speech

Fill in the correct shifted pronoun.

Иван каза: „Аз съм уморен“. → Иван каза, че ___ е уморен.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: той
The first person 'аз' shifts to the third person 'той' to match Ivan.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Pronoun and Adverb Changes in Indirect Speech

Попълнете липсващите пунктуационни знаци.

Мария попита ___ ___ Къде е Иван ___ ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
We need a colon to introduce the quote, low quotes to start, a question mark for the question, and high quotes to end.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Direct Speech (Пряка реч)

Score: /10

Häufige Fragen (6)

Technically, you will be understood, but it is considered grammatically incorrect in formal writing. Always try to use „...“.
The period goes inside the quotation marks: Той каза: „Идвам.“
No! Unlike English, if the situation is still true, you can keep the original tense. 'Той каза, че е гладен' is perfectly fine even if he said it an hour ago.
Use 'ли' for direct questions ('Искаш ли?'). Use 'дали' for indirect questions ('Попита ме дали искам'). Never use them together.
Dropping the е is the grammatical signal that you are reporting hearsay. If you keep it, you are using the Present Perfect, which implies you are certain of the result or saw it yourself.
No. If you saw it, use the witnessed tenses (Aorist or Imperfect). Using the renarrative for witnessed events sounds like you have amnesia or are being sarcastic.
Vorheriges Kapitel
Advanced Participles & Verbal Adverbs
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Aspect in Complex Sentence Structures
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