When the story is long over
As long as what was said still applies, the tense stays: Ha detto che viene. But when you tell a finished story, adjusting the person is not enough. Every tense in the reported clause moves one step back, just as English backshifts he said he was tired.
The same statement, two narrative stances
Ha detto che viene alle otto.
He said he's coming at eight. (he is still coming)
Ha detto che sarebbe venuto alle otto.
He had said he would come at eight. (the evening is over)
The framing verb alone does not decide: Ha detto can go either way, just as English allows both he said he is coming and he said he was coming. Ask yourself whether the reported matter is still open. Then the present stays. If the episode is closed, you shift.
The shift at a glance
From direct to reported speech
| Direct speech | Reported speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | Imperfetto | «Sto bene» → Ha detto che stava bene. |
| Passato prossimo | Trapassato prossimo | «Ho finito» → Ha detto che aveva finito. |
| Futuro semplice | Condizionale passato | «Verrò» → Ha detto che sarebbe venuto. |
| Condizionale presente | Condizionale passato | «Verrei volentieri» → Ha detto che sarebbe venuto volentieri. |
| Imperfetto, Trapassato prossimo | stay unchanged | «Ero stanco» → Ha detto che era stanco. |
| Imperativo | di + infinitive | «Aspetta!» → Mi ha detto di aspettare. |
Framing verb in the past
Most of this you already do in English: he told me to wait, he said he had finished. The new rows are the futuro and the condizionale, which do not go where an English speaker expects. An English past (I was tired) and an English present (I am fine) both end up as the imperfetto.
The core case: sarebbe venuto
A futuro in direct speech becomes a condizionale passato. This is the shift English speakers get wrong most often.
English backshifts will to would and stops there: he said he would come. Italian uses a compound form that looks like a past but means a future seen from a point in the past. Sarebbe venuto means “he would come” here, not “he would have come”.
«Verrò alle otto» → Ha detto che sarebbe venuto alle otto.
“I'll come at eight” → He said he would come at eight.
«Ti scriverò» → Mi ha detto che mi avrebbe scritto.
“I'll write to you” → He told me he would write to me.
«Ci penso io» → Ha detto che ci avrebbe pensato lei.
“I'll take care of it” → She said she would take care of it.
Passing on questions from the past
The link word does not change: se for yes-no questions, the question word for wh-questions. The tense in the reported clause shifts, and there is no inversion, so the word order stays as in a statement.
«Hai tempo?» → Mi ha chiesto se avevo tempo.
“Do you have time?” → He asked me whether I had time.
«Dove abiti?» → Mi ha chiesto dove abitavo.
“Where do you live?” → She asked me where I lived.
«Hai già mangiato?» → Mi ha chiesto se avevo già mangiato.
“Have you already eaten?” → She asked me whether I had already eaten.
Time words travel with the story
When you retell an episode from far away, today no longer means today: an oggi from direct speech refers to the day back then. English does the same thing (today becomes that day), so the table is mostly vocabulary. If you tell the story on the same day, oggi stays: Stamattina ha detto che oggi non poteva venire.
Shifting time words
| Direct speech | Reported speech | English |
|---|---|---|
| oggi | quel giorno | that day |
| ieri | il giorno prima | the day before |
| domani | il giorno dopo | the next day |
| adesso / ora | allora / in quel momento | then, at that moment |
| la settimana prossima | la settimana dopo | the following week |
«Oggi non posso» → Ha detto che quel giorno non poteva.
“I can't today” → He said he couldn't that day.
«Parto domani» → Mi ha scritto che sarebbe partita il giorno dopo.
“I'm leaving tomorrow” → She wrote to me that she would leave the next day.
«Ci siamo visti ieri» → Ha raccontato che si erano visti il giorno prima.
“We saw each other yesterday” → He told me they had seen each other the day before.
A stretch of narration
Sara
Allora, cosa ti aveva detto Luca al telefono?
So, what had Luca told you on the phone?
Marco
Che era già in stazione e che sarebbe arrivato verso le sette.
That he was already at the station and that he would arrive around seven.
Sara
E del biglietto non ha detto niente?
And he didn't say anything about the ticket?
Marco
Ha detto che l'aveva comprato il giorno prima e che me l'avrebbe mandato per messaggio.
He said he had bought it the day before and that he would send it to me by message.
