Indirect Speech in Swedish

Overview

Indirect speech (indirekt tal) — also called reported speech — is how you relay what someone else said without quoting them directly. Instead of Han sa: "Jag är trött" (He said: "I am tired"), you report it as Han sa att han var trött (He said that he was tired). This involves changes to pronouns, verb tenses, and time expressions, similar to English but with some Swedish-specific patterns.

At the B2 level, mastering indirect speech is essential for academic writing, storytelling, news comprehension, and professional communication. Swedish indirect speech is generally straightforward, but the tense shift rules and the optional omission of att deserve careful attention.

How It Works

Basic Structure

Direct speech → Indirect speech:

Direct	Indirect
Han sa: "Jag är sjuk."	Han sa att han var sjuk.
(He said: "I am sick.")	(He said that he was sick.)

Tense Shift (Tempusförskjutning)

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (sa, berättade, påstod), the tense in the reported clause typically shifts back:

Direct speech tense	Indirect speech tense	Example
Present (är)	Past (var)	"Jag är glad" → att hon var glad
Past (var)	Past perfect (hade varit)	"Jag var sjuk" → att hon hade varit sjuk
Future (ska/kommer att)	skulle	"Jag ska åka" → att hon skulle åka
Present perfect (har gjort)	Past perfect (hade gjort)	"Jag har ätit" → att hon hade ätit
Can (kan)	Could (kunde)	"Jag kan simma" → att hon kunde simma
Will/Want (vill)	Wanted (ville)	"Jag vill gå" → att hon ville gå
Must (måste)	Had to (måste/var tvungen att)	"Jag måste gå" → att hon måste gå

Note: Måste does not change form — it is the same in present and past.

When Tense Shift Is Optional

If the reported information is still true at the time of reporting, Swedish often keeps the original tense:

• Hon sa att hon bor i Stockholm. (She said she lives in Stockholm — still true.)
• Hon sa att hon bodde i Stockholm. (She said she lived in Stockholm — may or may not still be true.)

Pronoun Changes

Pronouns shift to reflect the reporter's perspective:

Direct	Indirect
"Jag är trött."	Han sa att han var trött.
"Kan du hjälpa mig?"	Hon frågade om jag kunde hjälpa henne.
"Vi kommer imorgon."	De sa att de skulle komma dagen efter.

Time and Place Expression Changes

Direct	Indirect
idag (today)	den dagen (that day)
igår (yesterday)	dagen innan/före (the day before)
imorgon (tomorrow)	dagen efter/nästa dag (the next day)
här (here)	där (there)
nu (now)	då (then)
i kväll (tonight)	den kvällen (that evening)

Omitting "att"

After common verbs of saying and thinking, att is frequently dropped, especially in spoken Swedish:

• Han sa (att) han var trött. (He said he was tired.)
• Jag tror (att) det stämmer. (I think it is correct.)
• Hon tycker (att) filmen var bra. (She thinks the film was good.)

This is natural and correct — not sloppy.

Indirect Questions

Reported questions use om (if/whether) for yes/no questions and keep the question word for wh-questions. Word order becomes that of a statement (no inversion):

Direct question	Indirect question
"Kommer du imorgon?"	Hon frågade om jag skulle komma dagen efter.
"Var bor du?"	Han undrade var jag bodde.
"Vad heter du?"	Hon frågade vad jag hette.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Hon sa att hon var sjuk.	She said that she was sick.	Tense shift: är → var
Han berättade att han hade rest till Japan.	He told us he had travelled to Japan.	Tense shift: har rest → hade rest
Läraren frågade om vi hade gjort läxan.	The teacher asked if we had done the homework.	Indirect yes/no question
De påstod att de inte visste något.	They claimed they did not know anything.	BIFF rule applies: inte before visste
Maria sa att hon skulle ringa mig.	Maria said she would call me.	ska → skulle
Han undrade var jag hade köpt boken.	He wondered where I had bought the book.	Indirect wh-question
Chefen meddelade att mötet var inställt.	The boss announced the meeting was cancelled.	Formal reporting
Jag trodde att du kunde svenska.	I thought you knew Swedish.	kan → kunde
Hon sa hon ville gå hem.	She said she wanted to go home.	att omitted (natural)
De berättade att de hade bott i Malmö i fem år.	They said they had lived in Malmö for five years.	Past perfect in report
Nyhetsankaret rapporterade att stormen hade orsakat stora skador.	The newsreader reported the storm had caused major damage.	Formal/news register

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the tense shift

• Wrong: Han sa att han är sjuk. (when reporting something no longer current)
• Right: Han sa att han var sjuk.
• Why: When the reporting verb (sa) is in the past and the situation may no longer hold, shift the tense back. Keeping present tense implies the situation is still ongoing.

Using direct-speech word order in indirect questions

• Wrong: Hon frågade var bor jag.
• Right: Hon frågade var jag bodde.
• Why: Indirect questions use statement word order (subject before verb), not question word order. The inversion disappears.

Forgetting pronoun changes

• Wrong: Han sa att jag var trött. (when reporting what he said about himself)
• Right: Han sa att han var trött.
• Why: In indirect speech, pronouns must shift to the reporter's perspective. "I" in the original becomes "he/she" in the report.

Shifting tense when it should stay

• Wrong: Hon sa att jorden var rund. (Earth is always round)
• Right: Hon sa att jorden är rund.
• Why: For general truths and facts that are still valid, keeping the present tense is natural and preferred.

Usage Notes

Swedish is more flexible than English about tense shifting. In everyday conversation, many speakers keep the original tense even after a past reporting verb, especially when the information is still relevant: Han sa att han jobbar på Volvo (He said he works at Volvo). This is accepted and common in spoken Swedish.

In news reporting and formal writing, consistent tense shifting is expected. News language frequently uses indirect speech: Statsministern uppgav att regeringen hade fattat beslutet (The prime minister stated that the government had made the decision).

The omission of att is more common in speech than in formal writing. In academic and professional texts, including att improves clarity.

Practice Tips

• Take five direct-speech sentences and convert them to indirect speech, applying all the shifts (tense, pronouns, time expressions). Then check your work against the rules above.
• Listen to Swedish news and notice how reporters use indirect speech to convey politicians' statements. Pay attention to whether they shift tense or keep the original.
• Practice indirect questions separately — they combine subordinate clause word order with reporting, making them the trickiest part of this topic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subordinate Clauses — Indirect speech relies on subordinate clause structure and the BIFF rule.
• Next steps: Sequence of Tenses — A deeper dive into how tenses interact across clauses.