In Russian, just like in English, there are three main ways to report that someone said something:
You can report their exact words (a quote) → this is called direct speech
Учитель спросил студентку: “Вы любите русский язык?”
ooCHEEtyel spraSEEL stooDYENTkoo: “vy LYUbitye ROOSkiy yiZYK?”
The teacher asked the student: “Do you like Russian?”
You can report the message of their words, without a quote → this is called indirect speech
Учитель спросил студентку, любит ли она русский язык.
ooCHEEtyel spraSEEL stooDYENTkoo, LYUbit lee aNA ROOSkiy yiZYK.
The teacher asked the student whether she liked the Russian language.
You can focus on the fact that someone spoke, by describing the message itself with a noun or pronoun.
Учитель задал студентке вопрос.
ooCHEEtyel ZAdal stooDYENTkye vapROS
The teacher asked the student a question.
In this post, we’ll teach you all three methods of reporting speech. We’ll start by teaching you about the building blocks of reported speech, then we’ll get into direct and indirect speech, and we’ll end with discussing how to use a noun to report speech.
Ready to get started? Let’s have a look.
Any statement that reports what someone said has three main parts:
A reporting verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. → Reporting verbs describe an action of speech or thought. Some English examples might be, “to say,” “to yell,” “to ask,” “to command,” etc.
Just as in English, in Russian, the reporting verb you use may depend on how you speak physically (yelling vs. whispering) or they can vary based on the type of message you are conveying (asking vs. telling).
We’ll give you some common examples in the sections below, or you can check out this table of the most common Russian reporting verbs with examples!
A recipient → The recipient of speech is the person who a message was directed to.
With many reporting verbs, the recipient is an object of the reporting verb:
Он рассказал нам историю.
on raskaZAL nam isTOriyu
He told us a story.
In Russian, the recipient will most often be an indirect object, in the dative caseNo definition set for dative caseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., but the recipient can also take other cases, depending on the verb.
Usually, adding a recipient is optional. For example, it is perfectly fine to say:
Мама спросила, где будет родительское собрание.
MAma spraSEEla, gdye BOOdit raDEEtilskaye sabRAniye
Mom asked where the parent meeting would be.
A message → The message is a word or phrase that represents what was said. As we said in the introduction, the message can be given in three ways:
In direct speech the message is given as a direct quote.
In indirect speech the message is given in a subordinate clauseNo definition set for subordinate clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
When you’re reporting the fact that someone spoke, the message can be represented by a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., noun phraseNo definition set for noun phraseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., or pronounNo definition set for pronounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
The following sections will focus mostly on the different ways to form the message. Let’s have a look!
When directly reporting speech in Russian the message of the speech is a direct quotation. This can come either at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
At the end of the sentence, we usually introduce the quote with a colon ( : )
Профессор сказал: “Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия!”
praFYEsar skaZAL: “my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya!”
The professor said, “We are on the verge of a major discovery!”
At the beginning of the sentence, we generally follow the quote with a dash ( – )
“Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия!” - сказал профессор.
“my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya!” - skaZAL praFYEsar
“We are on the verge of a major discovery!” said the professor.
Dialogue is punctuated quite differently in Russian. For example:
There are a few different ways to write quotation marks in Russian: “...”, «…», „…“, and sometimes dialogue is just offset by dashes: – … –
An exclamation mark or question mark will go inside the quotation marks (“...!”), but a period or comma will go outside the quotes (“...”,)
Check out this full list of rules for punctuating dialogue in Russian to learn more!
When you report speech indirectly in Russian, you’ll give the full content of what someone said, without using their exact words. Indirect speech summarizes the message of someone’s words or thoughts in a subordinate clause (a sentence within a sentence). For example:
Direct speech | Indirect speech | |
|---|---|---|
Маша сказала: “Я люблю кофе”. MAsha skaZAla “ya lyubLYU KOfye” Masha said: “I love coffee.” | → | Маша сказала, что (она) любит кофе. MAsha skaZAla, shto aNA LYUbit KOfye Masha said that she loves coffee. |
In this section, we’ll go first through some rules that apply to all indirect speech clauses in Russian, and then we’ll look at some rules that are specific to reporting specific kinds of indirect speech, like statements, questions, and commands.
In Russian, there are some general rules to follow when transforming someone’s direct speech (the quote) into a subordinate clause (the indirect speech).
Certain pronouns will need to be reassigned when you report speech indirectly:
Just like in English, the pronouns in an indirect speech clause will often be different from the pronouns in the original quote. This is because, when the quote was created the original speaker in the original conversation was the reference point for the pronouns, but when the speech is reported indirectly, the reporting speaker in the reporting context is the reference point instead. For example:
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
Маша сказала: “Я люблю кофе.” MAsha skaZAla “ya lyubLYU KOfye” Masha said: “I love coffee.” | Маша сказала, что (она) любит кофе. MAsha skaZAla, shto aNA LYUbit KOfye Masha said that she loves coffee. |
Он говорит: «Ты хорошо выглядишь» on gavaREET ty kharaSHO VYglidish He says: “You look nice” | Он говорит, что я хорошо выгляжу. on gavaREET, shto ya kharaSHO VYglizhoo He says that I look nice. |
Дети скажут: “Мы не смотрели этот фильм.” DYEti SKAzhoot “my ni smatRYEli Etat film” The kids will say, “We haven’t watched that movie.” | Дети скажут, что (они) не смотрели этот фильм. DYEti SKAzhoot shto aNEE ni smatRYEli Etat film Children will say that they haven't watched this movie. |
Remember that Russian verbs agree with the subject, so changing the person of the subject will usually mean the form of the verb will change as well!
In Russian, the tense of the verb in an indirect speech clause is the same as in the direct speech clause
This is a major difference between indirect speech in Russian and in English. In English, we often use a different verb tense in an indirect speech clause from the verb tense that was originally used in the direct quote. But in Russian, the indirect speech clause uses the same tense as the original quote.
Here are two examples to illustrate this difference between English and Russian:
You are at a party, and your friend tells you: “They are serving steak” (using the present tense). But when you go up to the buffet, and find that the steak is now all gone. Someone asks you why you look so disappointed. In English, you would say:
She said that they were serving steak!
But in Russian, you would say:
Она сказала, что они подают стейк.
aNA skaZAla, shto aNEE padaYUT steyk.
lit. She said that they are serving steak!
In Russian, you use the present tense, because that was the tense used in the original quote!
Your friend invited you over, and you told your friend: “I will arrive at noon” (using the future tense). But now it is 12:30 and you are still on your way. Your friend might call you to say:
You said you would arrive at noon!
But in Russian, she would say:
Но ты же сказал, что приедешь в полдень!
No ty zhye skaZAL, shto priYEdish f POLdyen’!
lit. But you said that you will arrive at noon!
In Russian, you use the future tense, because that was the tense used in the original quote!
In indirect commands, the mood of the verb will change. The original quote uses the imperativeNo definition set for imperativeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form, but the indirect command will use an infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. verb or the past tense. More on this below!
Often time markers in Russian also do not change between direct and indirect speech. For example, in English:
He said, “I won’t do it now.” → He said that he wouldn’t do it then.
But in Russian:
Он сказал: “Я не буду это делать сейчас”. → Он сказал, что не будет это делать сейчас.
On skaZAL: “ya ni BOOdo Eta DYElat siCHAS” → on skaZAL, shto ni BOOdit Eta DYElat siCHAS
lit. He said, “I won’t do it now.” → He said that he won’t do it now.
When reporting a statement indirectly in Russian, you’ll largely just follow the rules outlined in the previous section.
Here are some common reporting verbs that are used to report statements:
говорить[gavaREET](to speak)
сказать[skaZAT](to say)
рассказать[raskaZAT](to tell)
объяснить[ab-yasNEET](to explain)
утверждать[ootvirZHDAT](to affirm/claim)
предлагать[pridlaGAT](to offer/suggest/propose)
When you report a statement, the indirect speech clause will always begin with a conjunctionNo definition set for conjunctionLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., usually что[shto](that).
This makes Russian a little different from English. In Russian, you can say “The student says that she loves Russian” but you can’t say “The student says she loves Russian,” without a conjunction:
✅Студентка сказала, что она любит русский язык.
stooDYENTka skaZAla, shto aNA LYUbit ROOSkiy yiZYK
The student said that she loves Russian.
❌Студентка сказала, она любит русский язык.
stooDYENTka skaZAla, aNA LYUbit ROOSkiy yiZYK
lit. The student said she loves Russian.
The rules for reporting a question indirectly will depend on whether you are asking an open question (content / wh- question) or a closed question (yes/no question). However, here are a few reporting verbs that are commonly used to report both kinds of questions:
спрашивать/спросить[sparashiVAT/sparaSEET](to ask)
задавать/задать вопрос[zadaVAT/zaDAT vaPROS](to ask→ lit. give a question)
просить/попросить[praSEET/papraSEET](to ask about favor/to do something)
поинтересоваться[paintirisaVAtsa](to inquire)
Let’s have a look at some additional rules.
When you report a content question indirectly, you’ll follow all the general indirect speech rules outlined above. Luckily, in Russian, direct and indirect questions have the same structure!
When you ask an indirect question, the question word (wh- word) itself will introduce the question clause, and there is always a comma before the question. Here are the most common wh- question words in Russian:
кто[kto](who)
что[shto](what)
где[gdye](where)
куда[kooDA](to where)
когда[kagDA](when)
как[kak](how)
почему[pachiMOO](why)
Let’s look at some examples of indirect content questions in Russian.
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
Маша спросила Мишу: “Когда ты любишь пить кофе?” MAsha spraSEEla MEEshoo “kagDA ty LYUbish pit KOfye?” Masha asked Misha: “When do you like to drink coffee?” | Маша спросила Мишу, когда он любит пить кофе. MAsha spraSEEla MEEshoo, kagDA on LYUbit pit KOfye Masha asked Misha when he likes to drink coffee. |
Он спросил нас: “С кем вы пойдёте гулять?” on spraSEEL nas “s kyem vy payDYOti gooLYAT” He asked us, “Who will you go for a walk with?” lit. He asked us, “With whom will you go for a walk?” | Он спросил нас, c кем мы пойдём гулять. On spraSEEL nas, s kyem my payDYOM gooLYAT He asked us who we would go for a walk with. lit. He asked us with whom we will go for a walk. |
Дети спросили маму: “Почему мы не можем посмотреть фильм сейчас?” DYEti spraSEEli MAmoo “pachiMOO my ni MOzhym pasmatRYET film siCHAS” The children asked their mother: “Why can’t we watch the movie now?” | Дети спросили маму, почему они не могут посмотреть фильм сейчас. DYEti spraSEEli MAmoo, pachiMOO aNEE ni MOgoot pasmatRYET film siCHAS The children asked their mother why they couldn’t watch the movie then. lit. The children asked their mother why they can’t watch the movie now. |
To report a yes/no (closed) question indirectly in Russian, you’ll need to use a special word order. An indirect yes/no question in Russian will always have this pattern:
verb
subject
the rest of the sentence
The word ли[lee] is a conjunction, meaning “if” or “whether.” This is just a slightly unusual conjunction in Russian, because it always follows the verb.
Here are some examples of indirect yes/no questions in Russian:
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
Маша спросила Мишу: “Ты любишь кофе?” MAsha spraSEEla MEEshoo “ty LYUbish KOfye?” Masha asked Misha: “Do you like coffee?” | Маша спросила Мишу, любит ли он кофе. MAsha spraSEEla MEEshoo LYUbit lee on KOfye Masha asked Misha whether he liked coffee. lit. Masha asked Misha likes whether he coffee. |
Он спросил нас: “Вы пойдёте гулять?” on spraSEEL nas “vy payDYOtye gooLYAT?” He asked us: “Are you going for a walk?” | Он спросил нас, пойдём ли мы гулять. on spraSEEL nas payDYOM lee my gooLYAT He asked us if we were going for a walk. lit. He asked us will go if we for a walk. |
Дети спросили маму: “Мы можем посмотреть фильм?” DYEti spraSEEli MAmoo “my MOzhym pasmatRYET film?” The children asked their mother: “Can we watch a movie?” | Дети спросили маму, могут ли они посмотреть фильм. DYEti spraSEEli MAmoo MOgoot lee aNEE pasmatRYET film The children asked their mom whether they could watch a movie. lit. The children asked their mom can whether they watch a movie. |
In Russian, there are two ways to indirectly report a command: using an infinitive verb or with a subordinate clause. This is roughly parallel to the difference in English between:
She ordered me to clean up. ← infinitive verb
She ordered me that I should clean up. ← subordinate clause
Here are some verbs commonly used to report commands in Russian:
сказать[skaZAT](to tell)
велеть[viLYET](to order/command)
приказывать/приказать[priKAzyvat/prikaZAT](to order/command)
предлагать/предложить[pridlaGAT/pridlaZHYT](to offer/suggest/propose)
просить/попросить[praSEET/papraSEET](to ask (a favor/to do something))
советовать/посоветовать[saVYEtavat/pasaVYEtavat](to advise/recommend)
Just as in English, you’re likely to see some differences in the reporting verbs that are used in each structure, but the message being reported is nearly the same.
Let’s look at each of these in Russian!
When you report a command using an infinitive verb, follow these rules:
The verb for the commanded action is infinitive in the indirect command.
There is no conjunction before the infinitive verb!
The recipient of the reporting verb (to whom the speech is directed) will be automatically understood to be the person who is expected to complete the action.
For example:
Direct Command (imperative) | Indirect Command (infinitive) |
|---|---|
Маша сказала мне: “Убери комнату!” MAsha skaZAla mnye “oobiREE KOMnatoo” Masha told me: “Clean the room!” | Маша попросила меня убрать комнату. MAsha papraSEEla miNYA oobRAT KOMnatoo Masha asked me to clean the room. |
Мама сказала детям: “Не смотрите этот фильм.” MAma skaZAla DYEtyam “ni smatREEti Etat film” Mom told the children: “Don't watch this movie.” | Мама посоветовала детям не смотреть этот фильм. MAma pasaVYEtavala DYEtyam nye smatRYET Etat film Mom advised the children not to watch this movie. |
Он сказал другу: “Будь осторожен!” on skaZAL DROOgoo “boot astaROzhyn” He told his friend: “Be careful!” | Он предложил другу быть осторожным. on pridlaZHYL DROOgoo byt astaROZHnym He advised his friend to be careful. lit. He suggested his friend to be careful. |
To report an indirect command using a subordinate clause, follow these rules:
Use the conjunction чтобы[SHTOby](that… should) to introduce the commanded action.
Add a second subject after чтобы. This is the person who is commanded to do the action.
Use a verb in the past tense for the action the subject is commanded to do.
For example:
“Убери комнату!”
oobiREE KOMnatoo
“Clean the room!”
чтобы я убрал комнату
SHTOby ya oobRAL KOMnatoo
that I (should) clean the room
lit. that I cleaned the room
When giving a command using a subordinate clause you will often specify both the recipient of the command (to whom the speech was directed) and the secondary subject (the person who is expected to complete the commanded action). Generally, these two will be the same person, but the secondary subject will be replaced by a pronoun.
For example:
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
Маша сказала мне: “Убери комнату!” MAsha skaZAla mnye “oobiREE KOMnatoo” Masha told me: “Clean the room!” | Маша велела, чтобы я убрал комнату. MAsha viLYEla SHTOby ya oobRAL KOMnatoo Masha ordered me to clean the room. lit. Masha ordered that I cleaned the room. |
Мама сказала детям: “Не смотрите этот фильм.” MAma skaZAla DYEtyam “ni smatREEti Etat film” Mom told the children: “Don't watch this movie.” | Мама сказала детям, чтобы они не смотрели этот фильм. MAma skaZAla DYEtyam SHTOby aNEE ni smatRYEli Etat film Mom told the children that they shouldn’t watch this movie. lit. Mom told the children that they not watched this movie. |
Он сказал другу: “Будь осторожен!” on skaZAL DROOgoo “boot astaROzhen” He told his friend: “Be careful!” | Он сказал другу, чтобы тот (он) был осторожен. on skaZAL DROOgoo SHTOby tot (on) byl astaROzhen He told his friend that he should be careful. lit. He told his friend that (he) was careful. |
To be precise, чтобы[SHTOby](that… should) is a conjunction that comes before subjunctive clauses in Russian, which are clauses describe wishes and imaginary situations. To learn more, check out our posts on the subjunctive mood in Russian, or on subordinating conjunctions in Russian.
The last way to report speech in Russian is to use a noun or pronoun to represent the message that was conveyed. This is just like how, in English, you might say “He told me a story” or “She asked a question.”
In general, the recipient of the speech (if there is one) is in the dative case, and the noun that describes the message itself is accusative.
Мама говорит детям правду.
MAma gavaREET DYEtyam PRAVdoo
Mom tells the children the truth.
Here are some verbs that you can use in this pattern:
Imperfective | Perfective | Translation |
|---|---|---|
говорить gavaREET | сказать skaZAT | to say |
рассказывать skaZAT | рассказать raskaZAT | to tell |
советовать saVYEtavat | посоветовать pasaVYEtavat | to advise |
объяснять abyasNYAT | объяснить abyasNEET | to explain |
предлагать pidlaGAT | предложить pridlaZHYT | to suggest |
In other cases, the topic of the message can be described using a prepositional phrase, usually introduced by o[a](about). This is similar to English phrases like, “I told him about my day.”
When the topic of speech is introduced this way the recipient is either dative or accusative, while the message takes the appropriate case for any noun that follows o[a](about): the prepositional case.
Журналисты спросили президента о его планах.
zhoornaLEESty spraSEEli priziDYENta a yiVO PLAnakh
Journalists asked the president about his plans.
Here are some verbs that you can use with the o + message pattern:
Imperfective | Perfective | Translation | Case of the recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
говорить gavaREET | сказать skaZAT | to say | dative |
рассказывать skaZAT | рассказать raskaZAT | to tell | dative |
задавать вопрос zadaVAT vapROS | задать вопрос zaDAT vapROS | to ask a question | dative |
спрашивать SPRAshyvat | спросить spraSEET | to ask | accusative |
просить praSEET | попросить papraSEET | to ask a favor | accusative |
The verb отвечать / ответить[atviCHAT / atVYEtit](to answer) is used to show that you are providing an answer to someone else’s speech. So the “topic” of the speech is introduced by the preposition на[na](to) instead. For example:
Президент ответил на вопрос.
priziDYENT atVYEtil na vapROS
The President answered the question.
Let's review what we've learned:
Indirect speech is a way to express statements, questions or requests that were expressed by someone else with some adjustments by removing or replacing the first person in the sentence.
Reporting verbs like сказать[skaZAT], говорить[gavaREET], orспросить[spraSEET] help us to wrap the message in indirect speech explaining who is the author of the massage and who is the recipient. They require certain grammar after them (change in the pronouns or nouns/adjective endings).
There are three types of sentences: statements, imperatives, and questions that we convert into indirect speech. Each of them takes a certain pattern.
Word order when transforming general questions into indirect speech sentences differs from direct speech.
In Russian, the tense of the verb in an indirect speech clause is the same as in the direct speech clause.
You need to change the pronouns used in a direct speech statement while transforming the sentence into an indirect speech clause.
Direct or indirect speech always requires certain punctuation.
In Russian you can use a noun to express or paraphrase the message that was said in the direct speech.
Now let’s have some practice! Check out our Russian indirect speech exercises and see how you do!
