B1 · Reported speech
Reporting a statement: उसने कहा कि …
reported statements
A reported statement follows कि and keeps the tense the speaker used; the pronouns may stay as they were or change.
At a glance
- Remember
- Kaha ki, then the words as they were said — the tense does not move.
- Form
- उसने कहा कि …he said that
- Signal words
- कहा कि
- बताया कि
- से कहा
- सुना है कि
- Trap
- Wrong:उसने कहा कि वह बीमार था।Right:उसने कहा कि वह बीमार है।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| he said that | उसने कहा कि … |
| he told me that | उसने मुझे बताया कि … |
| she said to me that | उसने मुझसे कहा कि … |
| I have heard that | मैंने सुना है कि … |
| the tense stays | कहा कि वह बीमार है |
| the speaker’s own I | कहा कि मैं आऊँगा |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The content follows कि.
उसने कहा कि वह कल आएगा।He said he would come tomorrow.
The tense stays as the speaker used it.
माँ ने कहा कि खाना तैयार है।Mum said dinner was ready.
The speaker’s own pronouns may stay.
प्रिया ने कहा कि मैं थक गई हूँ।Priya said she was tired.
The person told takes से with कहना and को with बताना.
राहुल ने मुझे बताया कि उसकी नई नौकरी लग गई है।Rahul told me he has got a new job.
Example sentences
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि आपको आराम करना चाहिए।The doctor said you should rest.
मैंने उनसे कहा कि मुझे देर हो जाएगी।I told them I would be late.
उसने लिखा है कि वह अगले महीने भारत आ रही है।She has written that she is coming to India next month.
मैंने सुना है कि वह दुकान बंद हो गई है।I have heard that the shop has closed.
बच्चों ने कहा कि उन्हें भूख लगी है।The children said they were hungry.
पापा ने फ़ोन पर बताया कि वे स्टेशन पहुँच गए हैं।Dad told us on the phone that he had reached the station.
6 more example sentences
उसने कहा कि उसे यह फ़िल्म पसंद नहीं आई।She said she hadn’t liked the film.
दुकानदार ने कहा कि कल नया माल आएगा।The shopkeeper said new stock would come in tomorrow.
मेरी दोस्त ने मुझे बताया कि उसकी शादी तय हो गई है।My friend told me her wedding has been fixed.
अख़बार में लिखा है कि कल छुट्टी है।The newspaper says tomorrow is a holiday.
उन्होंने कहा कि वे थोड़ी देर में आएँगे।They said they would come in a little while.
मैंने अपने भाई से कहा कि मैं उसकी मदद करूँगा।I told my brother I would help him.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
If he said “I am ill”, Hindi keeps the present: है. English moves it to “was”; Hindi does not, and था would mean that he said “I was ill”.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The pattern is the verb of saying, then कि, then the content: उसने कहा कि वह कल आएगा, “he said (that) he would come tomorrow”. कहना is transitive, so in the past its subject takes ने, and the verb stays कहा whoever the speaker is: माँ ने कहा, प्रिया ने कहा.
There is no backshift. The quoted clause keeps the tense the speaker used: if Priya said “I am tired”, the report has है: प्रिया ने कहा कि वह थकी हुई है. Only the verb of saying shows when it was said. The English “would” of a reported future is simply the future: आएगा.
The pronouns are the free part. Hindi can keep the speaker’s own words, almost like a quotation without the marks: प्रिया ने कहा कि मैं थक गई हूँ, with मैं meaning Priya. Or it can adjust them to the reporter, as English does: प्रिया ने कहा कि वह थक गई है. Both are correct; the first is very common in speech, the second clearer in writing.
The person told takes से with कहना: मैंने उनसे कहा, “I told them”. बताना, “to tell, to let someone know”, takes को: उसने मुझे बताया कि …. Other verbs work in the same way: लिखना, सोचना, सुनना — मैंने सुना है कि …, “I have heard that …”.
A closer look
Whose मैं is it?
In राहुल ने कहा कि मैं आऊँगा, the मैं is Rahul: Hindi lets the reported clause keep the speaker’s point of view. Context nearly always makes it clear. Where it does not, adjust the pronoun (राहुल ने कहा कि वह आएगा), or write a real quotation in quotation marks.
The verb agrees with whoever the pronoun stands for. If Priya says she is tired, it is थक गई हूँ with मैं or थक गई है with वह — feminine both times, because Priya is.
कहना, बताना, बोलना
कहना is the neutral “say” and takes से for the listener. बताना is “tell, inform” and takes को: it is the right verb when information is passed on. बोलना is “speak”, used for “say” mainly in casual speech; in the past it often goes without ने: वह बोला कि ….
Worth knowing (2)
-
I was told: मुझे बताया गया
When the speaker does not matter, the passive of बताना or कहना gives “I was told” or “it is said”: मुझे बताया गया कि …; कहा जाता है कि ….
मुझे बताया गया कि दफ़्तर दस बजे खुलता है।I was told the office opens at ten.
-
A real quotation
The exact words stand after a comma in quotation marks, usually without कि, and the danda goes inside the marks. In speech the two kinds are often mixed, which is why a reported मैं is so common.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 69 · लेना and देना: for yourself, for someone elseBack to the learning path