3 · Reported speech
Reporting a statement: -다고 하다
indirect statements
The quoted statement goes into the plain style, takes -고, and is followed by 하다 or another verb of saying.
The quoted sentence is put into its plain form, and that form depends on the kind of word. Adjectives and 있다/없다 take -다고: 바쁘다고, 맛있다고. Action verbs in the present take -는다고 after a consonant and -ㄴ다고 after a vowel: 먹는다고, 간다고; a stem in l loses it, 산다고. The past is -았/었다고 for every word, the future -(으)ㄹ 거라고. A noun with 이다 gives -(이)라고: 학생이라고, 의사라고.
Then comes the verb of saying, most often 하다: 민수 씨가 내일 바쁘다고 했어요, “Minsu said he was busy tomorrow”. Others work the same way: 말하다 (say), 듣다 (hear), 생각하다 (think): 그 영화가 재미있다고 들었어요, “I heard the film is good”.
There is no backshift. If someone said “I am tired”, the report is 피곤하다고 했어요, with the present inside; 피곤했다고 would mean they said they had been tired. Only the verb of saying shows when it was said. Pronouns do change: a person talking about themselves becomes 자기 in the report.
A direct quotation keeps the original words in quotation marks and adds 라고 straight after them: 민수 씨가 "내일 바빠요."라고 했어요. The usual mistake is the wrong plain form: 춥는다고 for 춥다고. -는다 is only for action verbs.
The form
| adjectives, 있다 and 없다 | 바쁘다고, 맛있다고 |
| action verbs after a vowel | 가다 → 간다고 |
| action verbs after a consonant | 먹다 → 먹는다고 |
| the past | 갔다고, 바빴다고 |
| a noun with 이다 | 학생이라고, 의사라고 |
| the future | 갈 거라고 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Adjectives and 있다/없다 take -다고.
친구가 오늘 좀 바쁘다고 했어요.My friend said they were a bit busy today.
Action verbs in the present take -는다고 after a consonant and -ㄴ다고 after a vowel.
동생이 지금 밥을 먹는다고 했어요.My younger sibling said they were eating now.
A noun with 이다 becomes -(이)라고.
그분이 자기가 의사라고 했어요.He said he was a doctor.
The quoted sentence keeps its own tense; only the verb of saying shows when it was said.
수진 씨가 어제 피곤하다고 했어요.Sujin said yesterday that she was tired.
A direct quotation keeps the original words in quotation marks and takes 라고.
선생님께서 "숙제를 꼭 하세요."라고 하셨어요.The teacher said, "Be sure to do your homework."
A closer look
No backshift, and other verbs of saying
English moves the quoted verb one step into the past (“she said she was tired”). Korean does not: the quoted sentence keeps the tense the speaker used, measured from the moment they spoke. 어제 친구가 바쁘다고 했어요 means the friend said “I am busy”; 바빴다고 했어요 means the friend said “I was busy”.
하다 is the neutral verb, but any verb of saying or thinking can follow the quote: 말하다, 듣다, 생각하다, 믿다 (believe), 쓰다 (write). -다고 들었어요, “I heard that”, is especially common when the source does not matter.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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an action verb has a stem in l, as in 살다, 만들다 or 알다
the l drops before -ㄴ다고: 산다고, 만든다고, 안다고.
언니가 서울에 산다고 했어요.My older sister said she lives in Seoul.
A stem-final l disappears before n, exactly as in the plain present 산다.
How to spot it
- -다고 하다
- -ㄴ/는다고
- -(이)라고
- -다고 들었어요
Example sentences
뉴스에서 내일 비가 온다고 했어요.The news said it would rain tomorrow.
민수 씨가 다음 달에 결혼한다고 했어요.Minsu said he is getting married next month.
친구가 그 식당이 정말 맛있다고 했어요.My friend said that restaurant was really good.
아이가 배가 아프다고 해서 병원에 갔어요.My child said their stomach hurt, so we went to the doctor.
사장님께서 회의가 세 시에 시작한다고 하셨어요.The boss said the meeting starts at three.
저는 그 사람이 학생이라고 생각했어요.I thought that person was a student.
8 more example sentences
친구가 오늘 못 온다고 했어요.My friend said they cannot come today.
어머니께서 저녁을 준비하신다고 하셨어요.My mother said she would make dinner.
그 영화가 아주 재미있다고 들었어요.I heard that film is very good.
형이 어제 새 차를 샀다고 했어요.My older brother said he bought a new car yesterday.
지수 씨는 내년에 유학을 갈 거라고 했어요.Jisu said she will go abroad to study next year.
가게 주인이 이게 마지막 하나라고 했어요.The shopkeeper said this was the last one.
아버지께서 오늘 늦게 들어오신다고 하셨어요.My father said he would be home late today.
친구가 요즘 한국어를 배운다고 했어요.My friend said they are learning Korean these days.
Worth knowing (2)
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Who is "I" in the report?
When someone speaks about themselves, the report does not keep 저 or 나: it uses 자기, “oneself”, or the person’s name. 민수 씨가 자기가 하겠다고 했어요, “Minsu said he would do it”.
지민 씨가 자기가 계산하겠다고 했어요.Jimin said she would pay.
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I heard that: -다고 들었어요
With 듣다 instead of 하다, the report passes on news without naming a source: -다고 들었어요, “I heard that”. Note the irregular past of 듣다: 들었어요.
이 근처에 새 카페가 생겼다고 들었어요.I heard that a new café has opened near here.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
-ㄴ/는다고 is only for action verbs. 춥다 describes, so it takes plain -다고, just as its plain form is 춥다 and not 춥는다.
Put the words into the plain style, add -go, then say who said it — and leave the tense as it was.
Your turn
11 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.