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«Я уста́л». “I’m tired.” · past form Он сказа́л, что уста́л. He said (that) he was tired. · still уста́л
Он сказа́л, что уста́л (on ska-ZAL, shto us-TAL). English shifts the tense back; Russian keeps exactly the verb the speaker used, and что can never be dropped.
Russian grammar·Ко́свенная речь

Russian reported speech

“She said she was busy.” “He asked if I knew Ivan.” “Mum told me to call.” Reporting what someone said is simpler in Russian than in English: the tense never changes. What you do need are four linking words, and the right one for each kind of sentence.

B1 to C1·12 min read·Audio for every example
The short answer

Reported speech (ко́свенная речь, KOS-vin-na-ya ryech) retells someone’s words without quoting them. In Russian, keep the speaker’s original tense and change only the pronouns. Then choose the link: что for statements, ли for yes/no questions, the question word itself for questions like where or when, and что́бы + past form for requests and orders. Always put a comma before the link.

Four kinds of sentence, four links

Decide what the original sentence was, and the link follows. The link is red throughout this page; tap any sentence to hear it.

Statement что shto · that “I’m busy.” Она́ сказа́ла, что занята́. Yes/no question ли lee · whether “Are you coming?” Он спроси́л, приду́ ли я. Question-word question где… gdye · where “Where do you live?” Он спроси́л, где я живу́. Request, order что́бы SHTO-by · to “Call me!” Она́ сказа́ла, что́бы я позвони́л.

The tense stays the same

In English, “I am busy” becomes “she said she was busy”. Russian keeps the speaker’s own tense: present stays present, future stays future. Only the pronoun and the verb ending change to fit the new speaker. This is the single most important rule on the page.

TenseShe said…Reported
Present
Past
Future

Statements: verb of saying + что

что (shto) here means “that”. English often drops “that”; Russian never drops что. The same pattern works after verbs of thinking and knowing, which is how you report thoughts as well as words.

Yes/no questions: ли, “whether”

To report a question that expects yes or no, Russian uses the small word ли (lee), meaning “whether” or “if”. Its position is fixed: take the word the question is about, put it first in the clause, and put ли straight after it. Usually that word is the verb.

SHE ASKED «Ты зна́ешь Ива́на?» “Do you know Ivan?” REPORTED Она́ спроси́ла, зна́юли я Ива́на. She asked whether I knew Ivan. verb first, then ли
The tense stays present (зна́ю), and the pronoun changes because I am now the one reporting: ты → я.

Questions with где, когда́, почему́…

A question that starts with a question word keeps it as the link, followed by normal word order. Nothing else is added. See all the question words in questions.

Requests and orders: что́бы + past form

To report “tell someone to…” or “ask someone to…”, use что́бы (SHTO-by) and then the verb in its past-tense form, even though the action is in the future. Here the past form doesn’t mean past time; it marks a wish. When the person asked is the one who will act, many verbs also allow a shorter infinitive version.

Writing direct speech

When you quote someone word for word, Russian uses «ёлочки» (“fir-tree” quotation marks) and a dash before the words about who spoke. In novels and dialogues, each new speaker’s line starts with a dash instead. Full rules in punctuation.

PatternExample
Quote first: closing quote, comma, dash, then who spoke (with the verb first)
Speaker first: colon, then the quote
Speaker in the middle: dashes on both sides, inside one set of quotes
Dialogue: each speaker on a new line, starting with a dash, no quotes

Citing a source: по слова́м, я́кобы, мол

Beyond “he said that”, Russian has compact ways to show whose words you are passing on, and how much you trust them. They range from news language to casual speech; using them well is a C1 skill.

Check yourself

Turn the quoted words into reported speech. Say your version out loud, then reveal it.

1 Ни́на: «Я уста́ла». Ни́на сказа́ла…Nina said she was tired.
2 Па́вел: «Я позвоню́». Па́вел сказа́л…Pavel said he would call.
3 «Ты говори́шь по-ру́сски?» Он спроси́л…He asked if I spoke Russian.
4 «Где вокза́л?» Тури́ст спроси́л…The tourist asked where the station was.
5 «Закро́й окно́!» Ма́ма сказа́ла…Mum told me to close the window.
6 «Помоги́ мне!» Друг попроси́л меня́…My friend asked me to help him.
7 «Когда́ ты прие́дешь?» Она́ спроси́ла…She asked when I’d arrive.
8 «Я люблю́ джаз». Он сказа́л…He said he loved jazz.

Related guides

Joining sentences что, что́бы, потому́ что, е́сли and every linking word. Questions Every question word, and how intonation makes a question. Punctuation Quotation marks, dashes and the commas before что. The conditional with бы The family что́бы belongs to: wishes and hypotheticals. Particles ли, же, ведь and the small words that set the tone. The passive voice сообщи́ли, задержа́ли: the “they” form used in reporting.