Examples of indirect speech

When you transcribe speech in writing, you can use a direct quotation in which the words are reported word for word (verbatim). This is usually reflected in writing by the use of quotation marks.

However, it is also possible to report speech indirectly. In indirect speech such quotes are incorporated as a subordinate clause into another clause and in writing quotation marks are never used. The word order in the subclause is different from that in a main clause. In the subordinate clause (the reported indirect speech), the finite verb (and other verbs) will occur in the final or penultimate position. The subordinate clause is initiated by the conjunctions dat or of, or by a question word.

Examples 1-3 above show that when reporting declarative sentences, the conjunction dat is used.

When reporting a question, two possibilities arise. With yes/no questions, the conjunction of is used (4). When reporting questions which start with a question word (5-6), no conjunction is needed as the question word itself functions as a conjunction.

When relating what people have said, the verb zeggen is normally used. However, other verbs describing ways of talking are also possible, e.g. roepen (to shout) or fluisteren (to whisper).

When reporting uncertainty on the part of the speaker, the conjunction of is used, for example with the verbs twijfelen (to doubt) or niet zeker weten (not to be sure).