Indirect Discourse

Indirect Discourse is defined as occurring when the language of some person, other than the speaker or writer, is reported.  Indirect Discourse is also used to report what either the speaker or other person thinks or perceives, not just what was actually said.
 

Basic form:

• In Indirect Discourse, the main clause of a declaratory sentence is put into the Infinitive with a Subject Accusative.
• All subordinate clauses take the Subjunctive.
The use of the Subjunctive in Indirect Discourse only serves to indicate subordination, and is not related to the uses of the Subjunctive in simple sentences.  When the Subjunctive stands for a hortatory form of speech in Indirect Discourse, it can be regarded as a normal hortatory construction, although the person and the number might be changed in order to conform to the new sentence.
 
• spero me liberatum [esse] de metu
• I trust I have been freed from fear
• (Direct: liberatus sum)

Verbs that Initiate Indirect Discourse (Main Verbs in the Sentence):

• Saying
• Showing
• Believing
• Perceiving


Some of the most common verbs are:

Conspicere, aspicere, suspicere, prospicere, intellegere, cognoscere, comperire, scire, nescire, putare, ducere, censere, suspicari, credere,existimare, meminisse, sperare, dicere, negare, narrare, scribere, nuntiare, ostendere, demonstrare, persuadere.

    NOTES:

• The verb of saying, etc. is sometimes unexpressed, but is implied in the construction and meaning of the sentence.
• The verb nego is preferred to negating dico, even where "assert not" rather than "deny" seems to be the clear sense.
• Passive verbs of saying, etc., usually use a personal construction in the simple tenses.  The accusative subject of the infinitive appears as the nominative subject of the leading verb.
• Bibulus audiebatur esse in Syria
• It was heard that Bibulus was Syria
• Passive verbs of saying, etc., use an impersonal construction in the compound tenses.  With the gerund and gerundive an impersonal construction is regular.
• Traditum est etiam Homerum caecum fuisse
• There is a tradition, too, that Homer was blind
• Some verbs of saying can also be construed as verbs of commanding or effecting.  According to the sense of the sentence, they can either take the Infinitive plus Subject Accusative construction, or a Substantive Clause of Purpose or Result as their object.
• laudem sapientiae statuo esse maximam
• I hold that the glory of wisdom is the greatest (Infinitive plus Subject Accusative)
• Statuunt ut decem milia hominum mittantur
• They resolve that 10,000 men shall be sent (Substantive Purpose Clause)

The Infinitive in Indirect Discourse

Subordinate clauses in Indirect Discourse

General Remarks

Subordinate clauses in indirect discourse usually take the subjunctive.

The tenses of the Subjunctive in subordinate clauses in Indirect Discourse follow the rule for sequence of tenses, depending on the verb of saying, etc. for their sequence.

A Subjunctive depending upon a Perfect Infinitive is often in the Imperfect or Pluperfect even if the verb of saying, etc. is in Primary Sequence.

The Present and Perfect Subjunctive are often used in dependent clauses in Indirect Discourse even if the verb of saying, etc. is in Secondary Sequence.

A subordinate clause that is explanatory or contains information regarded to be true independent of the quotation takes the Indicative:

quis neget haec omnia quae videmus deorum potestate administrari

Who can deny that all these things we see are ruled by the power of the gods?

Imperatives

Imperatives rendered into indirect discourse take the subjunctive.

Conditions

Conditions are expressed in the following manner:

• the protasis always takes the Subjunctive
• the apodosis takes the Infinitive if it is independent (i.e., not hortatory or optative).

NOTES:

• The present subjunctive in the apodosis of future less vivid conditions becomes a future infinitive in Indirect Discourse, like the future indicative in the apodosis of future more vivid constructions. Therefore, there is no distinction between future less vivid and future more vivid conditions in Indirect Discourse.
• The protasis of contrafactual conditions remains unchanged in tense in Indirect Discourse.  If the apodosis is active, it takes an infinitive form combining the future participle with fuisse.  If the verb of the apodosis is passive, it takes the periphrasis futurum fuisse ut plus the imperfect subjunctive.
• An indicative in the apodosis in Direct Discourse becomes a perfect infinitive in Indirect Discourse.

Questions in Indirect Discourse