Reported Speech
மறைமுக பேச்சு
Reporting what someone said pushes English's verb tense one step back into the past — a shift with a close functional cousin in Tamil's என்று quotative marker, even though the mechanism differs.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
English shifts the tense back; Tamil marks the quote with என்று instead
She said, 'I am tired.' → She said (that) she was tired. (am shifts back to was)
அவள் 'நான் களைப்பா இருக்கேன்' என்று சொன்னாள். (the quoted verb form itself doesn't need to shift — என்று marks it as reported instead)
Tamil marks a reported statement by closing it with என்று ('that/so'), right after the original words, without needing to change the tense of the quoted verb at all. English instead leaves the quote-marking word (that) optional and does its real work by shifting the entire verb one tense further into the past — am becomes was, will becomes would, have becomes had. This tense-shifting is the actual mechanism to learn here; Tamil's என்று gives you the right instinct for when reported speech is happening, but not for how English signals it grammatically.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| English | Pronunciation | Tamil |
|---|---|---|
| She said she was tired. | shee sed shee wuz TY-erd | அவள் களைப்பா இருக்குன்னு சொன்னாள்.avaḷ kaḷaippā irukkunnu sonnāḷ. |
| He said he would come. | hee sed hee wood kum | அவன் வருவேன்னு சொன்னான்.avan varuvēnnu sonnān. |
| They said they had finished. | thay sed thay had FIN-isht | அவங்க முடிச்சாச்சுன்னு சொன்னாங்க.avanga muḍichāchunnu sonnānga. |