When translating from direct speech to indirect speech, you need to remember a few more points.
I. First - in addition to verbs, they also change circumstances of time (words that indicate When action took place):
Direct speech:
Chuck Norris: "Hoy he mirado al horizonte y he visto mi nuca." -Today I looked at the horizon and saw the back of my head.
If we translate into indirect speech in terms of Presente , only the face will change:
Plan Presente:
Chuck Norris dice que hoy ha mirado al horizonte y ha visto su nuca. - Chuck Norris says that today he looked at the horizon and saw the back of his head.
When translated into indirect speech to Pasado plan we will also need to change the word hoy - Today. It will change to aquel día - that day.
Plan Pasado:
Chuck Norris dijo que aquel día el había mirado al horizonte y había visto su nuca. - Chuck Norris said that that day he looked at the horizon and saw the back of his head.
You need to get used to the fact that in Spanish words such as today, yesterday and many others are taken literally. Therefore, the words of the Presente plan must change when moving to the Pasado plan:
| Direct speech: | Plan Presente: | Plan Pasado: |
| este* - | este - this one (for example: este martes) | ese/aquel - that (for example: aquel martes) |
| ayer - yesterday | ayer - yesterday | el día anterior - on the previous day |
| mañana - Tomorrow | mañana - Tomorrow | al día siguiente - the next day |
| Ahora - Now | Ahora - Now | entonces - Then |
| etc. | ||
* these words change in gender and numberesta, estos, estas (this, this, these) -> esa, esos, esas/aquella, aquellos, aquellas (that/those/those)
Examples with words from the table:
Carlos: “Este martes he paseado.” - Dijo que aquel martes había paseado.
Carlos: "This Tuesday I went for a walk." - He said that he went for a walk that Tuesday.
Carlos: “Ayer aprobé el examen de conducir.” - Carlos dijo que el día anterior él había aprobado el examen de conducir.
Carlos: "Yesterday I passed my license." - Carlos said that he passed his license that day.
Carlos: “Mañana voy a visitar a mi abuela.” - Carlos dijo que al día siguiente iba a visitar a su abuela.
Carlos: "I'm going to visit my grandma tomorrow." - Carlos said that he was going to visit his grandmother the next day.
Carlos: “Ahora estudio en el tercer curso de la universidad.” - Carlos dijo que entonces estudiaba en el tercer curso de la universidad.
Carlos: "I'm currently in my third year." - Carlos said that he was in his third year at the time.
II. Second important point- translation into indirect speech questions .
Questions in Spanish are divided into special and general.
1) Special - those who have question word(you can see more details ).
And they change, like ordinary phrases - the structure itself remains the same, only the tenses and persons change:
Direct speech:
Luisito: "¿ Por qué Alfredo siempre se sienta en el asiento delantero del autobús?"
Why does Alfred always sit in the front seat on the bus?
Plan Presente:
Luisito ha preguntado por qué Alfredo siempre se sienta
Luisito asked why Alfred always sits in the front seat on the bus.
( as you can see, the question has not changed; the structure, when translated into indirect speech, is completely preserved )
Plan Pasado:
Luisito pregunto por qué Alfredo siemprese sentabaen el asiento delantero del autobús.
Luisito asked why does Alfred always sit down ( sat down at that moment when the question was asked) in the front seat of the bus.
2) General questions do not contain a question word (more about them), so they are introduced into indirect speech with the word si - whether. Please note that si is put before question :
Direct speech:
Alfredo: Porque así se puede llegar más rápido. ¿Has pensado alguna vez en eso?
Because this way you can get there faster. Have you ever thought about this?
Plan Presente:
Alfredo ha contestado que es porque así se puede llegar más rapido y ha preguntado si Luisito ha pensado alguna vez en eso.
Alfred replied that it was because it would get there faster and asked if Luisito had ever thought about it.
Plan Pasado:
Alfredo contesto que era porque así se podía llegar más rapido y pregunto si Luisito había pensado alguna vez en eso.
Alfred replied that this was because it was possible (it was possible at that time) to get there faster and asked if Luisito had ever thought about this.
After watching the video, you can also see the diagram that Alfred provides to substantiate his statement.
As in Russian, in Spanish we can convey someone's words through a subordinate clause. How to do this correctly so that you are understood and don’t make a bunch of grammatical mistakes. A subordinate clause that conveys someone's words is introduced using verbs. They can:
- talk about something (decir - say, manifestar - express, relatar - tell, agregar - add, comunicar - inform, explicar - explain, replicar - notice, gritar - shout, exclamar - exclaim, indica r - note, afirmar - assert, state, contar - count, tell, informar - report, responder - answer);
- express a command or request (mandar - to order, rogar - to beg, ordenar - to order, pedir - p to grow, exigir - to demand);
- express an opinion or judgment about an event (saber - to know, creer - to count/believe, comprender - to understand, pensar - to think, adivinar - to guess).
Connecting main and subordinate clauses
If indirect speech transmits declarative sentence, then the main and subordinate clauses are connected using que.
For example: María dice que no sale a pasear porque hace mal tiempo. (Maria says that she doesn’t go out for a walk because the weather outside is bad.);
Elena ha dicho que ella estudia el español y Pablo el francés. (Elena said that she is learning Spanish, and Pablo is learning French).
If in indirect speech you need to convey a question, then the conjunction used depends on that in direct speech.
- If there is a question word in direct speech, then it does not change in indirect speech. These words could be: quién, qué, cuándo, cómo, dónde, cuál and so on.
For example: Me pregunta: “¿Cuándo viene mi hermana?” - Me pregunta cuándo viene mi hermana. (He asks me when my sister will arrive).
- If interrogative sentence presented in direct speech without a conjunction, then when converted into an indirect clause, the subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction si (li).
For example:
El profesor ha preguntado: “¿Tienen ustedes el periódico de hoy?” —
El profesor ha preguntado si tenemos el periódico de hoy. (The teacher asked if we had today's newspaper).
- If an exclamation needs to be conveyed in a subordinate clause of indirect speech, then it is conveyed by the conjunction que.
For example: Andrés dice: “¡Es maravilloso!” — Andrés dice que es maravilloso. (Andrés says it's wonderful).
Changing verb tense in a subordinate clause
Correctly composing a sentence of indirect speech means correctly coordinating the tenses of the subordinate and main clauses. The use of tense in a subordinate clause directly depends on:
- verb tense in the main clause;
- simultaneously or not (earlier, later) the action occurs in the main and subordinate clauses.
The verb in the main clause can be in the present, future or past tense.
1) If the main clause is in the present or future tense, as well as in the Pretérito Perfecto (Compuesto) tense, then no changes in time occur in the subordinate clause. There is a change in the person of the verb or possessive pronoun(if in direct speech it is always mainly “I”, then in indirect speech, accordingly, it will be “he or she, they”). (In the table, the subordinate clause is highlighted in bold)
Spanish version of indirect speech | Translation | Explanation of meaning |
Él/Ella dice que baila. | He/She says he/she is dancing. | The present tense is used in the subordinate clause, since the action occurs simultaneously with the action of the main sentence. |
Dice que ha bailado. | He says he danced. | The action in the subordinate clause occurred before the moment of explanation, and the precedence is shown using the tense Pretérito perfecto compuesto. |
Dice que trabajaron ayer. | He says they worked yesterday. | If the subordinate clause has a temporal indicator for the past tense, then it will be in the past Pretérito indefinido. |
Él ha dicho que bailará. | He said he would dance. | The subordinate clause is used in the future tense, since the action has not yet occurred. |
2) If the verb of the main sentence is expressed in one of the past tenses, then many changes occur. First of all, you need to remember and learn the rules for coordinating times (shown in the table below).
Main offer | Direct speech time | Time subordinate clause in indirect speech |
Pretérito indefinido Pretérito imperfecto Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto | Pretérito imperfecto |
|
Pretérito perfecto, Pretérito indefinido | Pluscuamperfecto |
|
Condicional Simple (Condicional Imperfecto) |
||
Pretérito Imperfecto | Pretérito Imperfecto/Pluscuamperfecto |
|
Conditional simple | Conditional simple |
Adverbs of time and place also change
In direct speech | In indirect speech |
al día siguiente |
|
el día anterior |
For example:
Carmen dijo: “Ayer traduje este texto” – Carmen dijo que el día anterior había traducido aquel texto. (Carmen said that she translated the text yesterday).
María dijo: “No conozco a tu madre” - María dijo que no conocía a mi madre. (Maria said she didn’t know my mother).
El profesor dijo: “Pronto empezaremos el repaso” - El profesor dijo que pronto empezaríamos el repaso. (The professor said that we will start revising soon).
One of the important processes in studying Spanish is the coordination of times. Combination of tenses- this is a set of basic rules that provide for the correct combination of tenses with each other.
The basic order of tense agreement is used if the verb word in the main phrase is used in three time periods: Pluscuamperfecto, Indefinido And Imperfecto.
The verb word in the main phrase is used in three forms:
- real (Presente de indicativo);
- past, which was recently (Preterito perfecto);
- in any of the types of future tense (Futuro inmediato, Futuro simple).
Let's consider in what cases a verb word is used in an auxiliary sentence.
- To indicate precedence in recent times and times that have long passed. For example: Tienen la esperanza de que Rodríguez llegó hoy. “They hope Rodriguez arrived today.” Pensó que Juanita llegó ayer. “He thought that Juanita arrived yesterday.”
- To show events that happen at one moment, real life is used presente time de indicativo. For example: Creemos que Pedro llega hoy. – We think that Pedro is arriving today.
- To denote incidents taking place in the future, the real tense Presente de indicativo and any type of future tense are used – Futuro simple (José vendrá), Futuro inmediato (va a venir). For example: Se sugiere que María vendría hoy. – She assumes that Maria will come today.
To convey events that happened a long time ago, for example, in the previous month, the main phrase includes the long past tense Preterito indefinido and the past continuous tense Preterito imperfecto. In such a situation, the auxiliary sentence will contain events expressed in two ways:
- to denote incidents occurring at one moment - past continuous tense Pretérito imperfecto;
- designation of incidents of the upcoming time in the past - the relative (conditional) mood of the verb word Potencial imperfecto.
The following are examples of these two options: Pensaban que Carlos llega. “They thought Carlos was coming.” Se enteró de que María viene. “She found out that Maria was coming.
In Spanish, after using verb words denoting emotions and desires, the subjunctive mood is used. In the main sentence, this type of verb word is used in the real presente, recently past Preterito perfecto or any future tense Futuro inmediato(Yo voy a esperar), Futuro simple(Yo esperare). In this case, in the auxiliary phrase, the real moment of the subjunctive declension Presente de subjuntivo is used to denote simultaneous or upcoming events. For example: Creemos que Carlos va. – We think Carlos will come. Se espera que María llegó. – She will hope that Maria will arrive.
Also, the main phrase can have verb words in the continuous past tense Pretérito imperfecto and conditional mood Potential imperfecto. This case involves the appearance in the auxiliary sentence of the past tense of the subjunctive mood Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo. For example: Ellos pensaban que María vendría. “They thought Mary would come.” Esperamos que Carlos llega. – We would hope that Carlos would arrive.
So the process coordination of times in Spanish - This is an important task, the implementation of which, for the most part, requires detailed and detailed analysis.
In my opinion, translation into indirect speech and coordination of tenses in Spanish is a purely mechanical work, requiring mostly careful analysis rather than any in-depth knowledge.
Coordination of times
Indirect speech in Spanish is most often introduced by the conjunction que (that, that). Unlike Russian, in Spanish much attention is paid to various temporal shades, which leads to the emergence of such a concept as the coordination of tenses in indirect speech.
Tense matching works as for tenses indicative mood(modo indicativo) and for the subjunctive (modo subjuntivo). In fact, their operating mechanism is the same, and therefore, once you have mastered agreement in the indicative mood, there will be no more problems with the subjunctive. However, due to the larger number of tenses in modo indicativo, mastering this grammatical topic is sometimes not so easy.
Is it always worth thinking about coordinating tenses when we retell someone's words and remarks? The answer is no. As in other languages, direct temporal agreement occurs only when the tense of the verb in the main clause requires it. But for clarity, we will analyze both cases of translation into indirect speech.
I. The main clause uses the present tense plan
So, let's start with the good: when the main clause contains one of the tenses of the present plan, i.e.:
- Presente de Indicativo - yo digo que/I say that...
- Pretérito Perfecto - tú has admittedido que/you admitted that...
- Futuro Proximo - él te va a gritar que/he will shout to you that...
- Futuro Simple (Imperfecto) - él afirmará que/he will confirm that...
- Futuro Perfecto - nosotros habremos dicho que/we will already say that...
- Imperative - digan que/say that...
There will be no changes in the tenses of the subordinate clause. Let's take a closer look at what can be in the main clause in this case and what in the subordinate clause.
I.I. The subordinate clause must express an action that occurs simultaneously with the moment of speech in the main sentence. At the same time, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate clause - Presente de Indicativo.
Direct speech
A) Lola dice a José: “Voy al cine.”
Lola tells Jose, “I’m going to the movies.”
Indirect speech
Lola dice a José que va al cine.
Lola tells Jose that she is going to the cinema.
B) (Esta mañana) Lola ha dicho a José: “Estoy levantándome.”
(This morning) Lola said to Jose, “I get up.”
Lola ha dicho a José que está levantándose.
Lola told Jose that she was getting up.
C) (Verás que) Ella dirá: “No soy culpable.”
(You'll see) She'll say, "It's not my fault."
(Verás que) Ella dirá que ella no es culpable.
(You'll see) She'll say it's not her fault
D) Por favor, dile a Juan: “Ya estoy lista.”
Please tell Juan: “I’m ready.”
Por favor, dile a Juan que ya estoy lista.
Please tell Juan that I'm ready.
I.II. The subordinate clause must express an action that will occur after the moment of speech. At the same time, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate tense we use Futuro Simple or Futuro Perfecto.
Direct speech
A) Lola dice a José: “Mañana volveré.”
Lola tells Jose, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Indirect speech
Lola dice a José que volverá mañana.
Lola tells Jose that she will be back tomorrow.
B) Lola ha dicho a José: “Para entonces lo habré hecho todo.”
Lola told Jose: “By then I will have done everything.”
Lola ha dicho a José que lo habrá hecho todo para entonces.
Lola told Jose that she would have everything done by then.
I.III. The subordinate clause must express an action that has already been completed in relation to the moment of speech. In this case, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate tense we can choose from the past tenses - Pretérito Perfecto, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Imperfecto or Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto.
Direct speech
A) Lola dice a José: “Esta mañana no he comido nada.”
Lola tells Jose: “I haven’t eaten anything this morning.”
Indirect speech
Lola dice a José que no ha comido nada esta mañana.
Lola tells Jose that she didn't eat anything this morning.
B) Lola ha dicho a José: “Ayer oí a Pedro llamar a Rosa.”
Lola ha dicho a José que ayer oyó a Pedro llamar a Rosa.
Lola told Jose that she heard Pedro calling Rosa yesterday.
C) Lola dirá a José: “Todos los días me bañaba.”
Lola will tell Jose: “I swam every day.”
Lola dirá a José que todos los días se bañaba.
Lola will tell Jose that she bathed every day.
D) Ahora mismo llama a Juan y dile: “Cuando llegué ya se habían ido, por eso no oí nada.”
Call Juan now and say: When I arrived, they were already gone, so I didn't hear anything.
Ahora mismo llama a Juan y dile que cuando llegué ya se habían ido, por eso no oí nada.
Call Juan now and tell him they were gone when I got there, so I didn't hear anything.
II. The main clause uses the past tense plan
Finally, the time has come to figure out which tenses belong to the past and why we should be careful when they appear in the main clause.
So, to the plane of past times we with all courage refer:
- Pretérito Indefinido
- Pretérito Imperfecto
- Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto
- Potential Simple (Imperfecto)
- Potencial Compuesto (Perfecto)
II.I. The subordinate clause must express an action that occurs simultaneously with the moment of speech in the main sentence. At the same time, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate tense - Imperfecto de Indicativo.
Direct speech
A) Lola dijo a José: “Voy al cine.”
Lola said to Jose: “I’m going to the cinema.”
Indirect speech
Lola dice a José que iba al cine.
Lola told Jose that she was going to the cinema.
II.II. The subordinate clause must express an action that will occur after the moment of speech. At the same time, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate tense we use Potencial Simple or Potencial Perfecto.
Direct speech
A) Lola dijo a José: “Mañana volveré.”
Lola told Jose, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Indirect speech
Lola dijo a José que volvería al día siguiente.
Lola told Jose that she would return the next day.
B) Lola cada vez decía a José: “Para entonces lo habré hecho todo”, pero no hizo nada.
Lola told Jose every time: “By then I will have done everything,” but she did nothing.
Lola cada vez decía a José que lo habría hecho todo, pero no hizo nada.
Lola told Jose every time that she would do anything, but she did nothing.
II.III. The subordinate clause must express an action that has already been completed in relation to the moment of speech. In this case, in the main tense we use one of the above tenses, and in the subordinate tense - Pretérito Imperfecto or Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto.
Direct speech
A) Lola repetía a José: “No he comido nada.”
Lola repeated to Jose: “I didn’t eat anything.”
Indirect speech
Lola decía a José que no había comido nada.
Lola told Jose that she had not eaten anything.
B) Lola dijo a José: “Ayer oí a Pedro llamar a Rosa.”
Lola said to Jose: “I heard Pedro calling Rosa yesterday.”
Lola dijo a José que el día anterior había oído a Pedro llamar a Rosa.
Lola told Jose that she heard Pedro calling Rosa the previous day.
C) Lola diría a José: “Todos los días me bañaba.”
Lola would tell Jose: “I swam every day.”
Lola diría a José que todos los días se bañaba.
Lola would tell Jose that she bathed every day.
If we briefly “pack” these rules into a table, we get the following:
| Plan Presente Plan of present times |
⇒ | Plan Pasado Plan of past tenses |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| acción simultanea action simultaneous with speech |
Presente de Indicativo el canta |
⇒ | Pretérito Imperfecto el cantaba |
| acción posterior action following the moment of speech |
Futuro Simple el cantará |
⇒ | Potential Simple El Cantaria |
| accession anterior action preceding the moment of speech |
Pretérito Perfecto el ha cantado |
⇒ | Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto El había cantado |
| Pretérito Indefinido el canto |
⇒ | Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto El había cantado |
|
| Pretérito Imperfecto el cantaba |
⇒ | Pretérito Imperfecto el cantaba |
|
| Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto El había cantado |
⇒ | Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto El había cantado |
Agreement between demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time and place
You probably noticed that when translated into indirect speech, not only tenses change, but also some other parts of speech: faces, as well as demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time. You will have to deal with the individuals yourself - think about who/to whom/about whom they are reporting. But demonstrative pronouns and adverbs should also be changed according to the sign, if, of course, the context requires it:
The real plan
este/esta/estos/estas
aquí
mañana
hoy
Ahora
ayer
esta semana/este mes, siglo, etc.
el año que viene
Passed plan
aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas
allí
al día siguiente
aquel día
entonces
el día anterior
aquella semana/aquel mes, siglo, etc.
el año que venía
Below I will give some tips that you should definitely remember when translating into indirect speech; in fact, this is some kind of algorithm, using which you can easily learn to translate any tricky direct speech into estilo indirecto.
1. Decide which one time plan costs in the main clause.
If the verb is in Presente, Futuro Simple, Futuro Proximo or Pretérito Perfecto (=Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto), then you can safely skip the next two points and continue only with No. 4. If you have a past plan time (for example, Pretérito Indefinido (=Pretérito Perfecto Simple), then points 2 and 3 are mandatory.
2. Consider used in the phrase verbs And determine what time they stand.
Here you need to be fluent in the tenses of the indicative mood or be able to use auxiliary tablets for the formation of tenses. Change them according to the table and time context (see details below).
3. Find demonstrative pronouns(acting as both an adjective and a noun) and circumstances of the time. These should also be changed.
4. Find possessive, personal pronouns and again verbs- we need to analyze whether the face will change. This procedure is also typical for the Russian language:
Direct speech
Lola tells Jose, “I’ll pick up your dress from the dry cleaners on Monday.”
Indirect speech
Lola tells Jose that she will pick up his dress from the dry cleaners on Monday.
And now about the bad...
The bad thing is that, of course, at levels C1 and C2 it becomes not enough to be a “monkey” who deftly changes times according to the table. Unfortunately, here we already have to keep in mind the nuances - when did they say what you want to convey, and when do you convey it? Such situations are much more realistic, but, unfortunately, many textbooks are limited only to the rules that we discussed above.
Let's look at the following situation: on June 5 (Monday), in a conversation with Lola, Jose learned that she was going on an excursion on Tuesday. After that, he phoned his friend Pedro a) the next day, i.e. when Lola is on an excursion; b) every other day, i.e. the day after Lola's excursion; c) ever again.
Lola dice a José: “El miércoles iré de excursión.”
Jose habla con Pedro: “Ayer Lola me dijo que mañana va/irá de excursión.”
Jose habla con Pedro: “Anteayer Lola me dijo que hoy va de excursión.”
Jose habla con Pedro: “El lunes Lola me dijo que iría de excursión.”
Thus, we see that once you have become fluent in what goes where on the table, you will have to break the illusion a little that it is all simple mechanics. Above we clearly showed how thoughtful this process should be and at the same time how natural it should be when we speak our native language.
Let's once again translate the phrases from the previous presentation into indirect speech.
But this time we'll put main offer in Plan Pasado .
That is, let's start like this:
Ramon dijo/decía que… - Ramon said or said that...
We have already said that every time Plan Presente has its analogue in Pasado plan :
| Plan Presente: | Plan Pasado: |
| 1. Futuro Simple | |
| 2. Presente | ->
Imperfecto de Indicativo -> Pretérito Indefinido |
| 3. Pretérito Perfecto | ->
Pretérito Indefinido -> Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto |
When translating from direct speech to indirect speech, the tenses of the present plan will move into the corresponding tenses of the past plan.
Direct speech:
I'm a butler and I work in big house.
Plan Presente: Ramon dice/ ha dicho/ dira que es mayordomo trabaj a en una casa grande.
Ramon says/said/will say that he is a butler and works in a big house.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo/ decía que…
If you leave it here Presente ( Ramon dijo/ decía que es mayordomo trabaja en una casa grande.), the phrase will be meaningless.
In this case it turns out that Ramon said in the past , What working now butler.
As you understand, this cannot happen in real life.
When translated into plan pasado in Spanish, it is implied that it was butler and worked in a big house at that time (!!! ) when he said this.
That's why present will go to past continuous :
Direct speech: Ramón: “Soy mayordomo y trabajo en una casa grande.”
Plan Presente: Ramon dice que es mayordomo trabaj a en una casa grande.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo(decía) que era mayordomo trabajaba en una casa grande.
Ramon said (said) that he (was at the moment when he spoke) a butler and works (worked) in a big house.
Direct speech: Ramón: Hoy me he puesto el lazo porque celebramos una fiesta.
Today I wore a bow tie because we are celebrating a holiday.
Plan Presente: Ramon dice que hoy se ha puesto un lazo porque ellos celebran una fiesta.
Ramon says he is wearing a bowtie today because they are celebrating a holiday.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo(decía) que…
Again we change the tenses of the Presente plan to their analogues:
Ramon said he put on a bow tie. That is, he put it on first(1 ), A then he said about it(2 ). In the main sentence Indefinido (2 ) (or Imperfecto), which means that we can express the earlier action using Pluscuamperfecto .
The present will again pass into the past incomplete - Presente -> Imperfecto de Indicativo.
They note ( celebran ) the holiday will turn into them noted ( celebraban) holiday at that time.
Because the word hoy is a marker of present tenses, it also needs to be changed aquel día - that day.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo (decía) que aquel día se había puesto un lazo porque ellos celebraban una fiesta.
Ramon said he wore a bow tie that day because they were celebrating a holiday.
Direct speech: Ramón: “Antes siempre teníamos no menos de veinte invitados.”
Previously, we always had at least twenty guests.
Plan Presente: Ramon dice que antes siempre tenian
Ramon says that they used to always have at least twenty guests.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo que...
IN in this case we can time Imperfecto leave to save duration in the past. After all, all other past tenses are responsible for completed, committed actions.
Plan Pasado:
1) Ramon dijo(decía)que antes siempre tenian no menos de veinte invitados.
Ramon said (said) that before they always had at least twenty guests.
Another possible option - Pluscuamperfecto . We can put it too to emphasize that in everything earlier, previous times they had at least 20 guests.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo(decía)que antes siempre habian tenido no menos de veinte invitados.
Ramon said (said) that before (precisely before this) they always had at least twenty guests.
Direct speech: Ramón: “Ayer hice una foto con mi amo.”
Yesterday I took a photo with my owner.
Plan Presente: Ramon dice que ayer hizo una foto con su amo.
Ramon says he took a photo with his owner yesterday.
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo que...
In this case, there are again two actions - he I took a photo first (1 ), A then he said about it (2 ), That's why Indefinido will go to Pluscuamperfecto, A ayer- yesterday will turn into el día anterior, that is, on the previous day:
Plan Pasado: Ramon dijo que el día anterior el había hecho una foto con su amo.
