BP60.2 Study Resource: How to report different types of speech indirectly in Brazilian Portuguese?

On this page you’ll find lists of reporting verbs and conjunctions that are helpful when you want to report what someone else said, wrote, or thought. The verb you will use depends on whether you’re reporting a statement, a question, or a command.

If you want the full details on how to say what someone else said in Brazilian Portuguese, check out our post on reported speech in Brazilian Portuguese!

You can report a statement indirectly by using the following reporting verbs:

• acrescentar(to add)

• afirmar(to claim)

• confirmar(to confirm)

• declarar(to declare)

• dizer(to say)

• explicar(to explain)

• falar(to speak)

• informar(to inform)

• insistir(to insist)

• observar(to observe)

• responder(to respond)

• revelar(to reveal)

When used to report statements, the subordinate clause will begin with one of the following conjunctions:

• que

• o que

• porque

• como

You can report a question indirectly using one of the reporting verbs below:

• perguntar(to ask)

• questionar(to question)

• querer saber(to want to know)

The indirect question itself will be in a subordinate clause beginning with one of the following conjunctions:

• que(what)

• o que(what)

• qual(which)

• ordenar(to order)

• como(how)

• quando(when)

• onde(where)

• quem(who)

• quanto, quanta, quantos, quantas(how much/how many)

You can use the following Brazilian Portuguese verbs to report commands:

• pedir(to ask)

• exigir(to demand)

• mandar(to order)

• ordenar(to order)

• insistir(to insist)

• querer(to want)

• sugerir(to suggest)

• solicitar(to request)

The reported command will always begin with the conjunction que(that).