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18<br />
Indirect<br />
speech<br />
122<br />
Erik: Ik zei dat ik vanavond naar voetbal kijk.<br />
I said that I’ll be watching football tonight.<br />
Indirect statements are often introduced with phrases that include the<br />
v<strong>er</strong>bs zeggen ‘say’, denken ‘think’, v<strong>er</strong>tellen ‘tell’, menen ‘think, have an<br />
opinion’, vinden ‘think, have an opinion’, bew<strong>er</strong>en ‘maintain’, antwoorden<br />
‘answ<strong>er</strong>’ and oth<strong>er</strong>s. An indirect statement always begins with dat.<br />
Indirect questions are introduced by a question word (wie, wat, waar,<br />
wanne<strong>er</strong>, hoe, waarom, etc.) or, if the question is a yes/no question, by<br />
of ‘if, wheth<strong>er</strong>’. Indirect questions might be introduced with phrases such<br />
as ik wil weten ...‘I want to know . . .’, kunt u mij v<strong>er</strong>tellen ...‘can you<br />
tell me ...’ mag ik even vragen ...‘may I ask . . .’ and the like.<br />
Now, imagine a situation wh<strong>er</strong>e Pet<strong>er</strong> is on the phone to Karin (who<br />
is staying with a friend in Amst<strong>er</strong>dam) while Sanne is in the room with<br />
him. Ev<strong>er</strong>y now and then Sanne throws in a question or comment which<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong> then relates to Karin. This goes as follows:<br />
Sanne: Heeft ze het leuk?<br />
Is she having a good time?<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong>: Mama vraagt of je het leuk hebt.<br />
Mom asks if you’re having a good time.<br />
Sanne: Wat doet ze allemaal?<br />
What is she doing?<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong>: Mama wil weten wat je allemaal doet.<br />
Mom wants to know what you’re doing.<br />
Sanne: Zeg maar tegen haar dat ze naar het Van Goghmuseum<br />
moet gaan.<br />
Tell h<strong>er</strong> that she should go to the Van Gogh Museum.<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong>: Mama zegt dat je naar het Van Goghmuseum moet gaan.<br />
Mom says that you should go to the Van Gogh Museum.<br />
As you can see in the examples above, the subject of the indirect statement<br />
or question depends on who addresses whom and how many people<br />
are involved in the exchange of information. Note that also possessive<br />
pronouns will change. More examples:<br />
Sanne to Erik: Je wordt een beetje te dik.<br />
You’re gaining a little too much weight.<br />
Erik to a friend: Sanne zegt dat ik te dik word.<br />
Grandpa and Grandma Beum<strong>er</strong> to Pet<strong>er</strong>: We gaan dit jaar ons huis<br />
v<strong>er</strong>kopen.<br />
We’re going to sell our house this year.<br />
Pet<strong>er</strong> to Erik: Opa en oma Beum<strong>er</strong> zeiden dat ze dit jaar hun huis<br />
gaan v<strong>er</strong>kopen.