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A few notes on word order in indirect speech
A sentence in indirect speech is a subordinated sentence, the finite verb
goes to the end.
Erik zegt dat hij graag frietjes eet. Erik says he likes to eat fries.
If the sentence contains a modal or other auxiliary verb, this verb can be
either before or after the infinitive or past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
Erik zegt dat hij frietjes wil eten/eten wil.
Erik says he wants to eat fries.
Erik zegt dat hij gisteren frietjes gegeten heeft/heeft gegeten.
Erik says he ate fries yesterday.
If the verb group contains more than one infinitive, the finite verb must
be placed before the infinitives. Examples:
Erik zegt dat hij minder frietjes zou moeten eten.
Erik says he should eat less fries.
Erik zei dat hij wel twee zakken frietjes had kunnen eten.
Erik says he could have eaten two bags of fries.
In a sentence with a separated pronominal adverb with er-, er must
follow the subject or, if the verb is reflexive, the reflexive pronoun.
Examples:
Frietjes? Erik zegt dat hij er gek op is.
Fries? Erik says he’s crazy about them.
Frietjes? Erik zegt dat hij zich er dood aan kan eten.
Fries? Erik says he could stuff himself with them.
If the sentence contains a separable verb, the separable part is re-joined
with the main verb in the subordinated sentence. If the past participle is
split, the separable prefix must be placed right before the verb group.
Sanne zegt dat ze nooit een hele zak friet opeet.
Sanne says she never eats a whole bag of fries.
Erik zegt dat hij gisteren ook Sannes overgebleven frietjes op heeft
gegeten/heeft opgegeten.
Erik says he also ate the rest of Sanne’s fries yesterday.
A few
notes on
word
order in
indirect
speech
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