N4-G-031
Plain form＋と言っていました (He/She said that…)
Core / Reported Speech
👀 Layer A: Visual Guide
📝 Quick Summary
This grammar point is used to report what a third person said. The particle と (to) acts like quotation marks. You must change the quoted sentence into its Plain Form before adding to itte imashita.
Structure: [Plain Form] + と 言っていました。
Example: リーさんは 日本へ いく と言っていました (Lee-san said that he will go to Japan).
🔗 Connected Grammar:
🔍 Layer B: Deepening
💡 Raya’s Hack
Why “Te-imashita” instead of “Mashita”?
When you report a message, you use 言っていました (Itte imashita) instead of 言いました (Iimashita).
Why? Because “Iimashita” focuses on the action of someone’s mouth moving in the past. “Itte imashita” focuses on the fact that their message is still valid and you are delivering it now. It translates closely to “They were saying that…”. For relaying messages, always use Itte imashita!
🚧 Joy’s Mistake
Scene: Joy is reporting that his coworker will be absent (Yasumi).
Joy: 「たなかさんは やすみ と 言っていました。」
(Tanaka-san wa yasumi to itte imashita.)
❌ The Missing “DA”!
Why?
When we learned Kamoshiremasen (Might be), we had to drop the “da” for nouns and Na-adjectives. But for reported speech, you are quoting a full, complete thought. “Yasumi” is incomplete. You MUST use the full plain form ending 「だ」.
Correct: 「やすみだ と 言っていました。」 (He said that it is a holiday/he is resting.)
🔥 Layer C: Practice Loop
Master the art of passing messages! (Hiragana and English only)
Level 1: Conjugation (Make it Plain + と言っていました)
Q1. Said they will go (いきます)
Q2. Said they won’t eat (たべません)
Q3. Said it is delicious (おいしいです – I-Adj)
Q4. Said they are a student (がくせいです – Noun)
Q5. Said it is quiet (しずかです – Na-Adj)
Level 2: Full Sentences
Q6. Tanaka-san said he will go to Japan.
Q7. The teacher said there is a test tomorrow.
Q8. She said that she is busy today. (いそがしい)
Q9. He said that he doesn’t know. (わからない)
Q10. Ken said that he was sick yesterday. (びょうき – Past)
