Direct and indirect statements

Direct and Indirect Statements

Direct statements in Latin grammar are those where the speaker directly reports his or her declaration. They are straightforward and simple, e.g., Marcus dicit, “Ego sum in urbe.” which translates to ‘Marcus says, “I am in the city.”’
Indirect statements (also known as indirect discourse) are the way that Latin reports speech or thought. Instead of using a simple clause or a quote, indirect statements are used, e.g., Marcus dicit se in urbe esse, which translates to ‘Marcus says that he is in the city.’

The structure of an indirect statement begins with a verb of thinking, saying, believing or perceiving (dico, puto, scio, nego, etc).
This is followed by the subject of the statement in accusative case, which serves as the thing being commented on or spoken about.
The action or state being described in the indirect statement is then conveyed by an infinitive verb.
Keep in mind that this is different from English, where we typically use that-clauses to express indirect statements, such as ‘He says that…’ or ‘She believes that…’. The lack of a word equivalent to ‘that’ in Latin indirect discourse is a central part of its structure.

To convert a direct statement to an indirect statement, the subject of the direct statement becomes accusative in the indirect statement. The verb becomes infinitive.
For example, the direct statement Caesar dicit: “Tu mea amica es” (Caesar says: “You are my friend”) becomes Caesar dicit te meam amicam esse (Caesar says that you are my friend).

When translating from Latin to English, it is usually more natural to translate the Latin indirect statement into English indirect discourse using a ‘that’-clause: ‘Marcus says that he is in the city.’
While working with indirect statements, remember that the time frame is relative to the main (introducing) verb, not our own perspective as the translator.
These distinctions in constructing and translating indirect statements are crucial for proper understanding of Latin prose and for achieving a high grade in Latin grammar.