Phrase · 📨 Reporting what someone said
Eles falaram que iam pensar no assunto.
They said they’d think about it.
B1reporting a vague answerinformalAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Elespronountheyele · 3rd pl. · subjectfalaram1verbsaidfalar · past · 3rd pl.queconjunctionthatiam2verbwere going toir · imperfect · 3rd pl.pensar2verbthinkinfinitiveno3prepositionabout theem · masc. · sing. · definiteassuntonounmattermasc. · sing..
- Eles → falaram: subject
- falaram → que: governs
- iam → pensar: periphrasis
- pensar → no: preposition
Word for word: “They spoke that (they) were-going to-think in-the matter.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1falar que = to say that, in everyday speech; dizer que is more neutral. Reported speech I: disse que, perguntou se →
- 2"Vamos pensar" → iam pensar: ir moves to the imperfeito. Reported speech I: disse que, perguntou se →
- 3pensar em = to think about: em + o = no. Verbs with prepositions (regência I) →
Variations
- Eles disseram que iam pensar no assunto.
- Eles ficaram de pensar.
- Eles falaram que iam ver e depois davam uma resposta.