~と いいました
(so-and-so) said ~
We use:
- ~と言った(といった)、~と言いました(といいました)- (So-and-so) said ...
- ~と言っている(といっている)~と言っています(といっています)- (So-and-so) says ...
Quoted phrase + と 言った / と 言いました
(So-and-so) said ~
(So-and-so) said ~
Reporting direct speech - i.e. exactly what the person said, in quotation brackets:
先生は、「あした、テストがありますよ!」と 言いました。
The teacher said, "There's a test tomorrow!"
The teacher said, "There's a test tomorrow!"
Reporting indirect speech - i.e. the gist or content of what the person said, but not necessarily in the exact words they used:
先生は、あした テストがあると 言いました。
The teacher said that there would be a test tomorrow.
The teacher said that there would be a test tomorrow.
Examples:
(Note that the difference between direct and indirect speech is much less distinct in Japanese than in English.)
(Note that the difference between direct and indirect speech is much less distinct in Japanese than in English.)
Quoted phrase + と 言っている / と 言っています
(So-and-so) says ~
(So-and-so) says ~
There's a difference in nuance between using this structure and the one above. When we use this structure, we're more concerned with conveying the content of what the person said, rather than the fact that they said it. (Yes, a very subtle nuance!)
先生は、あした テストがあると 言っています。
The teacher says there's a test tomorrow.
(Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but that's what they're saying.)
The teacher says there's a test tomorrow.
(Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but that's what they're saying.)
Examples:
