Lesson article
Spot the signal, compare it, then read it in context
Read all 3 sections in order. Notice the target form, compare it with the nearby alternative, then use the reading and practice below to check the meaning in context.
Section 1 of 3
Reporting speech with と言う
Place と after the quoted clause, then read the verb after it. With 言う and related verbs, と usually marks what someone said, announced, or reported.
Target signal
田中さんは「今日は休む」と言った。
Tanaka said, “I’m taking today off.”
The quoted line comes before と, and 言った shows reported speech.
Vocabulary notes
- 田中さん
- Tanaka
- さん
- Mr.; Ms.; polite name suffix
- 今日
- today
Compare in context
父は七時に帰ると言っています。
My father is saying that he will come home at seven.
The speaker can also report what someone is saying now with 言っています.
Vocabulary notes
- います
- there is; exists (animate)
- 言って
- saying and...
- いま
- now
Compare in context
先生は来週試験があると言いました。
The teacher said that there will be a test next week.
Quotation does not need quote marks as long as と and 言う make the structure clear.
Vocabulary notes
- 言いました
- said
- いました
- there was; there were (living things)
- ある
- there is not; do not have
Section 2 of 3
Expressing thoughts with と思う
The content before と is usually in plain form, even when the whole sentence ends politely. Read that content first, then attach the speaker’s thought after it.
Target signal
この店は安いと思います。
I think this shop is cheap.
The clause この店は安い comes before と思います in plain form.
Vocabulary notes
- います
- there is; exists (animate)
- いま
- now
- この
- this
Preview
明日は雨が降ると思う。
I think it will rain tomorrow.
Plain-form content before と can describe an expectation about tomorrow.
Vocabulary notes
- 思う
- to think
- 明日
- tomorrow
- 降る
- to fall (rain/snow)
Preview
山田さんはこの仕事は難しいと思っている。
Yamada thinks this job is difficult.
思っている often shows an ongoing opinion or belief.
Vocabulary notes
- 山田さん
- Mr. or Ms. Yamada
- ている
- to be doing; to be in a resulting state
- 難しい
- difficult
Section 3 of 3
Read the whole clause before と
Do not decide the meaning of と too early. First read the full chunk before it, then check the verb after it. With 言う, 思う, and 聞く, quotation is likely. With a noun before と, it may mean “with” instead.
Target signal
母はあとで店へ行くと言った。
My mother said that she would go to the shop later.
Read あとで店へ行く as one clause before と言った.
Vocabulary notes
- あとで
- later; afterward
- あと
- after; later
- 行く
- to go
Preview
明日九時に来ると聞いた。
I heard that they would come tomorrow at nine.
With 聞いた after と, the clause before と is reported information.
Vocabulary notes
- いた
- was there
- 九時
- nine o'clock
- 明日
- tomorrow
Preview
友だちと映画を見た。
I watched a movie with a friend.
Here と means “with,” not quotation, because it links a noun before 見た.
Vocabulary notes
- 友だち
- friend
- だ
- to be; plain copula
- と
- and; with; that