Spanish · C1 · Family moment
Your Class Has Something to Say in Spanish
This guide helps parents communicate their children's ideas about school safety in natural Spanish. At a C1 level, we focus on formal indirect speech (reported speech) to accurately convey the thoughts of a group, using the subjunctive mood to distinguish between personal observation and reported statements.
What you'll learn
- Use indirect speech (estilo indirecto) to report classmates' concerns.
- Corrects use of the past subjunctive to distinguish reported facts from hearsay.
- Master verbs of reporting like 'explicar', 'comunicar', and 'anunciar'.
- Express group consensus regarding school run safety.
Spanish phrases for your class has something to say
Tus compañeros dijeron que tenían muy poco espacio para esperar junto a la puerta del colegio.
Your classmates said they had too little space to wait beside the school gate.
Uses 'tenían' (imperfect) to report a continuous state in the past.
Los niños explicaron que les preocupaban los coches cerca del paso de cebra.
The children explained that they were worried about the cars near the crossing.
'Preocupar' functions like 'gustar'; the cars are the subject.
Los delegados de clase dijeron que podrían recoger las ideas de todos mañana.
The class representatives said they could collect everyone's ideas tomorrow.
'Podrían' is the conditional, used to report a possibility or future intention from a past perspective.
Varios niños le dijeron al maestro que tenían una mejor vista de la calle desde la otra esquina.
Several children told the teacher they had a better view of the road from the other corner.
'Vista' is used for a physical view or line of sight.
Los niños dijeron que estaban listos para probar un punto de encuentro diferente.
The children said they were ready to try a different meeting point.
'Estar listo' indicates readiness for an action.
Tus amigos explicaron que podrían caminar juntos desde la biblioteca.
Your friends explained that they could walk together from the library.
Reports a suggestion or potential plan.
Los niños anunciaron que dibujarían sus rutas sugeridas en un mapa.
The children announced that they would draw their suggested routes on a map.
'Dibujarían' (conditional) is used to report a future action relative to the past announcement.
Te transmito lo que dijeron tus compañeros: que tenían suficientes ayudantes, pero que necesitaban un lugar más seguro para reunirse.
I'm passing on what your classmates said: they had enough helpers, but they needed a safer place to meet.
'Transmitir' is the natural verb for 'passing on' information or messages.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
Paso de cebra
Zebra crossing / Crosswalk
Common term in Spain for pedestrian crossings.
Delegados de clase
Class representatives
Refers to students elected to speak for the group.
Punto de encuentro
Meeting point
Often used in the context of school logistics.
Rutas sugeridas
Suggested routes
Formal term for proposed paths or ways.
Indirect Speech and Tense Shifts
When reporting what a group said in Spanish at a C1 level, we often shift the tense to the past to maintain distance and accuracy. While English uses 'could' or 'would', Spanish utilizes the Conditional or the Imperfect Subjunctive to show that the information is being relayed.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting Fact | Decir que + Imperfecto | Dijeron que tenían (They said they had). |
| Reporting Future/Possibility | Decir que + Condicional | Dijeron que podrían (They said they could). |
| Reporting Intent | Anunciar que + Condicional | Anunciaron que dibujarían (They announced they would draw). |
More examples
Si ellos tuvieran más tiempo, caminarían más despacio.
If they had more time, they would walk more slowly.
Contrast: Here, 'tuvieran' (Subjunctive) indicates a hypothetical, whereas in reported speech we use the indicative 'tenían'.
Me comunicaron que estarían presentes en la reunión.
They informed me that they would be present at the meeting.
'Comunicar' is a high-level alternative to 'decir'.