INDIRECT DISCOURSE is the grammatical term for a statement which serves as the object (or occasionally subject) of another verb ("He said that he saw Kyros").
 

TENSE in indirect discourse is always relative to the governing verb:

        present tense indicates action at the same time as the governing verb
        aorist tense indicates action before the governing verb
        future tense indicates action after the governing verb
 
 

CONSTRUCTIONS: indirect discourse is expressed in three ways:

    1. in a clause introduced by w(jor o)/ti("that") + the indicative or optative

        there is no difference in meaning between indicative and optative in this construction
 

    2. by an infinitive with an accusative subject

        nomi/zw  KuVron i)deiVn tou\j polemi/ouj ("I think Kyros saw the enemies")
 

    3. by a participle with an accusative subject

        h)/kousa KuVron i)/donta tou\j polemi/ouj ("I heard Kyros saw the enemies")
 

    note i: if the subject of the governing verb and the infinitive are the same, the subject of the infinitive or participle is usually dropped, and any adjectives (including the participle)
               now agree with the subject

                        oi)Vda KuVron o)/nta kalo/n ("I know Kyros is handsome"), but
                        KuVroj oi)Vde w)\n kal/oj ("Kyros knows he is handsome")

                                needless to say, this can sometimes be confusing
 

    note ii: verbs of speaking tend to take a w(j/o(/ticlause
                 verbs of thinking tend to take the accusative and infinitive
                 verbs of sense perception (seeing, etc.) tend to take the accusative
                 and participle
                                        -- but there are always exceptions
 

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