GRAMMAR DETAIL

～と言っていた

said that

Follows quoted content to relay in the present context something another person said earlier.

Examples

先生は、試験は来週だと言っていた。

The teacher said that the exam would be next week.

母は夕食までに帰ると言っていました。

My mother said that she would be home by dinner.

父は週末に棚を直すと言っていました。

My father said that he would fix the shelf over the weekend.

Structure: Attach と and 言っていた to quoted content to relay something heard earlier.
Basic usage: 先生は、試験は来週だと言っていた。 relays the teacher's earlier announcement about the exam.

The focus of speech and reporting
- 言った directly presents the event of speaking, while 言っていた is often used to bring earlier speech into the current conversation. This reporting use of ていた can refer to something heard just once.
Tense in the quoted content
- 帰ると言っていた reports a return still ahead at the time of speaking, while 帰ったと言っていた reports one already completed. Distinguish the quoted tense from the time of the speech.