El estilo indirecto (reported speech) sirve para contar lo que otra persona dijo, sin citar sus palabras exactas. «I’m tired», said Ana → Ana said (that) she was tired. Igual que en español («dijo que estaba cansada»), los tiempos suelen ir un paso hacia atrás y cambian los pronombres y las expresiones de tiempo.
Objetivos
- Usar say y tell correctamente
- Retroceder los tiempos verbales y cambiar pronombres y expresiones de tiempo
- Transmitir preguntas (yes / no y wh-) sin inversión
- Transmitir órdenes y peticiones, y usar otros reporting verbs
1. say y tell
- say (+ that): «She said (that) she was hungry». Si nombras a la persona: say to someone.
- tell + persona (+ that): «She told me (that) she was hungry». ¡tell siempre lleva a quién!
2. El cambio de tiempos (backshift)
| Estilo directo | Estilo indirecto |
|---|---|
| Present simple: «I like pizza» | Past simple: he said he liked pizza |
| Present continuous: «I’m working» | Past continuous: she said she was working |
| Past simple: «I saw it» | Past perfect: he said he had seen it |
| Present perfect: «I’ve finished» | Past perfect: she said she had finished |
| will: «I’ll call» | would: he said he would call |
| can: «I can swim» | could: she said she could swim |
| must: «I must go» | had to: he said he had to go |
3. Pronombres y expresiones de tiempo y lugar
| Directo | Indirecto |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today / tonight | that day / that night |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| next week | the following week |
| ago | before |
| here / this | there / that |
Paso a paso: Leo said, «I’ll see you here tomorrow.»
- Verbo introductor en pasado → backshift: will → would.
- Pronombres: I → he; you → me (si me lo dijo a mí).
- here → there; tomorrow → the next day.
- Leo said (that) he would see me there the next day.
4. Preguntas, órdenes y otros verbos
| Tipo | Directo | Indirecto |
|---|---|---|
| Pregunta yes / no | «Are you ready?» | She asked me if / whether I was ready. |
| Pregunta wh- | «Where do you live?» | He asked me where I lived. |
| Orden | «Sit down!» | The teacher told us to sit down. |
| Orden negativa | «Don’t run!» | She told them not to run. |
| Petición | «Can you help me?» | He asked me to help him. |
- Otros reporting verbs: advise (aconsejar), promise (prometer), offer (ofrecerse), refuse (negarse), suggest (sugerir), explain (explicar).
- promise / offer / refuse + to + infinitivo: «She promised to help».
- advise + persona + to: «He advised me to rest».
- suggest + -ing o + that: «She suggested going to the cinema».
Recuerda
- say (that) / tell + persona (that).
- Los tiempos retroceden: presente → pasado, pasado y present perfect → past perfect, will → would.
- Cambian pronombres y expresiones: tomorrow → the next day, here → there.
- Preguntas: asked + if / wh- + orden de afirmativa.
- Órdenes: told / asked + persona + (not) to + infinitivo.
¡Ahora te toca a ti!
Comprueba que lo has entendido con los ejercicios y repasa con el resumen.