UNIT IV

Direct and Reported Speech

El estilo directo y indirecto

Cuando queremos comunicar o informar de lo que otra persona ha dicho, hay dos maneras de hacerlo: utilizando el estilo
directo o el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech (El estilo directo)

Cuando queremos informar exactamente de lo que otra persona ha dicho, utilizamos el estilo directo. Con este estilo lo que
la persona ha dicho se coloca entre comillas (“…”) y deberá ser palabra por palabra.

Ejemplos:
“I am going to London next week,” she said. (“Voy a Londres la semana que viene,” ella dijo.)
“Do you have a pen I could borrow,” he asked. (“¿Tienes un bolígrafo que puedas prestarme?,” él preguntó.)
Alice said, “I love to dance.” (Alice dijo, “Me encanta bailar.”)
Chris asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” (Chris preguntó, “¿Te gustaría cenar
conmigo mañana por la noche?”)

Reported Speech (El estilo indirecto)

El estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, no utiliza las comillas y no necesita ser palabra por palabra. En general,
cuando se usa el estilo indirecto, el tiempo verbal cambia. A continuación tienes un explicación de los cambios que sufren
los tiempos verbales.

A veces se usa “that” en las frases afirmativas y negativas para introducir lo que ha dicho la otra persona. Por otro lado, en
las frases interrogativas se puede usar “if” o “whether”.

Nota: Ten en cuenta también que las expresiones de tiempo cambian en el estilo indirecto. Fijate en los cambios de tiempo
en los ejemplos más abajo y después, encontrarás una tabla con más explicaciones de los cambios de tiempo en el estilo
indirecto.
Direct Speech Reported Speech

Present Simple Past Simple

“He is American,” she said. She said he was American.

Mary said that she was happy to see

“I am happy to see you,” Mary said.
me.

He asked, “Are you busy tonight?” He asked me if I was busy that night.

Present Continuous Past Continuous

“Dan is living in San Francisco,” she She said Dan was living in San
said. Francisco.

He said, “I’m making dinner.” He told me that he was making dinner.

“Why are you working so hard?” they They asked me why I was working so
asked. hard.

Past Simple Past Perfect Simple

“We went to the movies last night,” he He told me they had gone to the
said. movies the night before.

Greg said, “I didn’t go to Greg said that he hadn’t gone to

work yesterday.” work the day before.

She asked me if I had bought a new

“Did you buy a new car?” she asked.
car.

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

“I was working late last night,” Vicki Vicki told me she’d been
said. working late the night before.

They said that they hadn’t been

They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”
waiting long.

He asked, “were you sleeping when I He asked if I’d been sleeping when he
called?” called.
 Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple

Heather told
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”
me that she’d already eaten.

“We haven’t been to China,” they

They said they hadn’t been to China.
said.

“Have you worked here before?” I I asked her whether she’d

asked. worked there before.

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

“I’ve been studying English for two He said he’d been studying English
years,” he said. for two years.

Steve said, “we’ve been dating for Steve told me that they’d been
over a year now.” dating for over a year.

“Have you been waiting long?” they They asked whether I’d been
asked. waiting long.

Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)

“I’d been to Chicago before for work,” He said that he’d been to Chicago
he said. before for work.

Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous
(NO CHANGE)

She said, “I’d been dancing for years She said she’d been dancing for years
before the accident.” before the accident.
Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en el futuro, no es necesario
cambiar el tiempo verbal.

Ejemplos:
“I’m 30 years old,” she said. → She said she is 30 years old.
Dave said, “Kelly is sick.” → Dave said Kelly is sick.
“We are going to Tokyo next week,” they said. → They said they are goingto Tokyo next week.
“I’ll cut my hair tomorrow,” Nina said. → Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.
Modal Verbs (Los verbos modales)

El tiempo verbal cambia en el estilo indirecto también con algunos de los verbos modales.

Nota: Con “would”, “could”, “should”, “might” y “ought to”, el tiempo no cambia.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Will Would

“I’ll go to the movies tomorrow,” John John said he would go to the

said. movies the next day.

She asked me if I would help her

“Will you help me move?” she asked.
move.

Can Could

Debra said Allen could workthe

Debra said, “Allen can worktomorrow.”
next day.

“Can you open the window, please?”, he He asked me if I could open the
asked. window.

Must Had to

“You must wear your seat belt,” mom My mom said I had to wear my seat
said. belt.

She said, “You must worktomorrow.” She said I had to work the next day.
 Shall Should

“Shall we go to the beach today?” Tom Tom asked if we should go to the

asked. beach that day.

She asked me what we should

“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.
do that night.

May Might/Could

Jane said, “I may not be in Jane said she might not be in

class tomorrow.” class the next day.

“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the The boy asked if he could use the
boy asked. bathroom.

Nota: A continuación tienes una tabla donde puedes observar los cambios que sufren las expresiones de tiempo
cuando usamos el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

today that day

tonight that night

this week/month/year that week/month/year

tomorrow the next day

next week/month/year the following week/month/year

yesterday the day before or the previous day

 the week/month year before or the
last week/month/year
previous week/month/year

now then/at that moment

Otros cambios

here there
PASSIVE VOICE = VOZ PASIVA
Como en español, la voz pasiva se forma con el verbo 'to be' (ser) y el participio pasado.
En una oración de voz activa , se hace énfasis en el sujeto q ejecuta la acción, mientras que en la voz
pasiva es el objeto directo de la voz activa q recibe mayor interés o énfasis.
They made this car in 1963. (active) This car was made in 1963. (passive)
El sujeto de un verbo en pasiva corresponde al objeto de un verbo en activa.
Spanish is spoken in Argentina PASIVA

(sujeto)
Argentinians speak Spanish ACTIVA

(objeto)

Estudia la siguiente lista de las formas del verbo en pasiva.

(pp = participio pasado)

Verb Tense Structure Example

PRESENT SIMPLE am/are/is + pp Here speaks Spanish / Spanish is spoken here.
PRESENT am/are/is being + He is answering your questions / Your questions are being answered
CONTINUOUS pp by him.
FUTURE (WILL) will be + pp They will paint it next week / It’ll be painted next week. By them
FUTURE (GOING am/are/is going Mary is going to make her house next year / Her house is going to
TO) to be + pp be made next year by Mary .
Rose invited us to a party, but we didn´t go /We were invited to the
PAST SIMPLE was/were + pp
party, but we didn’t go.
PAST was/were being + They were cleaning the hotel room when we got back from shopping.
CONTINUOUS pp The hotel room was being cleaned when we got back from shopping.
have/has been + Someone has shot The President of America
PRESENT PERFECT
pp The President of America has been shot by someone.
When he got home, someone had stolen his money
PAST PERFECT had been + pp
When he got home, his money had been stolen by someone.
will have been +
FUTURE PERFECT I will have bought it / It will have been bought by me
pp
En las formas del ‘future progressive’ (will be being + pp) y ‘perfect progressive’ (has been being + pp)
no es muy común su uso.

Para decir quién hacía la acción o qué la causaba, usa 'by'.

This house was built by my mother. / Esta casa fue construida por mi madre.
Washington was bombed by Pakistan. / Washington fue bombardeado por Pakistán.

La voz pasiva se suele utilizar cuando se desconoce o no interesa mencionar quién o qué hace la acción.
EXCERCISES

PART I TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO PASSIVE VOICE:

1. The students will give a presentation tomorrow.

2. Someone has stolen my bike!
3. We receive the newspaper every day.
4. The children have eaten the cookies.
5. We will complete the renovations next week.
6. They pay us every Friday.
7. Did they deliver your new sofa?

PART II TURN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO ACTIVE VOICE:

1. The stone was thrown by the boy.

2. . Those thieves will be arrested by the police.
3. Nine gold medals have been won by Bolt.
4. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.
5. The most attractive goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.

PART III COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES WITH THE CORRECT VERBAL TENSE IN
PASSIVE.

1. The car _____________ (sell) yesterday.

2.The books _______________ (write) last year.

3.The window ________________ (break) by the stone.

4.The thiefs ____________________ (arrest) by the police last month.

5.My house________________ (paint) tomorrow.

6.The exercises ________________ (do) right now.

7.She____________________ (say) to be a good man.

8.The table _____________________ (make) by the carpenter.

9.The goal ___________________ (score) by Cristiano Ronaldo last Monday.

10.English people___________________________ (say) to be very cold.