REPORTED SPEECH

El estilo indirecto (reported speech) se utiliza para contar lo que alguien ha dicho sin
citar exactamente sus palabras.

Los verbos más utilizados para introducir el estilo indirecto son: say, tell y ask. Se consideran
neutros porque no añaden más información ni intención a lo que ha dicho el hablante.

De todos modos, si queremos dar más importancia a la intención o al tono que se usó, existen
muchos más verbos:

• Para afirmaciones: admit, announce, answer, apologize, boast, claim, complain,

declare, explain, inform, insist, mention, offer, remind, reply, state…

• Para preguntas: enquire, request, want to know, order…

• Para órdenes: demand, order, shout, warn…

• Para súplicas: beg.

• Para sugerencias: advise, invite, recommend, suggest…

“We have to do a lot of homework”. -------------------They complained that they had to do a lot
of homework.

“Did you go to Madrid yesterday?” -------------------- He wanted to know if we had gone to

Madrid the day before.

“You should study for your exams.” ------------------- My mother advised me to study for the
exams.

“Wait for me!!!!” ----------------------------------------- She shouted to wait for her.

REPORTED STATEMENTS (afirmaciones)

En la versión más simple, para contar en presente lo que alguien acaba de decir sólo hay
suprimir las comillas y cambiar el sujeto y la persona del verbo.

“I am bored.” -------------------------------- She says that she is bored.

Sin embargo, lo más normal es que el verbo que introduce el estilo indirecto vaya en pasado,
por lo que el reported verb da un salto atrás (de presente simple a pasado simple, de pasado
simple a pasado perfecto…)

Otro punto importante del estilo indirecto es que no sólo cambian los sujetos y los tiempos
verbales, sino que también lo hacen los pronombres y las expresiones de tiempo y lugar.
 Normalmente, el reported speech va introducido por “that”, pero se puede omitir.

“I gave my boss the documents yesterday.” ---------------- He said (that) she had given her
boss the documents the day before.

Cuando la frase expresa una verdad general, no hay cambio en los tiempos verbales:

“Cheating in exams is forbidden”, the teacher said. ------------- He said that cheating in exams
is forbidden.

Hemos dicho que los verbos más comunes para introducir el reported speech son tell y
say. Si usamos tell, tiene que haber un complemento indirecto y debe ir sin to.
Say puede llevar C.I. o no, pero si lo lleva debe ir con to.

“The children did their homework”, she said. --------------- She told me the children had done
their homework.

She said that the children had

done their homework.

She said to me that the children

had done their homework.

REPORTED QUESTIONS (preguntas)

Hay dos tipos de preguntas en inglés:

1) Las YES/NO QUESTIONS, que son las que se pueden contestar con un sí o un no.
Para ponerlas en estilo indirecto, se usa el verbo ask seguido de if / whether.
Hay que tener en cuenta que al pasar una pregunta a estilo indirecto deja de serlo, por lo
que no debe haber ninguna inversión de sujeto-verbo, ni signo de interrogación ni
comillas.

“Will you go to the meeting?”, Tom asked. ----------- Tom asked if/whether I would go
to the meeting.

2) Las Wh- questions son las que comienzan con una partícula interrogativa (what, who,
where, when…). Al pasarlas a estilo indirecto, se usa dicha partícula en vez de
if/whether, y se sigue con el orden normal de la frase.

“When did you finish your test?”, he asked. ------------ He asked when I had
finished my test.

REPORTED ORDERS / REQUESTS (órdenes y súplicas)

Para pasar una orden a estilo indirecto se cambia el imperativo por un infinitivo precedido por
un verbo que exprese mandato (como tell, order o warn) seguido del C.I.

Para súplicas podemos usar usar verbos como ask o beg.

 “Turn the lights off”, the teacher said. ------------- The teacher ordered us to turn the lights
off.

Cuando sea una oración negativa, not se pone delante de to.

“Don’t come back late”, my father said. --------------My father asked me not to come back
late.

REPORTED SUGGESTIONS (sugerencias)

El orden de la frase en estilo indirecto sería el sujeto seguido de verbos como suggest o
recommend en pasado, y a continuación la sugerencia.
Advise se usa para dar un consejo e invite, para hacer una invitación.

Las sugerencias tienen dos formas de pasarse al estilo indirecto:

1) Usando una oración de C.D. precedida por that, con su sujeto y el verbo en forma base:

“Let’s have dinner together”, Sara suggested. ---------------- Sara suggested that we have dinner
together.

2) Usando el gerundio, sin especificar sujeto:

“Let’s play football after school!” ----------------------- He suggested playing football after school.

CAMBIOS EN VERBOS

TENSE DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

Present simple He eats chocolate. He said he ate chocolate.

Present continuous He is eating chocolate. He said he was eating

chocolate.
Present perfect He has eaten chocolate. He said he had eaten
chocolate.
Past simple He ate chocolate. He said he had eaten
chocolate.
Past continuous He was eating chocolate. He said he had been taking
chocolate.
Past perfect He had eaten chocolate. He said he had been taking
chocolate.
Future simple He will eat chocolate. He said he would eat
chocolate.
Future continuous He will be eating chocolate. He said he would be eating
chocolate.
Future perfect He will have eaten chocolate. He would have eaten
chocolate.
Be going to He is going to eat chocolate. He said he was going to eat
chocolate.
CAMBIOS EN MODALES

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

can could
may might
must / have to must / had to

CAMBIOS EN PALABRAS O EXPRESIONES

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

now then
today that day
tonight that night
yesterday the previous day / the day before
last week the previous week / the week before
a month ago the previous month / the month before
tomorrow the following day / the day after / the next
day
next week the following week / the week after
here there
this that
these those