Estilo indirecto en inglés (reported speech)
Aprende el estilo indirecto (reported speech) en inglés: cómo contar lo que alguien dijo, los cambios de tiempo verbal, say vs tell, preguntas indirectas y ejemplos.
En resumen
- Sirve para contar lo que otra persona dijo: She said (that) she was tired.
- Normalmente el verbo «retrocede» un tiempo: am → was, will → would.
- Say va sin persona (he said that…); tell va con persona (he told me that…).
Cómo funciona#
«I'm busy.» → She said she was busy.
«Estoy ocupada.» → Dijo que estaba ocupada.
«We will finish tomorrow.» → They said they would finish the next day.
«Terminamos mañana.» → Dijeron que terminarían al día siguiente.
Cambian tres cosas: el tiempo verbal, los pronombres (I → she) y las referencias de tiempo y lugar (tomorrow → the next day).
Los cambios de tiempo#
| Estilo directo | Estilo indirecto |
|---|---|
| presente simple: «I work» | pasado simple: he said he worked |
| presente continuo: «I'm working» | pasado continuo: he said he was working |
| pasado simple: «I worked» | pasado perfecto: he said he had worked |
| presente perfecto: «I've worked» | pasado perfecto: he said he had worked |
| will: «I'll work» | would: he said he would work |
| can: «I can work» | could: he said he could work |
Referencias de tiempo y lugar#
| Directo | Indirecto |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| now | then |
| here | there |
| this | that |
Preguntas y órdenes#
«Where do you live?» → He asked me where I lived.
Me preguntó dónde vivía.
Orden de afirmación: where I lived, no where did I live.
«Are you coming?» → She asked if I was coming.
Me preguntó si iba a ir.
Preguntas de sí o no: if / whether.
«Send the file.» → He told me to send the file.
Me dijo que enviara el archivo.
Errores comunes#
He said me that he was late.
He told me that he was late.
Con persona: tell.
She asked me where did I work.
She asked me where I worked.
Pregunta indirecta: sin did y con orden normal.
He told to call him.
He told me to call him.
Tell necesita a quién.
Practica
Elige la opción correcta. Te mostramos la explicación al instante.
1.«I'm hungry.» → She said she ___ hungry.
2.He ___ me that he was leaving.
3.«I'll call you.» → He said he ___ call me.
4.She asked me ___ I was ready.
5.«Where is the office?» → He asked where ___.
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Siempre hay que cambiar el tiempo?+
No. Si el verbo que introduce está en presente (She says…), no se cambia. Y si la información sigue siendo cierta, el cambio es opcional.