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.
“I am happy to see you,” Mary said. Mary said that she was happy to see 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 movies
said. the night before.
Greg said, “I didn’t go to work Greg said that he hadn’t gone to work
yesterday.” the day before.
“Did you buy a new car?” she asked. She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
“I was working late last night,” Vicki Vicki told me she’d been working late
said. the night before.
They said that they hadn’t been waiting
They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”
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 me that she’d already
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”
eaten.
“We haven’t been to China,” they said. They said they hadn’t been to China.
“Have you worked here before?” I I asked her whether she’d worked there
asked. before.
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
“I’ve been studying English for two He said he’d been studying English for
years,” he said. two years.
Steve said, “we’ve been dating for over Steve told me that they’d been dating
a year now.” for over a year.
“Have you been waiting long?” they They asked whether I’d been waiting
asked. 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 (NO
Past Perfect Continuous
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 going to 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 movies the
said. next day.
“Will you help me move?” she asked. She asked me if I would help her move.
Can Could
Debra said, “Allen can work Debra said Allen could work the next
tomorrow.” 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 work tomorrow.” 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 beach
asked. that day.
She asked me what we should do that
“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.
night.
May Might/Could
Jane said, “I may not be in class Jane said she might not be in class the
tomorrow.” next day.
“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the The boy asked if he could use the
boy asked. bathroom.
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
here there
