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: Play

 "I am going to London next week," she said. ("Voy a Londres la semana que viene," ella dijo.) Play

"Do you have a pen I could borrow," he asked. ("¿Tienes un bolígrafo que puedas prestarme?," él preguntó.)

Play Alice said, "I love to dance." (Alice dijo, "Me encanta bailar.")

Play 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 SpeechPresent Simple Past SimplePlay"He's American," she said.

PlayShe said he was American.

Play"I'm happy to see you," Mary said.

PlayMary said that she was happy to see me.

PlayHe asked, "Are you busy tonight?"

PlayHe asked me if I was busy that night.

Present Continuous Past ContinuousPlayDan is living in San Francisco," she said.

PlayShe said Dan was living in San Francisco.

Play Play

He said, "I'm making dinner." He told me that he was making dinner.Play"Why are you working so hard?" they asked.

PlayThey asked me why I was working so hard.

Past Simple Past Perfect Simple

Play"We went to the movies last night," he said.

PlayHe told me they had gone to the movies the night before.

Play"Greg said, "I didn't go to work yesterday."

PlayGreg said that he hadn't gone to work the day before.

Play"Did you buy a new car?" she asked.

PlayShe asked me if I had bought a new car.

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

Play"I was working late last night," Vicki said.

PlayVicki told me she'd been working late the night before.

PlayThey said, "we weren't waiting long."

PlayThey said that they hadn't been waitinglong.

Play" He asked, "were you sleeping when I called?"

PlayHe asked if I'd been sleeping when he called.

Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect SimplePlay"Heather said, "I've already eaten."

PlayHeather told me that she'd already eaten.

Play"We haven't been to China," they said.

PlayThey said they hadn't been to China.

Play"Have you worked here before?" I asked.

PlayI asked her whether she'd worked therebefore.

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect ContinuousPlay "I've been studying English for two years,"he said.

PlayHe said he'd been studying English for two years.

Play" Steve said, "we've been dating for over a year now."

PlaySteve told me that they'd been dating for over a year.

Play"Have you been waiting long?" they asked.

PlayThey asked whether I'd been waiting long.

Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple (*NO CHANGE)

Play"I'd been to Chicago before for work," he said.

PlayHe said that he'd been to Chicago before for work.

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous (*NO CHANGE)PlayShe said, "I'd been dancing for years before the accident."

PlayShe said she'd been dancing for years 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: Play

"I'm 30 years old," she said. → She said she is 30 years old. Play

Dave said, "Kelly is sick." → Dave said Kelly is sick. Play

"We are going to Tokyo next week," they said. → They said they are going to Tokyo next week. Play

"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 SpeechWill Would

Play "I'll go to the movies tomorrow," John said.

PlayJohn said he would go to the moviesthe next day.

Play "Will you help me move?" she asked.

PlayShe asked me if I would help her move.

Can Could

Play Debra said, "Allen can work tomorrow."

PlayDebra said Allen could work the next day.

Play "Can you open the window, please?", he asked.

PlayHe asked me if I could open the window.

Must Had to

Play "You must wear your seatbelt," mom said.

PlayMy mom said I had to wear my seatbelt.

Play She said, "You must work tomorrow."

PlayShe said I had to work the next day.

Shall ShouldPlay "Shall we go to the beach

PlayTom

today?" Tom asked.asked if we should go to the beach that day.

Play "What shall we do tonight?" she asked.

PlayShe asked me what we should dothat night.

May Might/Could

Play Jane said, "I may not be in class tomorrow."

PlayJane said she might not be in classthe next day.

Play the boy asked. "May I use the bathroom, please?" the boy asked.

PlayThe boy asked if he could use the 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 Speechtoday that daytonight that nightthis week/month/year

that week/month/year

tomorrow the next daynext week/month/year

the following week/month/year

yesterdaythe day before/the previous day

last week/month/year

the day/month/year before o the previous day/month/year

now then/at that moment

Otros cambioshere there

Questions - Exercise 1

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note the change of pronouns and tenses.

1. "Where is my umbrella?" she asked.→ She asked where her umbrella was.

2. "How are you?" Martin asked us.→ Martin asked us how we were.

3. He asked, "Do I have to do it?"→ He asked if he had to do it.

4. "Where have you been?" the mother asked her daughter.→ The mother asked her daughter where she had been.

5. "Which dress do you like best?" she asked her boyfriend.→ She asked her boyfriend which dress he liked best.

6. "What are they doing?" she asked.→ She wanted to know what they were doing.

7. "Are you going to the cinema?" he asked me.→ He wanted to know if I was going to the cinema.

8. The teacher asked, "Who speaks English?"→ The teacher wanted to know who spoke English.

9. "How do you know that?" she asked me.→ She asked me how I knew that.

10. "Has Caron talked to Kevin?" my friend asked me.→ My friend asked me if Caron had talked to Kevin.

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note the change of pronouns and tenses.

1. "What's the time?" he asked.→ He wanted to know what the time was.

2. "When will we meet again?" she asked me.→ She asked me when we would meet again.

3. "Are you crazy?" she asked him.→ She asked him if he was crazy.

4. "Where did they live?" he asked.→ He wanted to know where they had lived.

5. "Will you be at the party?" he asked her.→ He asked her if she would be at the party.

6. "Can you meet me at the station?" she asked me.→ She asked me if I could meet her at the station.

7. "Who knows the answer?" the teacher asked.→ The teacher wanted to know who knew the answer.

8. "Why don't you help me?" she asked him.→ She wanted to know why he didn't help her.

9. "Did you see that car?" he asked me.→ He asked me if I had seen that car.

10. "Have you tidied up your room?" the mother asked the twins.→ The mother asked the twins if they had tidied up their room.

11. "Stop talking, Joe," the teacher said.→ The teacher told Joe to stop talking.

12. "Be patient," she said to him.→ She told him to be patient.

13. "Go to your room," her father said to her.→ Her father told her to go to her room.

14. "Hurry up," she said to us.→ She told us to hurry up.

15. "Give me the key," he told her.→ He asked her to give him the key.

16. "Play it again, Sam," she said.→ She asked Sam to play it again.

17. "Sit down, Caron" he said.→ He asked Caron to sit down.

18. "Fill in the form, Sir," the receptionist said.→ The receptionist asked the guest to fill in the form.

19. "Take off your shoes," she told us.→ She told us to take off our shoes.

20. "Mind your own business," she told him.→ She told him to mind his own business.

Rewrite the sentences in reported speech. Change pronouns and time expressions where necessary.

1. She said, "I am reading."→ She said that she was reading.

2. They said, "We are busy."→ They said that they were busy.

3. He said, "I know a better restaurant."→ He said that he knew a better restaurant.

4. She said, "I woke up early."→ She said that she had woken up early.

5. He said, "I will ring her."→ He said that he would ring her.

6. They said, "We have just arrived."→ They said that they had just arrived.

7. He said, "I will clean the car."→ He said that he would clean the car.

8. She said, "I did not say that."→ She said that she had not said that.

9. She said, "I don't know where my shoes are."→ She said that she did not know where her shoes were.

10. He said: "I won't tell anyone."→ He said that he would not tell anyone.

11. They said, "This is our book."→ They said that was their book.

12. She said, "I went to the cinema yesterday."→ She said that she had gone to the cinema the day before.

13. He said, "I am writing a test tomorrow."→ He said that he was writing a test the next day.

14. You said, "I will do this for him."→ You said that you would do that for him.

15. She said, "I am not hungry now."→ She said that she was not hungry then.

16. They said, "We have never been here before."→ They said that they had never been there before.

17. They said, "We were in London last week."→ They said that they had been in London the week before.

18. He said, "I will have finished this paper by tomorrow."→ He said that he would have finished that paper by the next day.

19. He said, "They won't sleep."→ He said that they wouldn't sleep.

20. She said, "It is very quiet here."→ She said that it was very quiet there.

1) Emily:"Our teacher will go to Leipzig tomorrow."Emily said that their teacher would go to Leipzig the next day.

2) Helen:"I was writing a letter yesterday."Helen told me that she had been writing a letter the day before.

3) Robert:"My father flew to Dallas last year."Robert told me that his father had flown to Dallas the year before.

4) Lisa:"Tim went to the stadium an hour ago."Lisa said that Tim had gone to the stadium an hour before.

5) Patricia:"My mother will celebrate her birthday next weekend."

Patricia said that her mother would celebrate her birthday the following weekend.

6) Michael:"I am going to read a book this week."Michael said to me that he was going to read a book that week.

7) Jason and Victoria:"We will do our best in the exams tomorrow."Jason and Victoria told me that they would do their best in the exams the next day.

8) Andrew:"We didn't eat fish two days ago."Andrew remarked that they hadn't eaten fish two days before.

9) Alice:"I spent all my pocket money on Monday."Alice complained that she had spent all her pocket money on Monday.

10) David:"John had already gone at six."David said that John had already gone at six.