Qué es el reported speech
El reported speech sirve para contar lo que otra persona dijo sin citar sus palabras exactas. En el estilo directo usamos comillas; en el indirecto, un verbo introductorio (say, tell, ask…) y una oración subordinada. Al pasar de uno a otro cambian tres cosas: los tiempos verbales, los pronombres y las referencias de tiempo y lugar.
Say o tell
Es el primer punto que miran los correctores. Tell necesita siempre una persona detrás (tell someone); say no la lleva, y si la lleva, va con «to».
Cambio de tiempos verbales (backshift)
Cuando el verbo introductorio está en pasado (said, told, asked), el verbo de la frase original retrocede un tiempo. Esta es la tabla completa:
| Estilo directo | Estilo indirecto |
|---|---|
| Present simple: "I work here." | Past simple: He said he worked there. |
| Present continuous: "I am working." | Past continuous: He said he was working. |
| Past simple: "I worked." | Past perfect: He said he had worked. |
| Present perfect: "I have worked." | Past perfect: He said he had worked. |
| Will: "I will work." | Would: He said he would work. |
| Can: "I can work." | Could: He said he could work. |
| May: "I may work." | Might: He said he might work. |
| Must: "I must work." | Had to: He said he had to work. |
Si el verbo introductorio está en presente («He says…»), los tiempos no cambian. Tampoco hace falta cambiar would, could, should, might ni el past perfect, porque no tienen un tiempo más atrás. Y si lo que se dice sigue siendo verdad, el cambio es opcional: «She said she is / was from Seville».
Pronombres y expresiones de tiempo
Los pronombres cambian según quién cuenta la historia. Las expresiones de tiempo y lugar cambian porque el momento ya no es el mismo:
| Directo | Indirecto |
|---|---|
| now | then / at that moment |
| today / tonight | that day / that night |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| next month | the following month |
| ago | before |
| here / this / these | there / that / those |
Nivel 1: afirmaciones
6 ejerciciosPasa a estilo indirecto. Usa el verbo introductorio que se indica.
- 1
"I'm studying for my exams," Marta said.
→ Marta said…Ver solución
Marta said (that) she was studying for her exams.
Present continuous → past continuous; I → she; my → her.
- 2
"We visited Rome last year," they told us.
→ They told us…Ver solución
They told us (that) they had visited Rome the year before.
Past simple → past perfect; last year → the year before.
- 3
"I'll call you tomorrow," he said to me.
→ He told me…Ver solución
He told me (that) he would call me the next day.
Will → would; tomorrow → the next day. «Said to me» → «told me».
- 4
"I can't come to the party tonight," Luis said.
→ Luis said…Ver solución
Luis said (that) he couldn't go to the party that night.
Can't → couldn't; tonight → that night; come → go (cambia el punto de vista).
- 5
"I have never seen this film," my mother said.
→ My mother said…Ver solución
My mother said (that) she had never seen that film.
Present perfect → past perfect; this → that.
- 6
"You must finish the project by Friday," the teacher told us.
→ The teacher told us…Ver solución
The teacher told us (that) we had to finish the project by Friday.
Must (obligación) → had to.
Preguntas en estilo indirecto
Las preguntas indirectas tienen el orden de una frase afirmativa: sujeto + verbo. Desaparecen el auxiliar do/does/did y los signos de interrogación. Hay dos tipos:
- Wh- questions (what, where, when, why, how…): se mantiene la partícula. «Where do you live?» → She asked me where I lived.
- Yes/no questions: se introducen con if o whether. «Are you hungry?» → He asked me if I was hungry.
Mantener el orden de pregunta: «He asked me where did I live». Es incorrecto: lo correcto es «He asked me where I lived».
Nivel 2: preguntas
6 ejerciciosPasa a estilo indirecto empezando por las palabras dadas.
- 1
"Where are you going?" my father asked me.
→ My father asked me…Ver solución
My father asked me where I was going.
Orden sujeto + verbo: I was going.
- 2
"Do you like jazz?" she asked him.
→ She asked him…Ver solución
She asked him if/whether he liked jazz.
Yes/no question → if/whether; desaparece «do».
- 3
"Why did you leave so early?" Ana asked.
→ Ana asked…Ver solución
Ana asked (me) why I had left so early.
Past simple → past perfect; desaparece «did».
- 4
"Have you finished your homework?" the teacher asked.
→ The teacher asked…Ver solución
The teacher asked if/whether I had finished my homework.
Present perfect → past perfect.
- 5
"How long will the journey take?" the tourist asked.
→ The tourist asked…Ver solución
The tourist asked how long the journey would take.
Will → would, con orden afirmativo.
- 6
"Can you help me?" the old man asked us.
→ The old man asked us…Ver solución
The old man asked us if/whether we could help him.
Can → could; me → him.
Órdenes, peticiones y consejos
Para órdenes y peticiones no se usa «that», sino verbo + persona + (not) to + infinitivo. Los verbos más habituales son tell, ask, order, warn, advise y remind.
El reported speech, corregido al momento
Haz rephrasing en Lernia y te decimos si te has dejado el backshift, el orden de la pregunta o un pronombre.
Reporting verbs: la parte que sube nota
En el rephrasing de la PAU es muy habitual que te den un verbo introductorio distinto de say o tell. Cada uno tiene su propia estructura, y ahí es donde se pierden los puntos:
| Estructura | Verbos | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| verbo + to + infinitivo | agree, offer, promise, refuse, threaten | He promised to call me. |
| verbo + persona + to + inf. | advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, remind, warn | She advised me to rest. |
| verbo + gerundio | admit, deny, recommend, suggest | He denied stealing the car. |
| verbo + preposición + gerundio | apologise for, insist on, accuse sb of, congratulate sb on | She apologised for being late. |
| suggest + that + sujeto + (should) + inf. | suggest, recommend | He suggested that we (should) go out. |
Nunca «suggest someone to do». Lo correcto es «He suggested going to the beach» o «He suggested that we went / should go to the beach».
Nivel 3: reporting verbs tipo PAU
12 ejerciciosReescribe usando el verbo dado.
- 1
"I didn't break the vase," said Tom. (DENY)
→ Tom denied…Ver solución
Tom denied breaking / having broken the vase.
Deny + gerundio. Desaparece la negación porque deny ya es negativo.
- 2
"Let's go to the cinema," said Clara. (SUGGEST)
→ Clara suggested…Ver solución
Clara suggested going to the cinema. / Clara suggested that we (should) go to the cinema.
Suggest + gerundio o suggest + that + sujeto.
- 3
"You should see a doctor," she said to me. (ADVISE)
→ She advised me…Ver solución
She advised me to see a doctor.
Advise + persona + to + infinitivo.
- 4
"I'm sorry I'm late," said Pablo. (APOLOGISE)
→ Pablo apologised…Ver solución
Pablo apologised for being late.
Apologise for + gerundio.
- 5
"I'll carry your bag," he said to her. (OFFER)
→ He offered…Ver solución
He offered to carry her bag.
Offer + to + infinitivo, sin persona detrás.
- 6
"Don't forget to buy bread," my mother said. (REMIND)
→ My mother reminded…Ver solución
My mother reminded me to buy bread.
Remind + persona + to + infinitivo.
- 7
"Yes, I cheated in the exam," the student said. (ADMIT)
→ The student admitted…Ver solución
The student admitted cheating / having cheated in the exam.
Admit + gerundio.
- 8
"You stole my phone!" she said to him. (ACCUSE)
→ She accused him…Ver solución
She accused him of stealing her phone.
Accuse + persona + of + gerundio.
- 9
"I won't lend you my car," Juan said. (REFUSE)
→ Juan refused…Ver solución
Juan refused to lend me his car.
Refuse + to + infinitivo; la negación desaparece.
- 10
"Well done! You passed the exam!" the teacher said to us. (CONGRATULATE)
→ The teacher congratulated…Ver solución
The teacher congratulated us on passing the exam.
Congratulate + persona + on + gerundio.
- 11
"Please, come to my party," she said to us. (INVITE)
→ She invited us…Ver solución
She invited us to (go to) her party.
Invite + persona + to.
- 12
"If you do that again, I'll call the police," the neighbour said. (THREATEN)
→ The neighbour threatened…Ver solución
The neighbour threatened to call the police if we did that again.
Threaten + to + infinitivo.
Errores típicos con el reported speech
- «Said me» en vez de «told me».
- Orden de pregunta: «asked where was the station» → «asked where the station was».
- Olvidar el backshift con el verbo en pasado: «He said he is coming» cuando la información ya no es actual.
- Mantener today, tomorrow o here cuando ya no tienen sentido en el momento en que se cuenta.
- Estructura incorrecta con suggest, recommend o advise. Repasa la tabla de reporting verbs.
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Siempre hay que cambiar el tiempo verbal en el reported speech?
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Solo si el verbo introductorio está en pasado. Si está en presente («She says…») no cambia nada. Y si lo dicho sigue siendo cierto, el cambio es opcional.
¿Se puede quitar el «that»?
+
Sí. Después de say y tell, el «that» es opcional: «She said (that) she was tired».
¿Qué diferencia hay entre if y whether?
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En preguntas de sí/no son intercambiables. Whether es algo más formal y es obligatorio delante de «or not» al principio: «whether or not».
¿Cómo se pasa «Let's…» a estilo indirecto?
+
Con suggest: «Let's go» → She suggested going, o She suggested that we (should) go.
¿Qué reporting verbs caen más en la PAU?
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Suggest, advise, deny, admit, offer, promise, refuse, warn, remind y apologise. Hay más transformaciones frecuentes en la página de rephrasing PAU.