El reported speech o estilo indirecto se usa para contar o explicar algo que alguien ha dicho.
Para reproducir las palabras de otra persona, se usa el reported speech. A la hora de reproducir la oración en tercera persona, los verbos dan un salto al pasado:
DIrect Speech | Reported Speech | Examples |
| Present Simple | Past Simple | "I play the piano" She said that she played the piano |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | "I am thinking" He said that he was thinking |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect Simple | "I walked home" She said that she had walked home |
| Past Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | "I was studying in the library" He said that he had been studying in the library |
| Present Perfect Simple | Past Perfect Simple | "I have eaten a salad" She said that she had eaten a salad |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | "I have been reading this book" He said that he had been reading that book |
Recuerda que: Si el verbo en estilo directo está en Past Perfect Simple o Past Perfect Continuous no cambia, ya que no tienen forma en pasado.
| "I had studied when Tom arrived" She said that she had studied when Tom arrived |
Las oraciones con verbos modales también pueden expresarse en reported speech cambiando su forma:
DIrect Speech | Reported Speech | Examples |
| Will | Would | "I will cook" She said that she would cook |
| Can | Could | "I can run fast" He said that he could run fast |
| Must | Had to | "You must study" She said that I had to study |
| May | Might | "It may rain tomorrow" He said that it might rain the following day |
Al dar un salto al pasado, las expresiones de tiempo y lugar cambian en el reported speech. Además, los determinantes y posesivos deben concordar con la persona que dijo la frase original.
DIrect Speech | Reported Speech |
| Now | Then / At that moment |
| Today / Tonight | That day / That night |
| Tomorrow | The next day /The following day |
| Yesterday | The previous day / The day before |
| Next day / week / month | The following day / week / month |
| Last day / week / month | The previous day / week / month |
| Here | There |
| This / These | That / Those |
| My | His / Her |
Una parte fundamental del reported speech son los reporting verbs, que son los verbos que se usan para introducir las palabras de otra persona. Los más comunes son say y tell.
SAY | TELL |
Uso Decir algo (en general) Estructura Suj. + said + that + rep. speech | Uso Decir algo a alguien Estructura Suj. + told + obj. directo + that + rep. speech |
| "I am tired" He said that he was tired He told me that he was tired |
Cambian las expresiones de tiempo y lugar, los demostrativos y los posesivos.
Para formar el "reported speech", se reproduce la oración original pasando los verbos a su forma en pasado, añadiendo un sujeto y "said" o "told" al inicio de la frase.
El "reported speech" o estilo indirecto sirve para expresar lo que alguien ha dicho sin reproducir sus palabras exactas.
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