Estilo Indirecto
Lección de nivel B1 con ejemplos y práctica
Reported (indirect) speech tells what someone said without quoting their exact words. When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told), the tense usually shifts one step back: present → past, will → would, can → could.
So 'I am tired' becomes 'He said he was tired'; 'I have finished' becomes 'She said she had finished'. Pronouns shift too (I → he/she).
Ejemplos
He said he was tired.
'I am tired' → was (present → past).
She said she had finished.
'I have finished' → had finished.
They said they would help.
'We will help' → would help.
said he was
/sed hiː wəz/
He said he was tired. ('I am tired')
said she had
/sed ʃiː hæd/
She said she had finished. ('I have finished')
said they would
/sed ðeɪ wʊd/
They said they would help. ('We will help')
said he could
/sed hiː kʊd/
He said he could swim. ('I can swim')
Report 'I am tired': He said he ___ tired.
Report 'I will help': They said they ___ help. (will → ?)
In reported questions, we don't use question word order or '?'. The word order becomes like a statement: subject + verb. 'Where do you live?' → 'She asked where I lived.'
For yes/no questions, use 'if' or 'whether': 'Are you hungry?' → 'He asked if I was hungry.'
Ejemplos
She asked where I lived.
No inversion: 'where I lived', not 'where did I live'.
He asked if I was hungry.
Yes/no question → 'if' + statement order.
They wanted to know what time it was.
'what time it was', not 'what time was it'.
asked where
/ɑːskt weər/
She asked where I lived.
asked if
/ɑːskt ɪf/
He asked if I was hungry.
wanted to know
/ˈwɒntɪd tə noʊ/
They wanted to know what time it was.
Report 'Where do you live?': She asked where I ___.
Report 'Are you hungry?': He asked ___ I was hungry. (yes/no link word)
To report an order or request, use a reporting verb (told, asked) + object + to-infinitive: 'Be quiet' → 'She told me to be quiet.'
For negative commands, put 'not' before 'to': 'Don't be late' → 'He told us not to be late.'
Ejemplos
She told me to be quiet.
told + me + to + base verb.
I asked him to wait.
asked + him + to-infinitive.
He told us not to be late.
Negative: not + to + base verb.
told me to
/toʊld miː tə/
She told me to be quiet.
asked him to
/ɑːskt hɪm tə/
I asked him to wait.
told us not to
/toʊld əs nɒt tə/
He told us not to be late.
Report 'Wait!': I asked him ___.
Report 'Don't be late': He told us ___ to be late. (negative word)
When we report words later, time expressions often shift too: today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day.
This keeps the report accurate from the new point in time. 'I'm busy today' said last week becomes 'He said he was busy that day.'
Ejemplos
He said he was busy that day.
'today' → 'that day'.
She said she had arrived the day before.
'yesterday' → 'the day before'.
They said they would call the next day.
'tomorrow' → 'the next day'.
that day
/ðæt deɪ/
He said he was busy that day. ('today')
the day before
/ðə deɪ bɪˈfɔːr/
She said she had arrived the day before. ('yesterday')
the next day
/ðə nekst deɪ/
They said they would call the next day. ('tomorrow')
Report 'I saw it yesterday': He said he had seen it ___.
Report 'today': He said he was busy ___ day. (that/this)
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