¿Qué es?
Es cuando reportas lo que otra persona dijo, sin usar comillas. En español: "María dijo que estaba cansada". En inglés funciona parecido pero con una regla clave: los tiempos verbales retroceden un paso.
Directo: She said, "I am tired."
Reportado: She said (that) she was tired.
am retrocedió a was. Y I cambió a she porque hablamos DE ella.
Regla base: si el verbo introductor está en pasado (said, told, asked), lo que sigue retrocede un tiempo verbal.
El that es opcional.
Cómo retroceden los tiempos
| Estilo directo | Reported speech |
|---|
| Presente simple: I work | Pasado simple: ...I worked |
| Presente continuo: I am working | Pasado continuo: ...I was working |
| Pasado simple: I worked | Pasado perfecto: ...I had worked |
| Presente perfecto: I have worked | Pasado perfecto: ...I had worked |
| Futuro con will: I will work | Condicional con would: ...I would work |
| Modales: can, may, must | could, might, had to |
"I will call you tomorrow" → She said she would call me the next day.
"I've finished the report" → He said he had finished the report.
Los pronombres también cambian
"I like your jacket" (María → tú)
María said she liked my jacket.
I pasa a she (María), y your pasa a my (yo, quien lo escucha).
Los marcadores de tiempo y lugar también
| Directo | Reportado |
|---|
| now | then / at that time |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| this / these | that / those |
| here | there |
| next week | the following week |
Preguntas reportadas
Al reportar una pregunta: NO uses signo de interrogación. Cambia el orden a sujeto + verbo (como afirmación).
Si la pregunta original tenía palabra interrogativa (what, where, when, why), la mantienes.
Si era pregunta de sí/no, usas if o whether.
"Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived.
Cambió a orden afirmativo. No hay do. No hay signo de pregunta.
"Do you like coffee?" → She asked me if I liked coffee.
Como no había palabra interrogativa, se usa if.
✗ She asked me where do I live.
En reportado NO se usa do/does/did. Y el orden es sujeto+verbo, no invertido.
Órdenes y peticiones
Se usa told / asked + persona + to + verbo:
"Close the door" → He told me to close the door.
"Please help me" → She asked me to help her.
Diferencia clave: say vs tell. Ambos existen en reported speech pero funcionan distinto:
tell siempre lleva persona: She told me that she was tired.
say NO lleva persona directamente: She said (that) she was tired.
✗ She said me that she was tired.
Say no lleva persona sin to. Correcto: She told me o She said to me.