REPORTED SPEECH

I. STATEMENTS (ASEVERACIONES).
A. Podemos contar lo que alguien dijo de dos maneras:
1. Repitiendo las palabras exactas, es decir, empleando el
“estilo directo”.
‘I live in London,’ he said.
‘He went to Paris last year,’ they said.
2. Repitiendo la idea, pero no las palabras exactas, a lo que
llamamos “estilo indirecto”.
B. En el estilo directo la puntuación que se utiliza es:
1. Comillas.
2. Letra mayúscula al empezar la cita.
C. En estilo indirecto:
1. No hay comillas.
2. La frase suele comenzar con un verbo cómo SAY (DECIR), TELL
(CONTAR/DECIR), ASK (PREGUNTAR/ PEDIR), INQUIRE (PREGUNTAR),
THINK (PENSAR), EXPLAIN (EXPLICAR), COMPLAIN (QUEJARSE),
WARN (ACONSEJAR), POINT OUT (SEÑALAR), REMARK
(COMENTAR/OBSERVAR), DECLARE (DECLARAR, MANIFESTAR,
ANUNCIAR), STATE (AFIRMAR, PLANTEAR, EXPONER), ANNOUNCE
(ANUNCIAR), PROTEST (QUEJARSE, PROTESTAR), CLAIM (ASEGURAR,
AFIRMAR), ORDER (ORDENAR), SUGGEST (SUGERIR), REMIND
(RECORDAR), ADVISE (ACONSEJAR, RECOMENDAR), ADMIT
(ADMITIR), INSIST (INSISTIR), PROMISE (PROMETER) , RECOMMEND
(RECOMENDAR), REPLY (CONTESTAR, RESPONDER), REVEAL
(REVELAR, DESVELAR), ADD (AÑADIR, AGREGAR), APOLOGIZE FOR
(DISCULPARSE POR ALGO), INVITE (INVITAR) , ENCOURAGE
(ANIMAR), PERSUADE (PERSUADIR, CONVENCER), AGREE (ESTAR DE
ACUERDO) , OFFER (OFRECER) , REFUSE (RECHAZAR).
3. El tiempo de la narración da una especia de “salto atrás” si
el verbo que lo introduce va en pasado.
 4. Las preguntas dejan de serlo. El verbo auxiliar ya no va en
posición inicial.
5. Las palabras que indican lugar, tiempo, los pronombres, …
deben cambiar, lógicamente.

NOTA: Después de los verbos SAY, TELL, THINK podemos

omitir (THAT). En estilo formal no se suele omitir el
pronombre pero en estilo informal sí se suele hacer.

D. CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH.

1. Si el verbo que introduce el estilo indirecto está en pasado,
el tiempo que teníamos en el estilo directo sufre un cambio,
“un salto atrás”. Lo mismo ocurre con los verbos auxiliares.
‘I have written the letter,’ she said.
She said that she had written the letter.
2. Si el verbo está compuesto de más de un auxiliar, sólo
cambia el primero.
‘My house is being redecorated,’ he said.
He said that his house was being redecorated.
3. Estos cambios no ocurren:
A. Cuando el verbo que introduce el estilo indirecto está en
presente o en futuro.
‘I love soup,’ says Mary.
Mary says she loves soup.
B. Cuando se trata de narrar una verdad permanente o una
acción habitual.
‘London is the capital of Great Britain’, she pointed out.
She pointed out that London is the capital of Great Britain.
4. Hay una serie de cambios que debemos hacer al pasar una
frase de estilo directo a indirecto:
A. PRONOMBRES.
‘I´m reading a book,’ Peter said.
Peter said he was reading a book.
‘We have read the book’, she said.
She said that they had read the book.
‘He came to the party to see me’, Paula said.
Paula said that he had come to the party to see her.
B. EXPRESIONES DE TIEMPO Y LUGAR.
NOW ------------------------------- THEN
TODAY ----------------------------- THAT DAY
YESTERDAY --------------------- THE DAY BEFORE,
THE PREVIOUS DAY
TOMORROW --------------------- THE NEXT/FOLLOWING DAY
NEXT WEEK / MONTH ----- THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH
LAST WEEK / MONTH -------- THE PREVIOUS WEEK/MONTH
THE WEEK/MONTH BEFORE
A WEEK/MONTH AGO -------- THE WEEK/MONTH BEFORE
TONIGHT -------------------------- THAT NIGHT
HERE ------------------------------- THERE
C. PRONOMBRES DEMOSTRATIVOS.
THIS -------------------------------- THAT
THESE ----------------------------- THOSE

5. La mayor parte de los verbos modales (COULD, WOULD,

SHOULD, MIGHT, OUGHT TO) no cambian.
‘He couldn´t speak Italian,’ he said.
He said he couldn´t speak Italian.
6. Sin embargo, hay algunas excepciones al apartado D. 5. :
CAN.
 ‘I can ride a bike,’ Mary said.
Mary said she could ride a bike.
7. TIEMPOS VERBALES.

ESTILO DIRECTO ESTILO INDIRECTO

PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE
‘she studies English.’ … she studied English.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS
‘she is studying English.’ ... she was studying English.
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
‘she has studied English.’ … she had studied English.
PRESENT PERF. CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
‘she has been studying ...’ … she had been studying …
PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
‘she studied English.’ … she had studied English.
PAST CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
‘she was studying English.’ … she had been studying …
PAST PERFECT PAST PERFECT
‘she had studied English.’ … she had studied English …
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
‘she had been studying …’ … she had been studying …
WILL WOULD
‘she will study English.’ … she would study English
FUTURE CONTINUOUS CONDITIONAL CONTINUOUS
‘she will be studying English’ … she would be studying …
CAN COULD
‘she can study English.’ … she could study English.
MAY MIGHT
‘she may study English.’ … she might study English.
MUST / HAVE TO HAD TO
‘she must / have to study …’ … she had to study English.
8.
REPORTING VERBS.
A. SAY / TELL.
SAY (+ THAT) + ESTILO INDIRECTO
The judge said (that) I wasn´t good enough.
NOR The judge said me I wasn´t good enough.
TELL + OBJETO ( + THAT) + ESTILO INDIRECTO
The judge told me (that) I wasn´t good enough.
NOR The judge told I wasn´t good enough.

Exercise 1. Put in the correct forms of SAY or TELL.

a. I ____________ that I wasn´t ready.
b. __________ me what you need.
c. Have you ___________ the doctor about it?
d. Did you __________ something to me?
e. He doesn´t _________ me anything.
f. Mary ___________ her mother she was going to the office.
g. Why didn´t she __________ goodbye?
h. ___________ him to be quiet.
i. Who ____________ that?
j. __________ that you won´t forget me.

NOTA: Excepciones: ‘tell a lie’, ‘tell the truth’, ‘tell a story’, ‘tell
the time’. (TELL sin objeto)

B. VERB (+ THAT) CLAUSE.

SAY CLAIM ADMIT EXPLAIN INSIST AGREE COMPLAIN
DENY REPLY
‘I was lying’ ------ She admitted (that) she had been lying.
C. VERB + PRONOUN / NOUN + (THAT) CLAUSE.
TELL
‘I am a student’ ------- She told me (that) she was a student.
D. VERB + TO INFINITIVE.
 OFFER REFUSE AGREE PROMISE
‘I´ll take you to the party’ --- He offered to take me to the party.
E. VERB + FOR + GERUND.
APOLOGIZE THANK
‘I´m sorry, I was there” ------- She apologized for being there.

F. VERB + GERUND.
DENY SUGGEST RECOMMEND
‘Let´s stay at home’ ---- He suggested staying at home.

NOTA: Para sugerencias, se puede usar una ‘that clause’ con

SHOULD.
He suggested that we should stay at home.

9. ORACIONES CONDICIONALES EN EL ESTILO INDIRECTO.

A. El primer condicional al pasarlo al estilo indirecto tiene los mismos
tiempos que si se tratase al segundo condicional, es decir, el
presente pasaría a ser pasado y el futuro a condicional.
‘If you phone alter 7 pm, we won´t be at home’ we informed him.
We informed him that if he phoned after 7 pm, we wouldn´t be at
home.
B. El segundo y tercer condicional no cambian en estilo indirecto.
‘If I were you, I´d tell her the whole story’, Tom said.
Tom said that if he were me, he´d tell her the whole story.

Exercise 2. Write the following sentences in indirect speech.

a. ‘My cousins have often visited France,’ Joanna pointed out.
___________________________________________________________________________
b. ‘I can´t see you yet,’ the nurse said.
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c. ‘A lot of gold is mined in South Africa,’ the diplomat pointed out.
___________________________________________________________________________

d. ‘Six patients are waiting for the dentist,’ the nurse said.
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e. ‘The children have been studying geography,’ he said.
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f. ‘The minister is preparing his speech,’ the journalist said.
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g. ‘I might go to Madrid,’ Juanita said.
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h. ‘My husband will leave at six o´clock,’ she told me.
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i. ‘The train will be leaving in 15 minutes,’ she told Harry.
___________________________________________________________________________
j. ‘We will also work during the summer,’ the teenagers added.
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k. ‘All police officers have to report for duty at noon,’ the chief said.
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l. ‘The boys were saving up for a canoe,’ the man explained.
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m. ‘I had a bad cold last week,’ the worker said.
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n. ‘We are painting our house today,’ my friend said.
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o. ‘The palace will be open to the public tomorrow,’ the official said.
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p. ‘The boss is examining our work now,’ the worker said.
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q. ‘She didn´t leave work early once last week,’ Tom said.
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r. ‘I forgot to take my briefcase,’ Jim said.
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s. ‘The shops weren´t open yesterday afternoon,’ the woman said.
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t. ‘Eric was studying all day Thursday’, john said.
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u. ‘The electricity bill must also be paid this week,’ he added.
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 v. ‘I want you to take the car to the garage next Friday,’ he told his wife.
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B. ORDERS AND REQUESTS (ÓRDENES Y

PETICIONES).
A. Las órdenes se suelen expresar en IMPERATIVO. Al ponerlas en
estilo indirecto:
1. El imperativo pasa a infinitivo manteniendo la forma
afirmativa o negativa.
He said, ‘Stay here.’ ----- He told us to stay there.
2. El verbo que introduce el estilo indirecto debe indicar
“mandar”, por eso nunca puede usarse SAY para introducir
una orden indirecta.
He said, ‘Be quiet.’ ------- He told us to be quiet.
3. El verbo TELL, que sí significa “mandar”, debe llevar un
complemento de persona, a quién se da la orden.
He said, ‘Please don´t shout.’ --- He asked me not to shout
4. Además de TELL se pueden emplear otros verbos con
sentido semejante como ASK, BEG, INVITE, WARN, ORDER,
COMMAND, INSTRUCT, ADVISE, ENCOURAGE, REMIND,ETC.
‘Say that again,’ he said to me. ---- He asked me to say
that again.
5. En el caso de ser una petición la estructura sería:
SUJETO + ASK + OBJETO + INFINITIVO (con TO)
‘Can you open the window? ---- The girl asked me to open
the window.
NOTA: Además de ASK se podría utilizar otros verbos como BEG,
REQUEST o DEMAND.
‘John, don´t open the window, please!’ I said.
 I begged / requested John not to open the window.
6. En el caso de dar órdenes, la estructura sería la siguiente:
ORDEN AFIRMATIVA.
SUJETO + VERBO + OBJETO INFINITIVO (con TO)
‘Get out’ ---- He ordered them to get out.

ORDEN NEGATIVA.
SUJETO + VERBO + OBJETO + NOT + INFINITIVO (con TO)
‘Don´t give up’ ------ He told her not to give up.
Exercise 3. Write the following commands in indirect speech.
1. ‘Please don´t leave,’ he said to her.
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2. ‘Don´t smoke in my office, please,’ the boss said.
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3. ‘Please help yourself to food and drink,’ the hostess said.
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4. ‘Keep quiet!,’ the nurse said to the visitors.
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5. ‘Take the children home!’ she said to the driver.
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6. ‘Give me your papers!’ the policemen instructed me.
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7. ‘Don´t forget to phone me!’ the father said to his son.
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8. ‘Come over for supper next Friday!’ my neighbour said.
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9. ‘Don´t make a noise!’ the librarian sais to the readers.
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C. QUESTIONS (PREGUNTAS).
A. YES / NO QUESTIONS.
SUJETO + REP. VERB + IF / WHETHER + SUJETO + VERBO + COMP
‘Are you English?,’ he asked her.
He asked her if / whether she was English.
 B. WH- QUESTIONS.
SUJETO + REP. VERB + WH-Word + SUJETO + VERBO + COMP
‘Where are you going?’ she asked me.
She asked me where I was going.

NOTA: Si la particula interrogativa es el sujeto de la oración, no hay

alteración del orden de las palabras en la frase.
‘Who saw that man?’ he asked.
He asked who had seen that man.

Exercise 4. Write the following sentences into indirect speech.

1. ‘Are you going to the club now?’ he wanted to know.
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2. ‘Haven´t you ever worked on a computer before?’ she asked.

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3. ‘Where are the Niagara Falls?’ the child asked.
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4. ‘How far is the station from our hotel?’ the girl asked.
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5. ‘Will the workers be at work next Saturday?’ the manager asked.
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6. ‘What have you made for dinner?’ she asked him.
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7. ‘Was Don Quixote de la Mancha written by Cervantes?’ he wondered.
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8. ‘Did anyone try to save her life?’ the police officer asked.
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9. ‘When did the committee decide to fire the workers?’ he asked
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10. ‘Do you read the newspaper every day?’ he asked.
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11. ‘Who assassinated Abrahan Lincoln?’ he asked.
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12. ‘Can we see him this evening or tomorrow evening?’ the woman
wondered. ____________________________________________________________________

D. SUGGESTIONS (SUGERENCIAS).
Para pasar una sugerencia a estilo indirecto, lo
introduciremos con el verbo SUGGEST que tiene dos
construcciones:
‘Let´s go to the theatre!’ she said.
‘Why don´t we go to the theatre?’ she said.
‘Shall we go to the theare?’ she said.
‘Why not go to the theatre?’ she said.
1. Seguido de GERUNDIO (muy frecuente).
She suggested going to the theatre.
2. Con oración subordinada introducida por THAT (no tan
frecuente).
She suggested that we (should) go to the theatre.

Exercise 5. Write the following sentences into indirect speech.

1. ‘How about playing a game of tennis?’ Sheila said.
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2. ‘Let´s order hamburgers instead of Indian food’, Martin said.
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3. ‘Let´s go over to John´s house,’ Mike suggested.
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4. ‘Let´s not jump to any conclusions’, Denise suggested.
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5. ‘Why don´t we go to the cinema?’, she said.
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E. REPORTED SPEECH REVIEW.
Exercise 6. Write the following sentences into Reported Speech.
1. ‘We will go there tomorrow,’ he said.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. ‘I´m having friends for lunch today,’ he said.
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3. ‘This book is the most interesting book here,’ they said.
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4. ‘I won the tennis tournament last week,’ Paula said.
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5. ‘We have been listening to music,’ they said.
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6. ‘I am going to Italy for a holiday next summer,’ Paul said.
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7. ‘Before going home yesterday, I had been shopping,’ he said.
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8. ‘They had met in England two years ago,’ she said.
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9. ‘He can´t speak Italian,’ they said.
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10. ‘You must visit me sometimes,’ he said.
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11. ‘Where did you leave the keys?’ she said.
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12. ‘Are you going to the wedding next week?’ she said.
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13. ‘Who was watching TV last night?’ they said.
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14. ‘Why has he refused to apologise?’ they wanted to know.
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15. ‘Who stole the car?’ they asked.
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16. ‘Were you at the cinema last night?’ they said.
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17. ‘Where will the game be played?’ they wondered.
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18. ‘Let´s go and see the film!’ he said.
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19. ‘Tidy up the kitchen for me!’ she said to me.
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20. ‘Please don´t stay out late!’ she said.
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21. ‘Don´t talk in the library!’ they exclaimed.
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22. ‘Will you telephone me when you arrive at the hotel?’ he said
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23. ‘We´ll win an award next year,’ the actress said.
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24. ‘What time does the film start?’ he asked.
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25. ‘Leave the building immediately!’ he said.
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26. ‘Let´s ask the musicians for their autographs!’ he said.
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27. ‘Are you going out with Tom Cruise?’ Margaret asked.
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