Reported Speech en inglés – Estilo indirecto
El reported speech en inglés, también conocido como estilo indirecto, es una forma de expresar lo que otra persona dijo sin repetir exactamente sus palabras. Es una estructura esencial para narrar, contar historias, participar en conversaciones y aprobar exámenes oficiales como los de Cambridge. En este artículo aprenderás cómo se forma, cuándo se usa y cuáles son las diferencias más relevantes entre el inglés británico y el americano, tanto en registros formales como informales.
¿Qué es el reported speech en inglés?
El reported speech en inglés consiste en transformar un discurso directo (“She said: ‘I am happy’”) en uno indirecto (“She said she was happy”). Para hacerlo correctamente, se deben realizar algunos cambios en los tiempos verbales, los pronombres y los adverbios de tiempo o lugar. Es una herramienta imprescindible para comunicar lo que otros dicen de manera fluida y natural.
Reported Speech – Nivel Intermedio (B1–B2)
1. Cambios básicos en tiempos verbales
Cuando transformamos una frase del estilo directo al reported speech en inglés, el verbo principal suele retroceder un tiempo verbal, lo que se conoce como backshift. Ejemplo:
- Direct speech: “I work in London.”
- Reported speech: He said he worked in London.
2. Pronombres y adverbios
También cambian los pronombres y algunos adverbios de tiempo o lugar. Por ejemplo:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before |
| here | there |
| now | then |
3. Reported Questions
En las preguntas indirectas se elimina el orden de pregunta y no se usan signos de interrogación. Además, si la pregunta empieza con un verbo auxiliar, se reemplaza por if o whether:
- “Do you like coffee?” → He asked if I liked coffee.
- “Where are you from?” → She asked me where I was from.
4. Reported Commands and Requests
Cuando se reportan órdenes o peticiones, se usa un infinitivo:
- “Close the door!” → He told me to close the door.
- “Don’t shout!” → She asked me not to shout.
5. Cuándo no se aplica el cambio de tiempo
Si la información sigue siendo cierta o es un hecho general, no es necesario modificar el tiempo verbal:
- “The Earth is round.” → He said that the Earth is round.
Ejercicios de Reported Speech en inglés – Nivel Intermedio
- “I play football.” → Report it.
- “She is cooking.” → Report it.
- “We went to Paris.” → Report it.
- “Do you like music?” → Report it.
- “He will call you.” → Report it.
- “Can you help me?” → Report it.
- “Don’t run.” → Report it.
- “I don’t like pizza.” → Report it.
- “We are watching TV.” → Report it.
- “They have finished.” → Report it.
- “Here” → Change appropriately.
- “Tomorrow” → Change appropriately.
- “Yesterday” → Change appropriately.
- “I am tired.” → Report it.
- “We’ll go now.” → Report it.
- “Is it raining?” → Report it.
- “Don’t forget.” → Report it.
- “She studies hard.” → Report it.
- “You must wait.” → Report it.
- “He loves dogs.” → Report it.
Encuentra el error (intermedio)
- He said he is tired yesterday.
- She told that she was happy.
- They asked me where did I live.
- He told to open the door.
- She said me she was late.
Reported Speech – Nivel Avanzado (C1–C2)
1. Matices en los verbos introductores
A niveles avanzados, se utilizan verbos más precisos que “say” o “tell”: admit, claim, deny, insist, remind, assure, suggest, entre otros. Estos verbos aportan matices emocionales o de intención:
- She admitted she had made a mistake.
- He suggested we go to the cinema.
2. Reported speech con modales y condicionales
Los verbos modales también cambian en el reported speech en inglés:
- will → would
- can → could
- may → might
- shall → should
Sin embargo, algunos modales como could, would, should, might o must permanecen igual.
3. Estilo indirecto con infinitivo y subjuntivo
En contextos formales, se puede usar una estructura con infinitivo o subjuntivo:
- He requested that everyone be on time.
- They demanded the meeting to start earlier.
4. Reported speech en inglés británico vs americano
Aunque las reglas generales son iguales, el inglés británico tiende a aplicar más el retroceso de tiempo, mientras que el inglés americano es más flexible. Por ejemplo:
- UK: She said she had just eaten.
- US: She said she just ate.
5. Slang y estilo informal
En conversaciones informales, especialmente en inglés americano, el reported speech en inglés puede incluir expresiones de slang:
- “He was like, ‘I can’t believe it!’” → indica sorpresa o reacción, no se usa “said”.
- “She goes, ‘No way!’” → muy coloquial, significa “ella dijo”.
Estas formas no deben usarse en contextos académicos o formales, pero son muy comunes en el habla cotidiana y en series o películas.
Ejercicios de Reported Speech – Nivel Avanzado
- Report with modals: “I can do it.”
- Report with “suggest”: “Let’s go out.”
- Report with “admit”: “I broke the vase.”
- Report with “warn”: “Don’t touch that.”
- Report with “promise”: “I’ll help you.”
- Report conditional: “If I had money, I’d travel.”
- Report question: “Why are you crying?”
- Report exclamation: “What a day!”
- Report indirect object: “Tell her the truth.”
- Report subjunctive: “It’s vital that he be present.”
- Report “He was like, ‘wow’.”
- Report “She goes, ‘I don’t care’.”
- Transform to indirect: “They will have finished by now.”
- Report passive: “The job was done.”
- Report negative: “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
- Report with “remind”: “Don’t forget your keys.”
- Report with “advise”: “You should rest.”
- Report polite request: “Could you pass the salt?”
- Report “I might go.”
- Report “We must study.”
Encuentra el error (avanzado)
- He suggested me to go there.
- She insisted that I went home early.
- He said that he will help me yesterday.
- They asked me what do I want.
- She was like that she don’t care.
Preguntas frecuentes sobre el Reported Speech en inglés
¿Qué es el reported speech en inglés?
Es el estilo indirecto usado para expresar lo que otra persona dijo, adaptando tiempos verbales, pronombres y adverbios.
¿Por qué se cambia el tiempo verbal?
El cambio de tiempo refleja que el acto de hablar ocurrió en el pasado. Es una forma natural de mantener la coherencia temporal.
¿Se usa igual en inglés británico y americano?
No exactamente. El inglés británico aplica más el cambio de tiempo (backshift), mientras que el americano lo omite cuando la información sigue siendo válida.
¿Se usa slang en el reported speech?
Sí, especialmente en contextos informales: “He was like…” o “She goes…” son formas coloquiales de “said”. No se usan en contextos formales.
¿Es importante en los exámenes de Cambridge?
Sí, el reported speech en inglés es un tema frecuente en los exámenes B1, B2 y C1, ya que demuestra dominio de tiempos verbales y comprensión auditiva.
Soluciones completas a los ejercicios de Reported Speech
Soluciones nivel intermedio (B1–B2)
- He said he played football.
- She said she was cooking.
- They said they had gone to Paris.
- He asked if I liked music.
- He said he would call me.
- She asked if I could help her.
- He told me not to run.
- He said he didn’t like pizza.
- They said they were watching TV.
- They said they had finished.
- “Here” → “there”.
- “Tomorrow” → “the next day” / “the following day”.
- “Yesterday” → “the day before”.
- She said she was tired.
- They said they would go then.
- He asked if it was raining.
- She told me not to forget.
- She said she studied hard.
- He said I had to wait.
- He said he loved dogs.
Encuentra el error – Intermedio
- ❌ He said he is tired yesterday. → ✅ He said he was tired yesterday.
- ❌ She told that she was happy. → ✅ She told me that she was happy.
- ❌ They asked me where did I live. → ✅ They asked me where I lived.
- ❌ He told to open the door. → ✅ He told me to open the door.
- ❌ She said me she was late. → ✅ She said to me she was late / She told me she was late.
Soluciones nivel avanzado (C1–C2)
- He said he could do it.
- He suggested that we go out.
- He admitted he had broken the vase.
- He warned me not to touch that.
- He promised he would help me.
- He said that if he had had money, he would have travelled.
- She asked why I was crying.
- He exclaimed that it had been a wonderful day.
- He told her to tell the truth.
- He requested that everyone be present.
- He said he had been like, “wow”.
- She said she had gone, “I don’t care.”
- They said they would have finished by then.
- He said the job had been done.
- He said he hadn’t meant to hurt me.
- He reminded me not to forget my keys.
- He advised me to rest.
- He asked politely if I could pass the salt.
- He said he might go.
- They said they had to study.
Encuentra el error – Avanzado
- ❌ He suggested me to go there. → ✅ He suggested (that) I go there.
- ❌ She insisted that I went home early. → ✅ She insisted that I go home early.
- ❌ He said that he will help me yesterday. → ✅ He said that he would help me yesterday.
- ❌ They asked me what do I want. → ✅ They asked me what I wanted.
- ❌ She was like that she don’t care. → ✅ She was like, “She didn’t care.” / ✅ She said she didn’t care.
Estas soluciones muestran las transformaciones correctas aplicando el cambio de tiempo verbal, de pronombres y de adverbios, así como el uso adecuado de los verbos introductores. Se recomienda revisar cada par de frases en voz alta para afianzar la estructura del reported speech en inglés y reconocer los patrones naturales del idioma.