Estilo indirecto
Usamos el estilo indirecto para decir lo que alguien ha dicho sin repetir exactamente sus palabras. Normalmente cambiamos los pronombres, las expresiones de tiempo y lugar y, cuando el verbo introductorio está en pasado, a menudo hacemos un cambio de tiempo verbal un paso hacia atrás.
Compara:
-
She: "I work here."
Estilo indirecto: She said that she worked there.
→ I cambia a she y el presente simple (work) pasa al pasado simple (worked). -
He: "I will help you tomorrow."
Estilo indirecto: He said that he would help me the next day.
→ will cambia a would y tomorrow cambia a the next day.
Cambios habituales de tiempos verbales y verbos modales
| Cambio de tiempo/verbo | Discurso directo | Estilo indirecto |
|---|---|---|
|
Present simple → past simple (presente simple → pasado simple) |
"I work in London." | She said that she worked in London. |
|
Present continuous → past continuous (presente continuo → pasado continuo) |
"I am studying now." | He said that he was studying then. |
|
Past simple → past perfect (pasado simple → pluscuamperfecto) |
"I bought a new phone." | She said that she had bought a new phone. |
|
Present perfect → past perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto → pluscuamperfecto) |
"I have finished my homework." | He said that he had finished his homework. |
|
Past continuous → past perfect continuous (pasado continuo → pasado perfecto continuo) |
"I was waiting for you." | She said that she had been waiting for me. |
| Will → would | "I will call you." | He said that he would call me. |
| Can → could | "I can swim." | She said that she could swim. |
| May → might | "I may come later." | He said that he might come later. |
| Must → had to | "I must leave now." | She said that she had to leave then. |
El past perfect normalmente no cambia:
- "I had already left." → He said that he had already left.
Los verbos modales que ya tienen un significado de pasado, como could, would, might, should y las formas con have + participio pasado, normalmente tampoco cambian:
- "I could have done it." → He said that he could have done it.
Peticiones, instrucciones y órdenes
Para expresar instrucciones, peticiones y órdenes en estilo indirecto usamos:
→ tell / ask / order + persona + to + verbo
-
"Close the door."
→ She told me to close the door. -
"Please help me."
→ He asked me to help him. -
"Leave the building immediately."
→ The officer ordered them to leave the building immediately.
Para instrucciones negativas usamos:
→ tell / ask + persona + not to + verbo
-
"Don't touch it."
→ She told me not to touch it.
Cambios de tiempo y lugar
- now → then (ahora → entonces)
- today → that day (hoy → ese día)
- tomorrow → the next day (mañana → al día siguiente)
- yesterday → the day before (ayer → el día anterior)
- here → there (aquí → allí)
-
"I am working here today."
→ She said that she was working there that day.
No siempre cambiamos el tiempo verbal cuando:
-
el verbo introductorio está en presente:
She says that she works in London. -
la información sigue siendo verdadera:
"The Earth is round." → He said that the Earth is round.
Resumen
-
Cambio de tiempo: normalmente retrocedemos un tiempo verbal:
"I work here." → She said that she worked there. -
Cambio de pronombres y expresiones de tiempo/lugar:
"I will call you tomorrow." → He said that he would call me the next day. -
Instrucciones y peticiones:
tell / ask + persona + to + verbo
"Help me." → She asked me to help her.
