Introduccin al estilo indirecto en ingls 1.Qu es el estilo indirecto?

El estilo indirecto, en ingls Reported Speech, consiste en expresar algo dicho antes por alguien, es decir, en contar lo que alguien dijo acerca de algo. El estilo indirecto en ingls es muy similar al espaol, por lo que no tiene gran dificultad para los espaoles. En una frase en estilo indirecto podemos encontrar dos partes : Una primera parte introductoria que incluye el verbo que , en ingls se denomina reporting verbe y es el que introduce lo que se va a contar. : say, tell, mention, suggest, ask, wonder..), por ejemplo ; Peter said that...,/ Mary told me that... Una segunda parte que es lo que alguien dijo sobre algo . Por ejemplo : Peter said that he had suffered a terrible accident that morning Mary told me that she was looking for her brother all morning A continuacin empezaremos con un ejemplo para facilitar la comprensin del concepto de estilo indirecto. Reflejamos aqu cmo es una idea en estilo directo (palabras literales que la persona dijo y que suelen ir entre comillas y cmo es en estilo indirecto. Estilo directo: Peter said: I'm really tired Estilo indirecto: Peter said that he was tired Como podemos observar, cuando empleamos el estilo directo, repetimos las mismas palabras utilizadas por el que las dijo. Por el contrario, cuando empleamos el estilo indirecto, contamos lo dicho por alguien con nuestras propias palabras. 2.Situaciones dentro del estilo indirecto. Cuando contamos algo se pueden dar dos situaciones : Cuando se trata de algo que se acaba de decir recientemente El verbo suele ir en PRESENTE . Peter says that.../Peter is saying that/Peter has said that En estos casos, al pasar al estilo indirecto no se cambian los tiempos de los verbos porque lo que se acaba de decir, todava tiene vigencia; lo que s hay que hacer es amoldar las referencias a personas, lugar y tiempo de la manera que corresponda. Estilo directo: Peter says : I can't hear anything Estilo indirecto: Peter says that he can't hear anything.* * Aqu el verbo can sigue siendo can y no ha cambiado porque estamos contando algo que Peter acaba de decir y todava tiene vigencia porque se sigue refiriendo a la situacin presente en la que se encuentran.

 Cuando lo que se cuenta se dijo hace tiempo y por lo tanto pertenece al pasado. As el verbo a utilizar ir en PASADO. Peter said that.. Este tipo de situacin suele ser el ms habitual y el que normalmente nos vamos a encontrar. As, al pasar las frases al estilo indirecto, los verbos habr que ajustarlos al pasado . Estilo directo: Last Sunday Mary said : I' haven't see Joe anywhere Estilo indirecto: Last Sunday Mary said that she hadn't seen Joe anywhere Estilo directo: Yesterday Sue told me : I'm preparing my Maths exam Estilo indirecto: Yesterday Sue told me that she was preparing her maths exam Estilo directo: This morning Tom said to me : I can't come to your party Estilo indirecto: This morning Tom said to me that he couldn't come to my party Al contar algo que se dijo, pero no recientemente, surgen cambios en los tiempos verbales que se recogen en la siguiente tabla : ESTILO DIRECTO Presente Simple Peter said: I'm tired Peter dijo: Estoy cansado Presente continuo Peter said: I'm looking for Mary Peter dijo: Estoy buscando a Mary Presente Perfecto Peter said: I've finished my homework Peter dijo: He terminado mi tarea Presente perfecto continuo Mary said: I've been looking for Mary Mary dijo: He estado buscando a Mary Pasado simple Mary said: I got up late this morning Mary dijo: Me levant tarde esta maana Pasado perfecto Mary said: I had never been there ESTILO INDIRECTO Pasado simple Peter said that he was tired Peter dijo que estaba cansado Pasado continuo Peter said that he was looking for Mary Peter dijo que estaba buscando a Mary Pasado perfecto Peter said that he had finished his homework Peter dijo que ha terminado su tarea Pasado perfecto continuo Mary said that she had been looking for Mary Mary dijo que ha estado buscando a Mary Pasado perfecto Mary said that she had got up late that morning Mary dijo que se ha levantado tarde esta maana Pasado perfecto (no cambia) Mary said that she had never been there 2

Mary dijo: Nunca he estado aqu Will Mary said: I'll never marry anyone Mary dijo: Nunca me casar con nadie Can Susan said: I can't see Joe anywhere Susan dijo: No puedo ver (no veo) a Joe por ningn sitio Must Susan said: I must finish may homework Susan dijo: Tengo que terminar mi tarea May Susan said: It may rain this morning Susan dijo : Puede llover esta maana

Mary dijo que nunca ha estado aqu Would Mary said that she would never marry anyone Mary dijo que nunca se casara con nadie Could Susan said that she couldn't see Joe anywhere Susan dijo que no puede ver (no ve) a Joe por ningn sitio Had to Susan said that she had to finish her homework Susan dijo que tiene que terminar su tarea Might Susan said that it might rain that morning Susan dijo que puede llover esta maana

Hay una serie de verbos modales que no sufren cambios ni aunque se haga referencia a algo que ocurri en el pasado : COULD, SHOULD, WOULD, MIGHT, y OUGHT TO Veamos los cambios en los adverbios de lugar y tiempo , cuando se cuenta algo que ha pasado un tiempo despus y en un lugar diferente del que se dijo . ESTILO DIRECTO Here Mary dijo: aqu est mi casa Now Mary dijo : ahora me voy Today Mary dijo : hoy me caso Tonight Mary dijo : esta noche salimos Tomorrow Mary dijo : maana comemos juntos Yesterday Mary dijo: ayer te vi Next week/ next year ESTILO INDIRECTO There Mary dijo que all estaba su casa Then Mary dijo que entonces se iba That day Mary dijo que aquel da se casaba That night Mary dijo que esa noche salamos The next day / The following day Mary dijo que al da siguiente comamos juntos The previous day / the day before Mary dijo que el da anterior me haba visto The following week / the following year

Mary dijo : la semana que viene voy a tu casa Last week / last year Mary dijo : la semana pasada no fui al cine .ago Mary dijo: hace tres das que no duermo

Mary dijo que la semana siguiente iba a mi casa Te week before / the year before Mary dijo que la semana anterior no haba ido al cine .before Mary dijo que despus de tres das no haba dormido

(7) My car was stolen a few weeks ago Today you tell another friend what Charlie said or thought when you saw him. Use Reported Speech. Charlie said that he was living in London with his parents He mentioned that he hadn't see Diane recently Charlie thought that I look much older than him Charlie told me that he didn't know why Fred had been sacked from his company Charlie said that I could come and stay with him if I was ever in London Charlie thought that he would tell Anne he had seen I here Charlie told me that his car had been stolen a few weeks before He mentioned that he wanted to go on holidays but he couldn't afford it Diferencias entre los verbos TELL y SAY Ambos se pueden traducir al espaol como decir . Son los ms usados para pasar las oraciones enunciativas (que informan sobre algo) al estilo indirecto. Las diferencias entre ellos no son de significado, sino por la forma en que los utilizamos. TELL tiene que ir siempre seguido de un objeto indirecto, es decir, de la persona a la que se dice algo. I told Mary that... SAY puede usarse sin aadirle detrs el objeto indirecto : I said that... Pero tambin podemos usarlo con el O.I., en cuyo caso debe aadirse TO : I said to Mary that... I told Mary that...= I said to Mary that.. Para poner en estilo indirecto rdenes, solo podemos usar TELL. I told Mary to arrive

before 12 o'clock Tanto en los casos en que usamos TELL como SAY para pasar oraciones informativas al estilo indirecto , podemos prescindir de THAT y nunca se usa That cuando pasemos preguntas, rdenes o peticiones. Ann said goodbye to me and left. 7. Don't tell anyone what I said. It's a Tell us about your holiday. Did you 8. Did she tell you what happened? No she have a nice time. didn't say anything to me. 3. Don't just stand there Say something 9. George couldn't help me. He told me to 4 I wonder where Sue is. She said she would ask Kate. Jack told me that he was fed up with his job 10. George couldn't help me. He said he was The doctor said that I should rest for at least a week short of time. Qu es un acto del habla? Cmo se aplica al estilo indirecto? Siempre que hablamos lo hacemos con una intencin; jams hablamos sin querer conseguir algo. Por eso podemos afirmar que cada vez que hablamos, llevamos a cabo una accin que persigue un objetivo ; cada vez que hablamos, por tanto, llevamos a cabo un ACTO DEL HABLA. Con qu intenciones hablamos? Las motivaciones que nos llevan a decir algo ( emitir un acto del habla) pueden ser variadsimas : informar, preguntar, pedir, ordenar, sugerir, amenazar, pedir disculpas, agradecer, dar consejo, negarse a algo, etc.. Cuando nosotros ponemos en estilo indirecto lo que alguien ha dicho, debemos tener en cuenta qu intencin tiene esa persona cuando habla, qu tipo de acto del habla utiliza. Es muy importante determinar esto porque segn sea la intencin del hablante, debemos ponerla en estilo indirecto de una forma u otra. Hasta ahora nosotros solo hemos puesto en estilo indirecto oraciones informativas. Para stas se suelen utilizar los verbos say y tell, aunque tanbien hay otros como comment, mention, explain, inform, point out (sealar), refer (hacer referencia a algo), state (sealar,aclarar), etc.. A continuacin veremos otros tipos de actos del habla, es decir, cuando hablamos con otra intencin que no es informativa : preguntar, ordenar,etc... Cmo pasamos PREGUNTAS al estilo indirecto? Usaremos el verbo ASK u otros como WONDER (preguntarse), o WANT TO KNOW. Hay que tener en cuenta un factor fundamental : el tipo de pregunta Puede tratarse de una pregunta de respuesta corta (Si/No) y donde usaremos IF o WHETHER para pasarlo al estilo indirecto. Estilo directo : Mary asked me : Have you ever eaten Chinese food? Estilo indirecto : Mare asked me if I had ever eaten Chinese food. b) Puede ser una pregunta de informacin, encabezada por una partcula interrogativa : what, when,who,why,where,how,how lond,how much,how many,etc. Para pasarla

al estilo indirecto se repite la partcula, nunca se usa if. Estilo directo : Mary asked me : what have you said? Estilo indirecto : Mary asked me what I had said Estilo directo : Mary asked me : Why are you shouting at me? Estilo indirecto : Mary asked me why I was shouting at her Otro aspecto importante a recordar es que cuando una pregunta se pasa a estilo indirecto deja de ser pregunta y por eso pierde el orden habitual de la pregunta en ingls. What time does the match start? I asked a policeman. I asked a policeman what time the match started. Have you ever thought of studying engineering? My father asked me. My father asked me if I had never thought of studying engineering. Why has she cut it of with me? I wondered I wondered why she is had cut it of with me Who's going to buy your house? Mrs Jones asked her cousin Mrs asked her cousin who was going to buy her house Cmo pasamos rdenes a estilo indirecto? Para pasar rdenes (commands) a Estilo Indirecto usaremos los verbos TELL o ORDER, nunca el verbo SAY. Pero lo ms importante es recordar que una orden tiene como objetivo, conseguir que alguien haga algo, que lleve a cabo una accin. As pues nosotros pondremos una orden en estilo indirecto , reflejando la accin que se ordena de la forma ms simple: to + infinitivo Estilo directo: My father told me : Work hard for your exam! Estilo indirecto: My father told me to work hard for my exam. En caso de que la orden sea negativa , al infinitivo se le antepone not . Estilo directo : My father told me : Don't get back home late! Estilo indirecto: My father told me not to get back home late. a) Ann wanted to keep that secret and she told me................................................ b) I didn't want to delay Ann so I told her c) The teacher could't hear me and he told me.. d) Jim was in love with Sue and he told her... e) The doctor recommended me.. f) He started asking me personal questions and I 6

Cmo pasamos peticiones al estilo indirecto? Cuando hacemos una peticin (request), tenemos como objetivo conseguir que alguien haga algo, es decir, el objetivo es el mismo que en una orden, pero lo hacemos de forma ms suave, sin ordenar, pidindolo. Por eso, como tambien esperamos que de ello resulte una accin de aquel a quien pedimos, usaremos la misma estructura que en las rdenes, al pasar a estilo indirecto : to + infinitivo. El verbo que usaremos es ASK, que aqu no significa preguntar, sino pedir. Estilodirecto : My father asked me : Would you mind washing my car? Estilo indirecto : Mary father asked me to was his car En caso de que la peticin sea negativa, anteponemos not al infinitivo : Estilo directo : My mother asked me : Would you mind not saying anything? Estilo indirecto : My mother asked me not to say anything a) She couldn't hear me and she asked me to repeat what I had said b) John was very surprised when Mary asked him to marry her c) The customs officer looked at me and he asked me open my bag d) I couldn't move the fridge alone, so I asked Tom to give me a hand e) Sarah was driving too fast, so I asked her to slow down f) The teacher couldn't start the class and he asked us Exercise 1. Last week you meet a friend of yours called Charlie ; you hadn't seen him for a long time. Here are some of the things Charlie said to you : (2) I haven't seen Diane recently (4) I don't know why Fred was sacked from his company (1) I'm living in London with my parents (3) You look much older than me (5) You can come and stay with me if you are ever in London (6) I'll tell Anne I've seen you here (8) I want to go on holiday but I can't afford it Exercise 2 : Somebody says something to you which is the opposite of what they say before. Write an appropriate answer. Remember you've got to use Reported Speech. 1That restaurant is very expensive 2Ann is coming to your party 3I know lots of people 4I have seen this film before 7

5I'll tell your girlfriend your little dirty secret Is it? But you said it was cheap Is she? I thought you said that she wasn't coming to my party Do you? But you told me that you didn't know anyone Have you? I thought you said that you hadn't seen this film Will you? But you promised you wouldn't tell it Exercise 3 : Complete these sentences with SAY or TELL . Use only one word each time Exercise 4 : Change the following questions into reported speech Exercise 5 : The following ideas are direct speech; chose one of them to complete each sentence below. Remember we're changing commands into reported speech. Don't tell anyone what happened yesterday! Stay in bed till you feel a bit better ! Don't wait for me if I'm late! Don't forget me even if you marry Joe ! Don't make me any personal question ! Speak a bit louder or I won't understand you ! Exercise 6. The following ideas are direct speech; choose one of them to complete each sentence below. Remember we're changing REQUESTS into reported speech. Can you open your bag, please? Could you repeat what do you say? Do you think you could give me a hand, Tom? Would you mind not making so much noise? Will you marry me, John? Please slow down Exercise 7 : Here are some things that Joe said to you

Jane has a very well paid job You shouldn't complain about your job to your boss Have you told your wife that you have problems? Why don't you tell Ann that you love her? Don't ask me any other favour What do you think about your job? Could you lend me some money I need? But later Joe says something different to you. What would you say in each situation? 1.Tell me whenever you need my help 2.You shouldn't say anything to Ann 3.Jane is always short of money 4.What do you think about your job 5.Why don't you complain about your job? 6.Have you told your wife? 7.I've won a lot of money in the lotto 1.But you told me not to ask me any other favour! 2.But you asked me to tell Ann that I love her! 3.But you said Jane had a verywell paid job! 4.Again? Yesterday you also asked me what I thought about your job! 5.However you told me not to complain about my job to my boss! 6)Again? Yesterday you also asked if I told my wife that I had problems! 7)Have you? But yesterday you asked me to lend you some money you needed!