Reported speech: cambiar el tiempo
450 ejercicios de huecos, 45 tests de diez
Detrás de un verbo introductor en pasado, cada tiempo se mueve un paso atrás.
Practica esta forma
Cargando…
Preparando tu primera pregunta.
Un paso atrás, siempre
Todo el sistema es un solo movimiento. Cada tiempo retrocede un lugar, y los que ya están tan atrás como el inglés permite se quedan donde están.
“I live in Oslo.” → She said she lived in Oslo. “I lived in Oslo.” → She said she had lived in Oslo. “I had lived in Oslo.” → She said she had lived in Oslo. — no queda sitio al que ir.
Los modales
Cuatro se mueven y cuatro no:
- se mueven: will → would, can → could, may → might, must → had to
- no se mueven: would, could, should, might, ought to
El segundo grupo ya dio el paso, y por eso parecen formas de pasado desde el principio.
Pronombres y posesivos
Cámbialos para que encajen con quién habla ahora y de quién se habla:
"I left my bag in your car." → He said he had left his bag in my car.
Vuelve a leer la frase terminada y comprueba que cada pronombre apunta a la persona correcta. Aquí es donde el estilo indirecto se rompe más veces.
Tiempo y lugar
Si lo cuentas más tarde o en otro sitio, las palabras también se mueven:
“I’ll see you here tomorrow.” → She said she would see me there the next day.
Si lo cuentas el mismo día y en el mismo sitio, puedes dejarlas. He said he would call tomorrow está bien si mañana sigue siendo mañana.
Cuándo dejar el tiempo quieto
- el verbo introductor va en presente: She says she is busy.
- el hecho no ha dejado de ser verdad: He said the train leaves at six.
Desplazar de todas formas nunca está mal, así que si dudas, desplaza.
say, tell y los demás
Say no lleva persona; tell la exige. Más allá de esos dos, el verbo introductor puede aportar significado propio:
He admitted that… She explained that… They promised to… He refused to…
Elegir el verbo adecuado dice más en menos palabras de lo que dirá nunca said.
Dónde se tuerce para un hispanohablante
El paso atrás es el mismo que en español, y por eso esta tabla se aprende rápido. Las dos diferencias reales están en los modales y en must: «dijo que tenía que irse» es He said he had to go, porque must no tiene forma de pasado.
Los pronombres fallan por otra razón que en inglés. El español puede omitir el sujeto, así que al pasar a indirecto no hay nada visible que cambiar: «dijo que estaba cansado» no menciona a nadie. En inglés hay que poner he y acertar con his, y ahí se cuela my.
«Me dijo que no viniera». Órdenes negativas en indirecto: He told me not to come. El infinitivo va con not delante, no con don’t.
Todas las formas
| Directo | Indirecto | Nota |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | past simple | work → worked |
| present continuous | past continuous | am working → was working |
| past simple | past perfect | worked → had worked |
| present perfect | past perfect | have worked → had worked |
| past perfect | sin cambio | had worked → had worked |
| will | would | will call → would call |
| can | could | can swim → could swim |
| may | might | may come → might come |
| must | had to | must go → had to go |
| would, could, should, might | sin cambio | ya dieron el paso |
Ejemplos
Tomados de las 450 frases de este ejercicio. La respuesta va resaltada.
- I am the youngest. She said that she was the youngest at the time.
- He said, "I have seen that movie before." => He said that he had seen that movie by then.
- I must apologize to her. He said that he had to apologize to her that day.
- We are free. They said that they were free at the time.
- They asked, "Can you lend me your car?" => They asked if I could lend them my car at the time.
- He said, "I will come to the party." => He said that he would come to the party that day.
- I may need some help. He said that he might need some help that day.
- Mark is going to the party tonight. She said that Mark was going to the party that night.
- I cannot find the file. He said that he could not find the file at the time.
- I saw John yesterday. She said that she had seen John the day before.
- She sings very well. He said that she sang very well at the time.
- I love chocolate. He told me that he loved chocolate at the time.
Errores que evitar
Incorrecto: He said that he will come. correcto: He said that he would come.
Will pasa a would detrás de un verbo introductor en pasado.
Incorrecto: He said that he bake bread. correcto: He said that he baked bread.
El presente da un paso atrás al pasado.
Incorrecto: She said she saw him yesterday. correcto: She said she had seen him the day before.
El pasado pasa a past perfect, y yesterday pasa a the day before.