El estilo indirecto
Al contar lo que dijo alguien, el verbo suele retroceder un tiempo hacia el pasado, y cambian los pronombres y las expresiones de tiempo, como en español.
| directo | indirecto |
|---|---|
| “I am tired.” | She said she was tired. |
| “I’m working.” | He said he was working. |
| “I saw it.” / “I’ve seen it.” | She said she had seen it. |
| “I will call.” | He said he would call. |
| “I can help.” | She said she could help. |
Preguntas y peticiones
- Las preguntas llevan orden normal: “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived.
- Las de sí o no usan if / whether: She asked if I was ready.
- Las peticiones usan to: He asked me to wait (me pidió que esperara).
- say no lleva persona detrás; tell sí: She said that … / She told me that …
Ejemplos
- She told me she was moving to Berlin.Me dijo que se mudaba a Berlín.
- He said he had never been there.Dijo que nunca había estado allí.
- They asked if we could come earlier.Preguntaron si podíamos venir antes.
- The doctor told me to rest.El médico me dijo que descansara.
- He said he would be late.Dijo que llegaría tarde.
Errores comunes
- ✗ He said me that he was tired.✓ He told me that he was tired.Say no lleva persona detrás, mientras que tell sí, aunque el español diga me dijo.
- ✗ She asked me where did I live.✓ She asked me where I lived.En el estilo indirecto la pregunta pierde el auxiliar y el sujeto va antes del verbo.
- ✗ She asked me if I will come.✓ She asked me if I would come.Will retrocede a would en el estilo indirecto.
- ✗ He said me to wait.✓ He told me to wait.Para una orden en estilo indirecto se usa tell + persona + to + verbo.
- ✗ She said that she has finished.✓ She said that she had finished.Tras un verbo en pasado, el present perfect retrocede a past perfect.