• What it is (qué es)
• Tense changes (cambios de tiempo verbal)
• Say vs. tell
• Reporting questions (preguntas en estilo indirecto)
  • Yes/no questions
  • Questions with question words
• Reporting commands and requests (órdenes y peticiones en estilo indirecto)
• Other time and place changes (otros cambios de tiempo y lugar)

What it is (qué es)

When we tell someone what another person said, we use reported speech (also called indirect speech). In Spanish, this works in a very similar way.

🔹 Cuando le contamos a alguien lo que otra persona dijo, usamos el estilo indirecto (reported speech). En español, esto funciona de manera muy similar.

Direct: She said, "I am tired." (Ella dijo: "Estoy cansada").

Reported: She said (that) she was tired. (Ella dijo que estaba cansada).

Tense changes (cambios de tiempo verbal)

When we report what someone said, the tenses usually shift one step back:

🔹 Cuando expresamos en estilo indirecto lo que alguien dijo, los tiempos verbales normalmente retroceden un paso:

present simple => past simple
"I work in a bank." => She said she worked in a bank.

present progressive => past progressive
"I am eating." => He said he was eating.

past simple => past perfect
"I went to Paris." => She said she had gone to Paris.

present perfect => past perfect
"I have finished." => He said he had finished.

will => would
"I will call you." => She said she would call me.

can => could
"I can swim." => He said he could swim.

That after said is optional: She said (that) she was tired.

🔹 That después de said es opcional: She said (that) she was tired.

Say vs. tell

Tell always needs an explicit indirect object (a person). Say does not, but if we want to mention the person, we use to.

🔹 Tell siempre necesita un objeto indirecto explícito (una persona). Say no, pero si queremos mencionar a la persona, usamos to.

✔ She said she was tired.

✗ She told she was tired. (needs an explicit indirect object)

✔ She told me she was tired.

✔ She said to me that she was tired.

Reporting questions (preguntas en estilo indirecto)

Yes/no questions

We use if or whether ['wɛðər]. They are interchangeable, but whether is slightly more formal.

🔹 Usamos if o whether ['wɛðər]. Son intercambiables, pero whether es un poco más formal.

"Are you coming?" => She asked if I was coming. (Ella preguntó si yo iba).

"Do you like pizza?" => He asked whether I liked pizza.

Questions with question words

We keep the question word, but use normal word order (not question order):

🔹 Mantenemos la palabra interrogativa, pero usamos el orden normal (no el de pregunta):

"Where do you live?" => She asked where I lived. (Ella preguntó dónde vivía).

"What time is it?" => He asked what time it was.

"When did you arrive?" => She asked when I had arrived.

In reported questions, we don't use the auxiliary do/did and we don't use a question mark.

🔹 En las preguntas indirectas, no usamos el auxiliar do/did y no usamos signo de interrogación.

Reporting commands and requests (órdenes y peticiones en estilo indirecto)

We use told (for commands) or asked (for requests) + person + to + infinitive:

🔹 Usamos told (para órdenes) o asked (para peticiones) + persona + to + infinitivo:

"Sit down." => She told me to sit down. (Ella me dijo que me sentara).

"Don't open the door." => He told me not to open the door.

"Please help me." => She asked me to help her.

For negative commands, we place not before to: told me not to open.

🔹 Para órdenes negativas, colocamos not antes de to: told me not to open.

Other time and place changes (otros cambios de tiempo y lugar)

When reporting, references to time and place often change:

🔹 En el estilo indirecto, las referencias de tiempo y lugar suelen cambiar:

today => that day
"I saw her today." => He said he had seen her that day.

yesterday => the day before / the previous day
"I arrived yesterday." => She said she had arrived the day before.

tomorrow => the next day / the following day
"I will call you tomorrow." => He said he would call me the next day.

here => there
"I love it here." => She said she loved it there.

this => that
"I like this song." => He said he liked that song.

now => then
"I'm busy now." => She said she was busy then.

ago => before / earlier
"I moved here two years ago." => He said he had moved there two years before.