Lesson 8.
Reported speech
Exercise 1. Underline the correct option to change tenses from Direct Speech to
reported speech.
1. He works in a bank
a) She said (that) he worked in a bank
b) b) She said (that) he work in a bank
c) c) She said (that) he had worked in a bank
2. I always drink coffee
a) She said (that) they always drink coffee.
b) She said (that) she always drank coffee.
c) She said (that) she always drunk coffee.
3. He likes ice cream
a) He said (that) he likes ice cream.
b) He said (that) he has liked ice cream.
c) He said (that) he liked ice cream.
4. He is Mexican
a) He said (that) He was Mexican.
b) He said (that) He were Mexican.
c) He said (that) He is been Mexican.
5. I speak English
a) She said (that) She spoke English.
b) She said (that) She speaks English.
c) She said (that) She is speaking English.
Distribución gratuita. Prohibida su venta 60
Reportando lo que otras personas dicen
Cuando queremos informar lo que otra persona ha dicho, podemos hacerlo de dos
maneras: usando direct speech o discurso directo y reported speech o discurso indirecto.
El discurso directo o direct speech se utiliza cuando informamos exactamente lo que otra
persona ha dicho, por ejemplo, imagina que estas platicando con un amigo y él te platica
lo que alguien comentó en una fiesta, tal como lo mencionó. Con este estilo lo que la
persona ha dicho se coloca entre comillas (“…”) y deberá ser palabra por palabra.
Ejemplo:
“I have a new cell phone” – told Sam
(“Tengo un celular nuevo”) – dijo Sam
El discurso indirecto o reported speech, se utiliza cuando queremos contarle a una
persona lo que otra nos ha dicho anteriormente, siguiendo con el mismo ejemplo de Sam,
imagina que alguien más escuchó que Sam tiene un nuevo celular y se lo platica a su
hermana:
Sam said (that) he had a new cell phone.
(Sam dijo que tenía un celular nuevo)
Como puedes ver en el ejemplo, en el discurso indirecto o reported speech no utilizamos
las comillas y no necesitamos escribir o decir palabra por palabra. El tiempo verbal de la
oración en discurso directo que estaba en presente, cambia a pasado en discurso indirecto.
También puedes darte cuenta que “that” es opcional y esto ocurre con el uso de verbos
como: say, suggest, think, tell. (decir, sugerir, pensar, decir o contar a alguien).
Ejemplo:
She said (that) she was fine. (Ella dijo que estaba bien)
She said she was fine. (Ella dijo que estaba bien)
They suggested (that) we ate sushi. (Nos sugirieron que comiéramos sushi).
The suggested we ate sushi. (Nos sugirieron que comiéramos sushi).
61 Distribución gratuita. Prohibida su venta
Veamos más ejemplos de lo que ocurre cuando cambiamos el discurso de Direct Speech
a Reported Speech:
Direct Speech Reported Speech
He said: “I work in a bank.” He said he worked in a bank.
(El dijo: “ trabajo en un banco”). (El dijo que trabajaba en un banco)
She said: “Martha speaks English”. She said Martha spoke English.
(Ella dijo: “Martha habla inglés”) (Ella dijo que Martha hablaba Inglés)
Exercise 1. Read next conversation between Oscar and Lidia, after that write who
said what using reported speech.
Lidia and Oscar talked about their personal life.
− Oscar: Hi, Lidia! I work a lot at weekends, and you?
− Lidia: I wake up early every day.
− Oscar: I buy my own secret ingredients, do you buy something?
− Lidia: Oh no! I love my students. I only have to prepare my classes.
− Oscar: I need a stove for my job, and you?
− Lidia: I use books and a computer.
Example
Oscar said (that) he worked a lot at weekends.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Distribución gratuita. Prohibida su venta 62
Exercise 2. Read the text. Answer the questions. Write complete sentences using
Reported Speech
Interviewing a soccer player
Reporter: Mr. Messi, why do you want to
play in Spain?
Messi: I want to play in Spain because I am
fan of Spanish people.
Reporter: I know that you study French in
your free time, is that true?
Messi: Yeah, I study French and I cook
French food.
The reporter asked Mr Messi that why
Messi said that
The Reporter said that he
Messi said that he
63 Distribución gratuita. Prohibida su venta
