Observa a continuación lo que Fernand le dice a su amiga: I’m a little tired
Esto es lo que su amiga posteriormente cuenta: (He said he was a little tired).
Lo que acabas de ver anteriormente es lo que se conoce en inglés por Indirect Speech (lenguaje indirecto).
Se refiere a los patrones lingüísticos o estructuras que utilizamos cuando queremos reportar lo que otro dijo o lo que alguien nos dijo.
Todo lo que aparece en negritas en el dialogo es lenguaje indirecto.
Tabla 1: Compara los siguientes ejemplos:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| I don’t have any problem. I was working and I’ve just finished too tired. | …He told me that he didn’t have any problem, he said he had been working and he had just finished too tired. |
| Do you have any health problem? | I asked him if he had any health problem. |
| No, I just went to see my doctor for a check up. | He answered he had just gone to see his doctor for a check up. |
| Fernand’s mom: He is so sad because he has been feeling awful lately. | She told me that he was so sad because he had been feeling awful lately. |
| Fernand’s mom: The lab tests the doctor ordered have shown something wrong… | And she said thatthe lab tests the doctor had ordered had shown something wrong. |
| But I didn’t understand very well what he explained to me. | But she said she hadn’t understood very well what he had explained to her. |
Cuando vayas a reportar lo que alguien dice en inglés, ten presente lo siguiente:
- Si el lenguaje directo está en presente, cámbialo a pasado en el indirecto como se muestra en el primer ejemplo.
- Si el lenguaje directo es pasado, llévalo a pasado perfecto.
- Si en el lenguaje directo es primera persona o segunda persona, llévalo a la tercera persona.
- Si es una: yes or no question utiliza if y sigue la misma regla para la oración afirmativa.
Tabla 2. Grammar
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Present tense | Past tense to match the reporting verbs |
| 1st and 2nd person | 3rd person |
| This, now, here, tomorrow | That, then, there, the next day |
| Yes/ No questions: do you have any problem | If/ Whether: She asked if/whether he had any problem |
| Wh questions: why did you go to the doctor? | I asked him why he had gone to the doctor. |