¿Te suena/Rings any bells?

Es como se llama al estilo indirecto. El ‘reported speech’ o ‘indirect speech’, es el estilo de comunicación por excelencia de los gossips /cotilleos. Do you have any nosy (cotilla) neighbour?

References of place and time changes

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

o said (cuando no se especifica a quién se le dice el report/ si lleva el objeto se antepone la partícula TO )
o told me/her/them... (que obligatoriamente debe llevar el objeto de persona detrás) (no se usa “to” detrás de “told”)  

Example:

She said (to us) (that) it was such a beautiful day.
She told us (that) it was such a beautiful day.

• "that" es omisible.
  
• Deben aplicarse los cambios en tiempos verbales, referencias espacio-temporales, pronombres, etc., de los puntos anteriores.

Example: 

“We will buy Mercedes a present tomorrow”, my friends said to me 🎁😆😆
My friends told me (that) they would buy Mercedes a present the following day

QUESTIONS

• Normalmente usamos los ‘reporting verb’ “asked” (nunca “said that” ni “told”).
   
• Ya no se usa el signo de interrogación.
   
• Hay que cambiar el orden de las palabras, como si fuera una oración normal (SUJ + VERB + OBJs), no el de las preguntas: 

 Example:

“Do you like sushi?”, she said.   

       She asked me if I liked sushi.(no did I like)

• Al igual que en las enunciativas, hay que aplicar los cambios en tiempos verbales, referencias espacio-temporales,pronombres, etc.

Hay DOS TIPOS de preguntas:

 
a) YES/NO questions. Se usa el conector “if” o “whether”:

 “Are you OK?”, my mom said to me. 

My mom asked me if/whether I was OK.

 b) WH- questions. El conector es la misma partícula interrogativa de la pregunta:

“Where will you go?”, Paul said to Anne. 

  Paul asked Anne where she would go

 Reported Commands

• Las órdenes en inglés no tienen sujeto, sino que empiezan con el verbo en forma base: “Study hard for the exam.” 
• Las órdenes en negativa empiezan con Don’t: “Don’t speak in class.” 
• Reporting verbs’: asked (pedir), told (decir), ordered y commanded (ordenar), warn (advertir). Nunca se usa said. 
• Tras el reporting verb, hay que especificar obligatoriamente un objeto de persona. Si no se sabe, nos lo inventamos: 

Form

• affirmative commands → to + infinitive

“Study hard for the exam”, the teacher said*.  

The teacher told us to study for the exam.
*{no se especifica a quién, lo inventamos} the students

• negative commands → not + to + infinitive
  

“Don’t speak in class”, the teacher said to me. 

 The teacher told me not to speak in class.

 YA NO hay tiempos verbales, pero se siguen aplicando los cambios de referencia espacio-temporal, pronombres, etc.
 

1.1. Affirmative commands

• Direct Speech → Dad: “Do your homework.”
• Reported Speech → Dad told me to do my homework.

1.2. Negative commands

• Direct Speech → Teacher: “Don't talk to your friend.”
• Reported Speech → The teacher told me not to talk to my friend.

 Lenny Kravitz – Always on the Run

You have to convert these direct phrases into indirect speech:

Note that the lyrics of this song are in direct speech; most of the phrases don’t need any conversion, but a few do:

• My mama said that it’s good to be fruitful (no change required)

Lyrics

1. My mama said, "Leave those bad boys alone"
2. My mama said,"Be home before the dawn.
3. My mama said,"You can be rich or poor"
4. My mama said, "Don’t take more than a mouthful"
5. My mama said," You must push with much force"
6.  My mama said, "Don’t ride that crazy horse"

Suggestions

Direct Speech

• Father: “Let's watch a film.”

Reported Speech

• Father suggested/ recommended watching a film.
• Father suggested that they (should) watch a film

"Should" is often omitted, so, be careful the verb is a bare infinitive:

Peter suggested that she watch the film.

 EXERCISE:

1.Perhaps you could talk to Zak about it,” Kevin said.

Kevin suggested

2.“I think he should see a doctor,” she said.

  She recommended

3.“Let’s study in the library,” he said.

He suggested

4.“Why don’t you call Jen?” Latoya said.

   Latoya recommended 

Reporting verbs

In conclusion, pay attention to these 5 steps

1. Define the type of the sentence (statement, questions, command, suggestions)
2. What tense is used in the introductory sentence?
3. Do you have to change the person (pronoun)?
4. Do you have to backshift the tenses?
5. Do you have to change expressions of time and place?

Did you get it? Ready to test yourself?

Comprueba que has dominado el reported speech para siempre con estos ejercicios (¿Qué tal si lo haces mientras escuchas la session de DJ Grammar ?). 

Happy learning!💪💪💪💪💪 

BREAK A LEG! 🤓