9. Reported speech Flashcards
(87 cards)
Direct: Pedro said to Antonio, “I have been eating with some friends.:
Reported speech: Pedro said (or: told Antonio) to Antonio that he had been eating with some friends.
Pedro le dijo a Antonio, “He estado comiendo con unos amigos.”
Pedro le dijo a Antonio que él había estado comiendo con unos amigos.
Direct: Mari said to Francisco, “My parents are going to buy a house on the beach.
Reported: Mari told Francisco that her parents were going to buy a house on the beach.
Mari le dijo a Francisco, “Mis padres van a comprar una casa en la playa.”
Mari le dijo a Francisco que sus padres iban a comprar una casa en la playa.
When a past reporting verb is used (e.g. dijo), the tense in reported speech normally changes.
Direct: Mari said to her father, “I think that I’m sick.
Reported: Mari told her father that she thought she was sick.
Mari le dijo a su padre, “Creo qu estoy enferma.”
Mari le dijo a su padre que ella ‘creía’ que ‘estaba’ enferma.
Direct: She told me, “I am going to buy you a piano for your birthday.”
Reported: She told me she was going to buy me a piano for my birthday.
Ella me dijo, “Te voy a comprar un piano para tu cumpleaños.”
Ella me dijo que (ella) me iba a comprar un piano para mi cumpleaños.
Direct: Mari says to Jorge, “I don’t like the neighborhood you live in.”
Reported: Mari tells Jorge that she doesn’t like the neighborhood he lives in.
Mari le dice a Jorge, “No me gusta el bario en el que vives.”
Indirect: Matt le dice a Jorge que a ella no le ‘gusta’ el barrio en el que él ‘vive.’
In reported speech, the simple present changes to the imperfect, never to the past perfect.
Reported: She told him that she didn’t drink coffee because it was bad for her blood pressure.
Ella le dijo a él que no ‘bebía’ café porque ‘era’ malo para su tensión arterial.
In reported speech, the simple present changes to the imperfect, never to the past perfect.
Direct: I told her, “I don’t need the car to go to the supermarket.”
Reported: I told her I didn’t need the car to go to the supermarket.
Le dije a ella, “No necesito el coche para ir al supermercado.”
Le dije a ella que no necesitaba el coche para ir al supermercado.
The present subjunctive changes to the imperfect subjunctive.
Direct: She told me, “I don’t think that my parents will accept that.”
Reported: She told me that she didn’t think that her parents would accept that.
Ella me dijo a mi, “No creo que mis padres acepten eso.”
Ella me dijo a mi que ella no creía que sus padres aceptaran eso.
The imperfect (indicative or subjunctive) and the conditional never change:
Direct: I told them, “My wife lived in Los Angeles when she was a girl.
Reported: I told them my wife lived in Los Angeles when she was a girl.
Les dije, “Mi mujer vivía en Los Angeles cuando era una niña.
Les dije que mi mujer vivía en Los Angeles cuando era una niña.
The imperfect (indicative or subjunctive) and the conditional never change:
Direct: He told me, “If I had money, I would buy a castle.”
Reported: He told me that if he had money, he would buy a castle.
Él me dijo, “Si yo tuviera dinero, (yo) compraría un castillo.
Él me dijo que si él tuviera dinero, (él) compraría un castillo.
The preterit can change to the past perfect, but it can also remain in the preterit:
Direct: She told him, “I wasn’t in my parents’ house.”
Reported: She told him that she hadn’t been in her parents’ house.
Ella le dijo a él, “Yo no estuve en la casa de mis padres.”
Ella le dijo a él que ella no había estado en la casa de sus padres.
OR: Ella le dijo a él que ella no estuvo en la casa de sus padres.
The future tense changes to the conditional:
Direct: I told them, “I won’t go with you to such a strange party.”
Reported: I told them that I wouldn’t go with them to such a strange party.
Les dije, “No iré con ustedes a esa fiesta tan extraña.”
Les dije que yo no iría con ellos a esa fiesta tan extraña.
The conditional doesn’t change:
Direct: I said to my mother, “I would like to have a motorcycle.
Reported: I told my mother that I would like to have a motorcycle.
Le dije a mi madre, “Me gustaría tener una moto.”
Le dije a mi madre que me gustaría tener una moto.
Direct: I told them, “They must have been playing soccer.” (with haber- future tense)
Les dije, “Ellos habrán estado jugando al fútbol.
Reported: I told them that they might have been playing soccer.
Les dije que ellos habrían estado jugando al fútbol.
Direct: She said to her father, “I’m not going to be able to put on that dress.”
Reported: She told her father that she wasn’t going to be able to put on that dress.
Ella le dijo a su padre, “No me voy a poder poner ese vestido.”
Ella le dijo a su padre que no se iba a poder poner ese vestido.
In reporting something that is still true, the first verb of the verb sequence (that is, after the reporting verb) doesn’t have to be changed:
She said that Juan has two children.
However, the tense is always changed when there is a difference between what was said and what is really the case.
She said that Juan had two children, but in fact he has three.
Ella dijo que Juan tiene/tenía dos niños.
Ella dijo que Juan tenía dos niños, pero en realidad tiene tres.
The construction puede que + present subjunctive changes to podía que + imperfect subjunctive or to podía/podría + infinitive.
He said, “It may rain tomorrow.”
He said that it might rain the following day.
Él dijo, “Puede que llueva mañana.”
Él dijo que podía que lloviera al día siguiente.
OR: Él dijo que podía/podría llover al día siguiente.
Also possible: Él dijo que podía ser que lloviera al día siguiente.
Direct: aquí/acá
Reported?
allí/allá
Direct: esta mañana/tarde/noche
esa/aquella mañana, tarde, noche
Direct: hoy
ese día/ aquel día
Direct: mañana
al día siguiente
Direct: el lunes que viene
al lunes siguiente
Direct: la semana que viene
a la semana siguiente.
