En B2 el reported speech no es solo “He said that…”. Ajustamos tiempos verbales, marcadores de tiempo/lugar y usamos reporting verbs más precisos como admit, suggest, promise, claim….
1) Mapa rápido
Direct: “I’m tired today.”
Reported: He said (that) he was tired that day.
Cambian el tiempo verbal y la referencia de tiempo. Además, podemos ser más precisos: He complained that…, She admitted that….
Reported speech = contar lo que alguien dijo, pero visto desde otro momento y otro lugar.
2) Estructura básica y diferencia say / tell
A) Patrón básico
S + reporting verb + (that) + cláusula
He said (that) he was tired.
- say (that) + mensaje
He said (that) he was busy. - tell + objeto + (that) + mensaje
He told me (that) he was busy.
| Verbo | Estructura | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| say | say (that) + oración | She said (that) she was nervous. |
| tell | tell + objeto + (that) + oración | She told me (that) she was nervous. |
| ask | ask + obj + to-inf / about / if… | He asked me to help. |
Nunca digas ❌ *tell that…* sin objeto. Siempre: tell someone that…
3) Backshift de tiempos verbales (visión B2)
Si el verbo de reporte está en pasado (said, told, admitted…), normalmente desplazamos el tiempo un paso hacia el pasado (backshift).
| Discurso directo | Reported speech | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple | “I work here.” → He said (that) he worked there. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | “I’m studying.” → She said (that) she was studying. |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | “I’ve finished.” → He said (that) he had finished. |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect (o se mantiene) | “I saw her yesterday.” → He said (that) he had seen her the day before. (en conversación informal: he saw también es posible) |
| Will | Would | “I’ll call you tomorrow.” → She said (that) she would call me the next day. |
| Can | Could | “I can help you.” → He said (that) he could help me. |
| Have to / Must | Had to | “I must/ have to go.” → She said (that) she had to go. |
Si lo que se dice sigue siendo verdad ahora, a veces se mantiene el tiempo original:
“The Earth goes around the Sun.” → He said that the Earth goes around the Sun.
4) Deíxis: cambios de tiempo, lugar y pronombres
Al contar lo que alguien dijo, las palabras que dependen de “aquí / ahora / yo / tú” cambian.
A) Tiempo y lugar
| Direct speech | Reported speech | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| today | that day | “I’m busy today.” → He said he was busy that day. |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day | “I arrived yesterday.” → She said she had arrived the day before. |
| tomorrow | the next/following day | “I’ll call you tomorrow.” → He said he would call me the next day. |
| now | then / at that moment | “I’m busy now.” → She said she was busy then. |
| here | there | “I like it here.” → He said he liked it there. |
| this / these | that / those | “This book is great.” → She said that that book was great. |
B) Pronombres
Adaptamos los pronombres según el punto de vista:
“I love your project.” → She told me (that) she loved my project.
“We will help you.” → They said (that) they would help me.
“You are late.” (teacher to students) → The teacher said (that) we were late.
Pregunta mental: “¿Quién habla ahora? ¿De quién hablamos?” → adapta I/you/we a he/she/they o me/us/them.
5) Reporting verbs: variedad y patrones comunes
En B2 no siempre usamos say/tell. Podemos elegir un verbo que exprese mejor la intención: admit, promise, refuse, suggest, warn…
| Verbo | Patrón | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| admit | admit (that) + oración | He admitted (that) he had made a mistake. |
| deny | deny (that) + oración | She denied (that) she had taken the money. |
| promise | promise to + inf / (that) + oración | He promised to call me later. |
| refuse | refuse to + inf | They refused to give more information. |
| advise | advise sb to + inf / (that) | She advised me to take a break. |
| warn | warn sb (not) to + inf / (that) | They warned us not to be late. |
| suggest | suggest (that) + oración / V-ing | He suggested (that) we should leave early. He suggested leaving early. |
| claim | claim (that) + oración | She claimed (that) she had never seen him before. |
Usar reporting verbs variados hace tu inglés más rico y preciso: no siempre “he said”, también “he explained”, “he complained”, “she insisted”, etc.
6) Errores comunes
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *He told that he was tired.* | He said (that) he was tired. He told me (that) he was tired. | tell necesita objeto; say no. |
| *She said me that she was busy.* | She told me that she was busy. | Con objeto (me/you/him…) usamos tell, no “say me”. |
| *He said he is tired yesterday.* | He said (that) he was tired the day before. | Backshift de tiempo y cambio de marcador temporal. |
| *She told that she will call tomorrow.* | She said (that) she would call the next day. | will → would y cambio de “tomorrow”. |
| *He admitted that he makes a mistake.* | He admitted that he had made a mistake. | Acción anterior → Past Perfect en reported speech. |
7) Mini-práctica
- Pasa a reported speech (usa said (that)):
a) “I’m very tired today,” she said.
b) “We have finished the project,” they said.
c) “I saw him yesterday,” he said.
d) “I will call you tomorrow,” she said.
e) “I can’t come to the meeting,” Tom said. - Pasa a reported speech y ajusta tiempo/lugar:
a) “I’m working here now,” he said.
b) “We arrived yesterday,” they said.
c) “I’ll be here tomorrow,” she said.
d) “This place is amazing,” he said.
e) “We live near here,” they said. - Reescribe usando un reporting verb más preciso (admit, deny, promise, refuse, warn, suggest):
a) “OK, it was my fault,” he said. (admit)
b) “No, I didn’t take the money,” she said. (deny)
c) “I’ll help you with your homework,” he said. (promise)
d) “I won’t answer any more questions,” the politician said. (refuse)
e) “You should study more regularly,” the teacher said. (advise/suggest) - Corrige si es necesario y explica el error mentalmente:
a) He told that he was busy.
b) She said me that she would be late.
c) He said that he will call me the next day.
d) They told that they have finished.
e) She admitted that she makes a mistake. - (Producción guiada) Escribe 4 frases en reported speech sobre tu vida real:
• Alguien que te dio un consejo (usa advised o told me to…).
• Alguien que hizo una promesa (usa promised).
• Alguien que se quejó de algo (usa complained).
• Algo que tú admitiste o negaste (usa admitted / denied).
Intenta incluir al menos un cambio de tiempo y un cambio de “today/now/here”.
Respuestas ejemplo (orientativas):
1) a) She said (that) she was very tired that day.
b) They said (that) they had finished the project.
c) He said (that) he had seen him the day before.
d) She said (that) she would call me the next day.
e) Tom said (that) he couldn’t come to the meeting.
2) a) He said (that) he was working there then.
b) They said (that) they had arrived the day before.
c) She said (that) she would be there the next day.
d) He said (that) that place was amazing.
e) They said (that) they lived near there.
3) a) He admitted (that) it had been his fault.
b) She denied (that) she had taken the money.
c) He promised to help me with my homework.
d) The politician refused to answer any more questions.
e) The teacher advised me to study more regularly / suggested (that) I should study more regularly.
4) a) He said that he was busy / He told me that he was busy.
b) She told me that she would be late.
c) He said that he would call me the next day.
d) They said that they had finished.
e) She admitted that she had made a mistake.
5) Respuesta libre; revisa que tengas bien los tiempos, la deíxis (today/that day) y el reporting verb adecuado.
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Second Conditional (hipótesis presente), donde aprenderás a hablar de situaciones irreales en el presente usando estructuras como If I had more time, I would travel more.