La regla principal
say + palabras, tell + persona + palabras: He said he was tired. He told me he was tired. Si el verbo introductor es pasado, el tiempo retrocede un paso: am / is / are pasa a was / were, will a would, can a could. El that es opcional.
Say o tell
Tras tell va siempre la persona que escucha: told me, told Anna, told us. Tras say no hay persona: He said that he was late. Si quieres nombrarla, hace falta to: He said to me that he was late. Told me y said to me son las dos correctas y significan lo mismo.
Truco
Si justo después del verbo puedes poner me, him o Anna, es told. Si no hay persona, es said. «Me contó que...» y «me dijo que...» son los dos told me.
Cambio de tiempos
| Estilo directo | Estilo indirecto | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Past simple | I live in Madrid. -> Tom said he lived in Madrid. |
| am / is / are | was / were | I am tired. -> Tom said he was tired. |
| Past simple | Past simple o past perfect | I lost my keys. -> Tom said he lost / had lost his keys. |
| Present perfect | Past perfect | I have finished. -> Tom said he had finished. |
| will / won't | would / wouldn't | I will call you. -> Tom said he would call me. |
| can / can't | could / couldn't | I can't swim. -> Tom said he couldn't swim. |
| am / is / are going to | was / were going to | I'm going to buy a car. -> Tom said he was going to buy a car. |
Aquí el español te ayuda: también retrocede los tiempos (correlación de tiempos). «Dijo que estaba cansado» es He said he was tired; «dijo que vendría» es he would come; «dijo que podía nadar» es he could swim; «dijo que había terminado» es he had finished; «iba a comprar» es was going to buy. La trampa está en el verbo: en español «decir» sirve para todo («me dijo que...»), pero en inglés *He said me that... es un error. Y mientras que el español nunca omite «que», en inglés el that se puede quitar: She said she was hungry. Tampoco lo confundas con what: no *She said what she was hungry.
Ejemplos
- Anna said she was hungry, so we ordered pizza. Anna dijo que tenía hambre, así que pedimos pizza.
- Tom told me he lived near the station. Tom me contó que vivía cerca de la estación.
- Olena told her parents that she had passed the exam. Olena les dijo a sus padres que había aprobado el examen.
- Pablo said he lost his phone at the party. Pablo dijo que había perdido el teléfono en la fiesta.
- Mr Brown said to us that he would help. El señor Brown nos dijo que nos ayudaría.
- Kate said she couldn't come on Friday. Kate dijo que no podía venir el viernes.
- Ivan told me he was going to buy a bike. Ivan me dijo que iba a comprar una bicicleta.
- On Friday Lucia told me she would visit me the next day. El viernes Lucía me dijo que me visitaría al día siguiente.
Past simple en el estilo directo
Las palabras I lost my keys se cuentan de dos maneras: She said she lost her keys o She said she had lost her keys. Las dos son correctas. El past perfect solo deja más claro que el hecho fue anterior al momento en que se habló.
Cuándo no hay cambio de tiempo
Si el verbo introductor está en presente, el tiempo no retrocede: Kate says she is at the station. Tom says he can't come. Lo que sigue siendo verdad puede quedarse en presente: He said the shop opens at nine. Es una posibilidad, no una ley: the shop opened at nine también es correcto. Si la situación ya terminó, el cambio hace falta: Last year Anna said she lived in Lima, but now she lives in Quito.
Pronombres
Los pronombres cambian según quién habla ahora: I -> he / she, my -> his / her, we -> they, our -> their, me -> him / her, y you pasa a I / me si las palabras iban dirigidas a ti. Anna said to me, «You are late» -> Anna told me I was late. Como en español, esto resulta natural.
Marcas de tiempo y lugar
| Estilo directo | Estilo indirecto |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| now | then / at that time |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day / the day after |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| next week | the following week / the next week / the week after |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| two days ago | two days before / two days earlier |
| here | there |
| this (week, place) | that |
Coinciden con «al día siguiente», «el día anterior», «ese día», «entonces» y «allí». Cambian solo cuando cuentas lo dicho más tarde o en otro sitio: si Kate dijo el lunes «I will call you tomorrow» y hablas el miércoles, di Kate said she would call me the next day. Las preguntas y las órdenes en estilo indirecto son temas aparte.
Errores típicos
He said me that he was tired.He told me that he was tired. / He said to me that he was tired. «me dijo» es told me; said no lleva persona directaHe told that he was tired.He told me that he was tired. / He said that he was tired. tell necesita personaShe told to me that she was late.She told me that she was late. tell no lleva toShe said what she was hungry.She said (that) she was hungry. «que» es that, no whatOn Monday she said she will come on Tuesday, but she didn't.On Monday she said she would come on Tuesday, but she didn't. will pasa a would, como «vendría»Years ago Tom said he can't swim.Years ago Tom said he couldn't swim. can pasa a couldShe said she was go to buy a car.She said she was going to buy a car. was / were + going to + verbo
Preguntas y respuestas
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre say y tell?
Tras tell va siempre una persona: He told me, She told Anna. Tras say no la hay, o aparece con to: He said it, He said to me.
¿Se puede omitir that?
Sí. She said (that) she was hungry: las dos son correctas. Lo que no puedes hacer es poner what en lugar de that.
¿Cómo cambian los tiempos en el estilo indirecto?
Si said o told están en pasado, el tiempo retrocede: present simple a past simple, present perfect a past perfect, will a would, can a could, going to a was / were going to. El past simple se queda igual o pasa a past perfect.
¿Cuándo no cambia el tiempo?
Cuando el verbo introductor está en presente (She says she is at the station) y, a menudo, cuando lo dicho sigue siendo verdad (He said the shop opens at nine). Es una posibilidad, no una regla fija.
¿Cómo cambian tomorrow, yesterday y here?
Tomorrow pasa a the next day, yesterday a the day before y here a there. Solo si cuentas lo dicho más tarde o en otro lugar.