3ER CONTENIDO

  Reported Speech 

El Reported Speech (o estilo indirecto) es una habilidad esencial en la escritura
académica de posgrado y doctorado. Permite comunicar con precisión lo que otros
han dicho sin copiar textualmente sus palabras. Esto ayuda a evitar el plagio,
muestra pensamiento crítico y demuestra tu capacidad para reformular ideas con claridad.

¿Qué es el Reported Speech? El reported speech se utiliza para expresar lo que alguien más dijo, pero sin repetir sus palabras exactas. En vez de citar directamente (estilo directo), se reformula el mensaje con ajustes en los tiempos verbales, pronombres y expresiones de tiempo.

 

Diferencia entre estilo directo e indirecto:

• Estilo directo: se cita exactamente lo que alguien dijo, entre comillas.

• Ejemplo: Dr. Taylor said, "This model is no longer valid."

• Estilo indirecto: se transmite el contenido del mensaje cambiando estructura y tiempos.

• Ejemplo: Dr. Taylor said that the model was no longer valid.

Reglas clave del Reported Speech

1. Cambio en los tiempos verbales (Backshifting):

• Present Simple → Past Simple:

• "I study economics." → She said she studied economics.

• Present Perfect → Past Perfect:

• "I have finished." → He said he had finished.

• Past Simple → Past Perfect:

• "I went to Oxford." → She said she had gone to Oxford.

2. Cambio en los pronombres:

• "I" pasa a "he/she"; "we" pasa a "they", etc.

3. Cambio en las expresiones de tiempo y lugar:

• today → that day

• tomorrow → the next day / the following day

• yesterday → the day before / the previous day

• here → there

4. Uso de verbos de reporte:

• Verbos comunes: said, told, explained, claimed, argued, stated, noted, mentioned, reported.

• Ejemplo:

• "The results are inconclusive," she claimed. → She claimed that the results were inconclusive.

Ejemplos Académicos

1. Original (directo): "Our findings indicate a strong correlation," the researchers noted.

• Indirecto: The researchers noted that their findings indicated a strong correlation.

2. Original (directo): "We will submit the paper by Friday," the authors said.

• Indirecto: The authors said they would submit the paper by Friday.

3. Original (directo): "This method is unreliable," Dr. Singh stated.

• Indirecto: Dr. Singh stated that the method was unreliable.

Ejercicios de Práctica

Convierte el siguiente estilo directo al estilo indirecto:

1. "We are analyzing the second dataset," they explained.

2. "I have never encountered such a hypothesis," she said.

3. "Our paper will be reviewed next week," the team reported.

4. "This assumption is flawed," he argued.

5. "The results were consistent," the researchers noted.

Recursos en línea útiles para practicar:

• Perfect English Grammar

• Agenda Web - Reported Speech Exercises

• Grammarly Blog

Cuadro comparativo: Reported Speech (Resumen Rápido)

Tiempo en estilo directo	Se convierte en estilo indirecto	Ejemplo
Present Simple	Past Simple	"He works." → He said he worked.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	"She is studying." → She said she was studying.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	"They have arrived." → They said they had arrived.
Past Simple	Past Perfect	"I went." → She said she had gone.
Will	Would	"We will start." → They said they would start.
Can	Could	"He can do it." → She said he could do it.
Must	to	"You must attend." → He said I had to attend.