En la lección de hoy exploraremos el cambio de tiempo verbal que sucede entre reported speech y direct speech conocido como “backshift.”
NOTA: en esta lección contiene términos que ya repasamos en lecciones anteriores. Te recomendamos revisar las primeras dos lecciones en esta serie antes de continuar
¿QUÉ SIGNIFICA BACKSHIFT?
Backshift significa cambiar el tiempo del verbo si la frase lo requiere. Y el verbo de la frase relatada lo suele requerir cuando pasamos de direct speech (estilo directo) a reported speech (estilo indirecto).
Se llama backshift porque el cambio en tiempo se hace al tiempo verbal anterior (o hacia atrás). Back significa “hacia atrás” y shift significa “cambiar/modificar.”
CÓMO SE REALIZA BACKSHIFT
Afortunadamente, existen una serie de reglas que puedes usar para realizar “backshift” de manera correcta.
Te recomendamos tener estas listas a la mano cuando empiezas a estudiar reported y direct speech. Pero, intenta no depender de ellas.
CON VERBOS
Nos referimos a los verbos en la frase relatada. Se realiza el cambio de tiempo en los los siguientes casos:
| Si DIRECT SPEECH se dice en: | REPORTED SPEECH se dice en: |
| Presente simple She said, “I write children´s books.” |
Pasado simple She said she wrote children’s books. |
| Presente continuo She said, “I am writing a book.” |
Pasado continuo She said she was writing a book. |
| Presente perfecto She said, “I have written a book.” |
Pasado perfecto She said she had written a book. |
| Presente perfecto continuo She said, “I have been writing a book.” |
Pasado perfecto continuo She said she had been writing a book. |
| Pasado simple She said, “I wrote a book.” |
Pasado perfecto She said she had written a book. |
| Pasado continuo She said, “I was writing a book.” |
Pasado perfecto continuo She said she had been writing a book. |
Si se usa el pasado perfecto o pasado perfecto continuo, el verbo de la frase relatada no se cambia:
- She said, “I had written a book.” -> She said she had written a book. [pasado perfecto]
- She said, “I had been writing a book.” -> She said she had been writing a book. [pasado perfecto continuo]
CON CIERTOS MODALES
Con ciertos modales, también se debe hacer un cambio cuando se pasa de direct speech a reported speech:
| Si DIRECT SPEECH usa: | REPORTED SPEECH usa: |
| Will She said, “I will write a book.” |
Would She said she would write a book. |
| Can She said, “I can write a book.” |
Could She said she could write a book. |
| Must She said, “I must write a book.” |
Had to She said she had to write a book |
| Shall She said, “I shall write a book.” |
Would She said she would write a book |
| May She said, “I may write a book.” |
Might* She said she might write a book. She said she may write a book |
*May y might se intercambian a menudo en inglés coloquial. Por esto, no siempre se produce el cambio del modal MAY a MIGHT.
No se realiza ningún cambio con los siguientes modales:
- Would
She said, “I would write a book.” – She said she would write a book. - Could
She said, “I could write a book.” – She said she could write a book. - Should
She said, “I should write a book.” – She said she should write a book. - Might
She said, “I might write a book.” – She said she might write a book. - Ought to
She said, “I ought to write a book.” – She said she ought to write a book.
CUANDO NO REALIZAR BACKSHIFT
Generalmente, cuando el verbo de relato está en Pasado Simple, el verbo de la frase relatada debe cambiarse.
Pero, si se relatan hechos o algo que aún es cierto, el verbo en la frase relatada NO SE CAMBIA. Puede hacerse, pero no es necesario:
| En DIRECT SPEECH: | En REPORTED SPEECH: |
| He said, “The Earth is not flat.” | He said that the Earth is not flat. He said that the Earth was not flat. |
| I said, “It is sunny outside.” | I said that it is sunny outside. I said that it was sunny outside. |
Si el verbo de relato está en Presente Simple, Presente Perfecto o Futuro, no se cambia el tiempo verbal del verbo en la frase relatada.
| En DIRECT SPEECH: | En REPORTED SPEECH : | |
| Presente Simple | Mary says, “I exercise every day.” | She says she exercises* every day. |
| Presente Perfecto | He has said, “I need sleep.” | He has said he needs sleep. |
| Futuro | You will say, “I want a vacation.” | You will say that you want a vacation |
*Recuerda que se agrega una S al final del verbo en tiempo presente cuando el pronombre anterior es HE, SHE, o IT (tercera persona singular).
MÁS INFORMACIÓN SOBRE REPORTED Y DIRECT SPEECH
- La diferencia entre Reported y Direct Speech
- ¿Qué son Reporting Verbs? – Direct y Reported Speech
- Reported Speech: Más sobre Backshift
- Reported Speech: Tiempo y Lugar (pronto)
- Reported Speech: Preguntas y Ordenes (pronto)
Nos vemos en la próxima lección!
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