Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes
Learn how to use indirect speech in Spanish past tense, practicing verbs like decir, preguntar, and gustar in pretérito indefinido + imperfecto, e.g., "Juan me dijo que le gustaba negociar la oferta."
- Verbs like decir, recordar, preguntar in simple past + "que" + verb in the imperfect tense.
- When we use verbs in the past tense, changes occur in the indirect style. For example No me gusta la negociación. - Ella me dijo que no le gustaba la negociación. present --> imperfect past.
| Estilo Directo (Direct Style) | Estilo Indirecto (Indirect style) |
|---|---|
| Juan: "Me gusta negociar la oferta." | Juan me dijo que le gustaba negociar la oferta. |
| Ana: "Creo que la oferta es positiva." | Ana me dijo que creía que la oferta era positiva. |
| Pedro: "¿Vas a rechazar la contraoferta?" | Pedro me preguntó si iba a rechazar la contraoferta. |
| Eva: "Sin duda, la oferta es excelente." | Eva me dijo que, sin duda, la oferta era excelente. |
Exceptions!
- Pronouns can change according to the context, such as me, le, les. For example: Me gusta esta oferta. - Ella dijo que le gusta esta oferta.
Exercise 1: Estilo indirecto con pretéritos simples
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
dijo que, iba a rechazar, tenía, preguntó, negociaban, era, es
1.
Decir que + ser:
Juan: La negociación es exitosa. : Juan me ... la negociación ... exitosa.
(Juan: The negotiation is successful. : Juan told me that the negotiation was successful.)
2.
Decir que + ser:
Marta: La contraoferta ... interesante. : Marta me ... la contraoferta ... interesante.
(Marta: The counteroffer is interesting. : Marta told me that the counteroffer was interesting.)
3.
Decir que + negociar:
Juan: Nosotros negociamos con ellos. : Juan me ... ellos ... con ellos.
(Juan: We negotiate with them. : Juan told me that they negotiated with them.)
4.
Decir que + ser:
Eva: Sin duda, la oferta es excelente. : Eva me dijo que, sin duda, la oferta ... excelente.
(Eva: Without a doubt, the offer is excellent. : Eva told me that, without a doubt, the offer was excellent.)
5.
Decir que + negociar:
Ana: Nosotros negociamos una buena oferta. : Ana me ... ellos ... una buena oferta.
(Ana: We negotiate a good deal. : Ana told me that they negotiated a good deal.)
6.
Decir que + tener:
Eva: Tengo el compromiso con ellos. : Eva me ... ... el compromiso con ellos.
(Eva: I have the commitment with them. : Eva told me that she had the commitment with them.)
7.
Preguntar + rechazar:
Pedro: ¿Vas a rechazar la oferta? : Pedro me ... si ... la oferta.
(Pedro: Are you going to reject the offer? : Pedro asked me if I was going to reject the offer.)
8.
Decir que + ser:
Ana: El compromiso es importante. : Ana me ... el compromiso ... importante.
(Ana: Commitment is important. : Ana told me that commitment was important.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct sentence in reported speech using the past tense that adequately reflects what someone said in the past.
1.
Incorrect: the simple past is used instead of the imperfect past for the main verb in reported speech after a verb in the past tense.
Incorrect: the preposition 'me' is missing to indicate to whom the reported speech is directed.
2.
Incorrect: the main verb should not be in simple past, but in the imperfect past to agree with reported speech.
Incorrect: the verb should not remain in the present after a verb in the past tense; it must change to the imperfect past.
3.
Incorrect: using the conditional is not appropriate here; the correct form is the imperfect past.
Incorrect: the verb should not remain in the present in reported speech when the introductory verb is in the past.
4.
Incorrect: the verb in reported speech should be in the imperfect past to express background information, not in the simple past.
Incorrect: the verb cannot remain in the present after a verb in the past for reported speech.
