Learn to use indirect speech with past simple tenses in Spanish, focusing on verbs like "decir" and expressions such as "Me dijo que" and "preguntó si", using imperfect forms like "gustaba" and "creía" for reporting past statements.
- 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 appropriately reflects what someone said in the past.
1.
Incorrect: the preterite is used instead of the imperfect past for the main verb in reported speech after a past tense verb.
Incorrect: the preposition 'me' is missing to indicate who the reported speech is directed to.
2.
Incorrect: the main verb should not be in preterite, but in imperfect past to agree with reported speech.
Incorrect: the verb should not remain in present tense after a past tense verb; it must change to imperfect past.
3.
Incorrect: using conditional here is not appropriate; the correct form is imperfect past.
Incorrect: the verb should not remain in present tense in reported speech when the introductory verb is in past tense.
4.
Incorrect: the verb in reported speech should be in imperfect past to express background information, not preterite.
Incorrect: the verb cannot remain in present tense after a past tense verb in reported speech.
