direct speech and indirect speech  



Gramática
The difference between direct and indirect speech is best
understood by looking at examples of each.

Direct
Juan dice, "“hay un ratón en mi casa”".
Juan says, "There is a mouse in my house."

Indirect
Juan dijo que había un ratón en su casa.
Juan said that there was a mouse in his house.

Direct
Juan dice, "dame una ratonera".
Juan says, "Give me a mousetrap."

Indirect
Juan me dijo que le diera una ratonera.
Juan told me that I (should) give him a mousetrap.

Note! Indirect speech requires a different form for reporting
information and reporting a favor.

Gramática
When reporting information two changes occur:
first, the tense changes from the present
(dice, hay) to the past (dijo, había).
Second, que must be used to separate the first
verb-subject combination (Juan dijo) and the
information (había un ratón en la casa).

Direct:
Ana dice, "quiero un refresco".
Ana says, "I want a soft drink."

Indirect:
Ana dijo que quería un refresco.
Ana said that she wanted a soft drink.

Direct:
José dice, "leo tres horas por día".
Jose says, "I read three hours a day."

Indirect:
José dijo que leía tres horas por día.
Jose said that he reads three hours a day.

Gramática
Reporting a favor is complicated. In addition to the changes made
when reporting information, you must use the past subjunctive
to express the favor that has been asked (diera) and, in most
cases, you will need to add an object pronoun (le).

Direct:
Ana dice, "cómprame un refresco".
Ana says, "Buy me a soft drink."

Indirect:
Ana me dijo que le comprara un refresco.
Ana told me to buy her a soft drink.

Direct:
José dice, "léeme una historia".
Jose says, "Read me a story."

Indirect:
José me dijo que le leyera una historia.
Jose asked me to read him a story.

Sentences
Yo digo, "compráme un vestido".
Yo dije que me compraras un vestido.

Tú dices, "esperáme aquí".
Tú dijiste que te esperara aquí.

Eduarda dice, "cuentáme tu problema".
Eduarda me dijo que le contara mi problema.

Usted dice, "llevate mi carro".
Usted me dijo que me llevara su carro.

Nosotros decimos, "no nos dejen en el lago".
Nosotros les dijimos que no nos dejaran en el lago.

Ellos dicen, "coman más".
Ellos nos dijeron que comieramos más.

Notas para el Tutor

  • Que el estudiante aprenda este material que le ayudara a que su conversación sea más fluída.
  • Que el tutor ayude al estudiante a revisar este material.
  • Tarea: que el estudiante haga 5 oraciones en casa.

Please tell your friends that 123TeachMe.com is a great way to learn Spanish free online.



Popular Phrase: mama osa