Active / Passive Overview

Tense

Active
Once a week, Tom cleans the
Simple Present
house.
Present
Right now, Sarah is writing the
Continuous
letter.
Simple Past
Sam repaired the car.
The salesman was helping the
Past
customer when the thief came into
Continuous
the store.
Many tourists have visited that
Present Perfect
castle.
Present Perfect Recently, John has been doing the
Continuous
work.
George had repaired many cars
Past Perfect
before he received his mechanic's
license.

Passive
Once a week, the house is cleaned by
Tom.
Right now, the letter is being written
by Sarah.
The car was repaired by Sam.
The customer was being helped by
the salesman when the thief came into
the store.
That castle has been visited by many
tourists.
Recently, the work has been being
done by John.
Many cars had been repaired by
George before he received his
mechanic's license.
The restaurant's fantastic dinners had
Chef Jones had been preparing
Past Perfect
been being prepared by Chef Jones
the restaurant's fantastic dinners for
Continuous
for two years before he moved to
two years before he moved to Paris.
Paris.
Simple Future Someone will finish the work by
The work will be finished by 5:00
5:00 PM.
PM.
will
Simple Future Sally is going to make a beautiful A beautiful dinner is going to be
dinner tonight.
made by Sally tonight.
be going to
Future
At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be
At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be
Continuous
washing the dishes.
being washed by John.
will
Future
At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are
Continuous
to be washing the dishes.
going to be being washed by John.
be going to
Future Perfect They will have completed the
The project will have been
project before the deadline.
completed before the deadline.
will
Future Perfect They are going to have completed The project is going to have been
the project before the deadline.
completed before the deadline.
be going to
Future Perfect The famous artist will have been The mural will have been being
Continuous
painting the mural for over six
painted by the famous artist for over
months by the time it is finished.
six months by the time it is finished.
will
Future Perfect The famous artist is going to have The mural is going to have been
Continuous
been painting the mural for over being painted by the famous artist for

six months by the time it is

finished.
Used to
Jerry used to pay the bills.
My mother would always make
Would Always
the pies.
Future in the
I knew John would finish the work
Past
by 5:00 PM.
Would
Future in the
I thought Sally was going to make
Past
a beautiful dinner tonight.
Was Going to
be going to

over six months by the time it is

finished.
The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
The pies would always be made by
my mother.
I knew the work would be finished
by 5:00 PM.
I thought a beautiful dinner was going
to be made by Sally tonight.

Direct Speech (El estilo directo)

Cuando queremos informar exactamente de lo que otra persona ha dicho, utilizamos el
estilo directo. Con este estilo lo que la persona ha dicho se coloca entre comillas () y
deber ser palabra por palabra.
Ejemplos:
I am going to London next week, she said. (Voy a Londres la semana que viene, ella dijo.)
Do you have a pen I could borrow, he asked. (Tienes un bolgrafo que puedas prestarme?, l
pregunt.)
Alice said, I love to dance. (Alice dijo, Me encanta bailar.)
Chris asked, Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? (Chris pregunt, Te
gustara cenar conmigo maana por la noche?)

Reported Speech (El estilo indirecto)

El estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, no utiliza las comillas y no necesita ser
palabra por palabra. En general, cuando se usa el estilo indirecto, el tiempo verbal cambia.
A continuacin tienes un explicacin de los cambios que sufren los tiempos verbales.
A veces se usa that en las frases afirmativas y negativas para introducir lo que ha dicho
la otra persona. Por otro lado, en las frases interrogativas se puede usar if o whether.

Nota: Ten en cuenta tambin que las expresiones de tiempo cambian en el estilo indirecto.
Fijate en los cambios de tiempo en los ejemplos ms abajo y despus, encontrars una tabla
con ms explicaciones de los cambios de tiempo en el estilo indirecto.
Direct Speech
Present Simple
He is American, she said.
I am happy to see you, Mary said.
He asked, Are you busy tonight?
Present Continuous
Dan is living in San Francisco, she said.
He said, Im making dinner.
Why are you working so hard? they
asked.
Past Simple
We went to the movies last night, he said.
Greg said, I didnt go to work yesterday.
Did you buy a new car? she asked.
Past Continuous
I was working late last night, Vicki said.
They said, we werent waiting long.
He asked, were you sleeping when I
called?
Present Perfect Simple
Heather said, Ive already eaten.
We havent been to China, they said.
Have you worked here before? I asked.
Present Perfect Continuous
Ive been studying English for two
years, he said.
Steve said, weve been dating for over a
year now.
Have you been waiting long? they asked.
Past Perfect Simple

Reported Speech
Past Simple
She said he was American.
Mary said that she was happy to see me.
He asked me if I was busy that night.
Past Continuous
She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He told me that he was making dinner.
They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Perfect Simple
He told me they had gone to the movies the
night before.
Greg said that he hadnt gone to work the
day before.
She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Perfect Continuous
Vicki told me shed been working late the
night before.
They said that they hadnt been waiting
long.
He asked if Id been sleeping when he
called.
Past Perfect Simple
Heather told me that shed already eaten.
They said they hadnt been to China.
I asked her whether shed worked there
before.
Past Perfect Continuous
He said hed been studying English for
two years.
Steve told me that theyd been dating for
over a year.
They asked whether Id been waiting long.
Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)

Id been to Chicago before for work, he

said.
Past Perfect Continuous
She said, Id been dancing for years
before the accident.

He said that hed been to Chicago before

for work.
Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)
She said shed been dancing for years
before the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en
el futuro, no es necesario cambiar el tiempo verbal.
Ejemplos:
Im 30 years old, she said. She said she is 30 years old.
Dave said, Kelly is sick. Dave said Kelly is sick.
We are going to Tokyo next week, they said. They said they are going to Tokyo
next week.
Ill cut my hair tomorrow, Nina said. Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.

Modal Verbs (Los verbos modales)

El tiempo verbal cambia en el estilo indirecto tambin con algunos de los verbos modales.
Nota: Con would, could, should, might y ought to, el tiempo no cambia.
Direct Speech
Will

Indirect Speech

Would
John said he would go to the movies the
Ill go to the movies tomorrow, John said.
next day.
Will you help me move? she asked.
She asked me if I would help her move.
Can
Could
Debra said, Allen can work tomorrow.
Debra said Allen could work the next day.
Can you open the window, please?, he
He asked me if I could open the window.
asked.
Must
Had to
You must wear your seat belt, mom said. My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.

She said, You must work tomorrow.

Shall
Shall we go to the beach today? Tom
asked.

She said I had to work the next day.

Should
Tom asked if we should go to the beach
that day.
She asked me what we should do that
What shall we do tonight? she asked.
night.
May
Might/Could
Jane said, I may not be in class
Jane said she might not be in class the next
tomorrow.
day.
May I use the bathroom, please?, the boy The boy asked if he could use the
asked.
bathroom.
Nota: A continuacin tienes una tabla donde puedes observar los cambios que sufren las
expresiones de tiempo cuando usamos el estilo indirecto.
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
today
that day
tonight
that night
this week/month/year
that week/month/year
tomorrow
the next day
next week/month/year
the following week/month/year
yesterday
the day before or the previous day
the week/month year before or the previous
last week/month/year
week/month/year
now
then/at that moment
Otros cambios
here
there

Say, tell, ask, talk, speak