Reported Speech I

Cuando queremos comunicar o informar de lo que otra persona ha dicho, hay dos maneras de hacerlo: utilizando el estilo directo o el estilo indirecto. 

   Example: Chris asked, "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
"He's American" she said.	She said he was American.
"I'm happy to see you," Mary said.	Mary said that she was happy to see me.
He asked, "Are you busy tonight?"	He asked me if I was busy tonight.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
"Dan is living in San Francisco," she said.	She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He said, "I'm making dinner."	He told me that he was making dinner.
"Why are you working so hard?" they asked.	They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
"We went to the movies last night," he said.	He told me they had gone to the movies last night.
Greg said, "I didn't go to work yesterday."	Greg said that he hadn't gone to work yesterday.
"Did you buy a new car?" she asked.	She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
"I was working late last night," Vicki said.	Vicki told me she'd been working last night.
They said, "We weren't waiting long."	They said that they hadn't been waiting long.
He asked, "Were you sleeping when I called?"	He asked if I'd been sleeping when he called.
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Heather said, "I've already eaten."	Heather told me that she'd already eaten.
"We haven't been to China," they said.	They said they hadn't been to China.
"Have you worked here before?" I asked.	I asked her whether she'd worked there before.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
"I've been studying English for two years," he said.	He said he'd been studying English for two years.
Steve said, "We've been dating for over a year now."	Steve told me that they'd been dating for over a year.
"Have you been waiting long?" they asked.	They asked whether I'd been waiting long.
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple (*NO CHANGE)
"I'd been to Chicago before for work," he said.	He said that he'd been to Chicago before for work.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous (*NO CHANGE)
She said, "I'd been dancing for years before the accident."	She said she'd been dancing for years before the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (todavía es verdad) o que es en el futuro, no tenemos que cambiar el tiempo verbal. Example: Dave said, "Kelly is sick." → Dave said Kelly is sick.