El estilo indirecto es contar lo que alguien dijo sin repetirlo entre comillas: de "I'm tired" a She said she was tired. La regla maestra es el backshift: como lo dijeron antes, el verbo retrocede un tiempo (presente → pasado, pasado → pluscuamperfecto, will → would). Además cambian los pronombres (yo→él) y las palabras de tiempo y lugar (today→that day, here→there). Parece mucho, pero casi todo se resume en "un paso hacia atrás".
Cambios de Tiempo
Present simple → Past simple
Present continuous → Past continuous
Present perfect → Past perfect
Past simple → Past perfect
Will → Would / Can → Could / Must → Had to / May → Might
Cambios de Adverbios
today → that day / yesterday → the day before / tomorrow → the next day
now → then / here → there / this → that / these → those
last week → the week before / next week → the following week / ago → before
Afirmaciones, preguntas y órdenes
ENStatement: "I eat cake." → He said he ate cake.
ESAfirmación: "I eat cake." → He said he ate cake.
ENYes/No question: "Do you study?" → She asked if I studied.
ESPregunta sí/no: "Do you study?" → She asked if I studied.
ENWh-question: "Where did you go?" → She asked where I had gone.
ESPregunta con wh-: "Where did you go?" → She asked where I had gone.
ENOrder: "Close the door!" → He told me to close the door.
ESOrden: "Close the door!" → He told me to close the door.
Verbos de reporte (más allá de say/tell)
+ to: He promised to call, She offered to help, They refused to pay.
+ objeto + to: She advised me to rest, They warned us not to go, He reminded me to phone.
+ -ing / preposición: He denied breaking it, She apologised for being late, He suggested going out.
El error típico del hispanohablante
En preguntas indirectas, sin inversión ni "do": She asked where I was (no "where was I").
say vs tell: she said (that)... pero she told me (that)... — tell necesita persona.
Tras suggest / advise (that), verbo base, sin backshift: She suggested that I take a break (no "took").