No reported speech (discurso indireto), você relata o que alguém disse — e os tempos costumam recuar: present → past, will → would, can → could. “I am tired” → He said (that) he was tired. Em perguntas, a ordem vira afirmativa: He asked where I lived (não “where did I live”).
Relatar conversas é constante no trabalho (“ela disse que…”, “ele perguntou se…”). O inglês faz isso com dois movimentos: recuar o tempo verbal e ajustar pronomes e marcadores de tempo.
O recuo dos tempos (backshift)
| Direto | Indireto (reported) |
|---|---|
| present simple (work) | past simple (worked) |
| present continuous (am working) | past continuous (was working) |
| past simple (worked) | past perfect (had worked) |
| present perfect (have worked) | past perfect (had worked) |
| will | would |
| can / may / must | could / might / had to |
Mudanças de pronome e de tempo
- Pronomes: “I'll call you” → She said she'd call me.
- Marcadores: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, now → then, here → there.
- “that” é opcional: He said (that) he was busy.
Perguntas indiretas (ordem afirmativa!)
- Wh-: “Where do you work?” → She asked where I worked. (não “where did I work”)
- Sim/não → if / whether: “Are you ready?” → He asked if I was ready.
- A pergunta indireta tem ordem de afirmativa e não usa do/does/did.
say vs tell
tell precisa de quem ouve (objeto): She told me she was leaving. say não leva objeto direto de pessoa: She said she was leaving. (não “said me”). Para ordens: He told me to wait.
O ângulo executivo
Relatar com precisão é crucial em e-mails e atas: “The client said they would confirm by Friday.”, “She asked whether the budget had been approved.”, “He told us to prioritize the launch.”
Os erros que entregam o brasileiro
- Manter ordem de pergunta: ❌ He asked where did I live → ✅ He asked where I lived.
- say me: ❌ She said me… → ✅ She told me… / She said…
- Esquecer o backshift: ❌ He said he is busy → ✅ He said he was busy.
- tell sem objeto: ❌ He told that… → ✅ He said that… ou He told me that…
Passe para o discurso indireto
Backshift, ordem e say/tell. Feedback na hora.
Treine o discurso indireto na prática
O Fill The Song treina estruturas e tempos com música.
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