VOZ PASIVA Y VOZ ACTIVA

1. La voz pasiva se forma con el verbo to be conjugado más el participio del verbo principal. En inglés es mucho más frecuente que en español y, normalmente, aparece cuando no es importante quien realiza una acción sino el hecho en sí. Por eso, no siempre que veamos una pasiva, tenemos que traducirlo literalmente, puesto que en español suena más forzado.Sólo es posible el uso de la voz pasiva con verbos transitivos (verbos que llevan complemento directo).

VOZ ACTIVA Tom writes a letter Tom is writing a letter Tom was writing a letter Tom wrote a letter Tom has written a letter Tom had written a letter Tom will write a letter Tom is going to write a letter Tom can write a letter Tom could write a letter Tom must write a letter Tom may write a letter Tom might write a letter

VOZ PASIVAA letter is written by Tom A letter is being written by Tom A letter was being written by Tom A letter was written by Tom A letter has been written by Tom A letter had been written by Tom A letter will be written by Tom A letter is going to be written by Tom A letter can be written by Tom A letter could be written by Tom A letter must be written by Tom A letter may be written... A letter might be written...

2. El sujeto agente se expresa con by. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de las ocasiones se prescinde del sujeto ya que no nos interesa saber quién exactamente ejecuta la acción. Si una oración activa tiene complemento directo e indirecto, cualquiera de los dos complementos puede ser sujeto paciente de la pasiva: ACTIVE: Someone gives me a dog PASSIVE 1: A dog is given to me PASSIVE 2: I am given a dog (forma pasiva idiomática) La forma pasiva de doing, seeing, etc es being done, being seen, etc. ACTIVE: I don't like people telling me what to do PASSIVE: I don't like being told what to do En ocasiones en las que ocurre algo a veces imprevisto, no planeado o fortuito para la formación de la voz pasiva se prefiere usar get y no be: get hurt, get annoyed, get divorced, get married, get invited, get bored, get lost

3. Las construcciones impersonales (se dice, se comenta, etc.) son muy típicas de la pasiva y difíciles de traducir para los hispanoparlantes. Este tipo de construcción pasiva -utilizada cada vez con mayor frecuencia en los medios- se forma con la estructura sujeto + to be + participle: It is reported (Se informa); It is said (Se dice); It is known (Se sabe); It is supposed (Se supone); It is considered (Se considera); It is expected (Se espera). Veamos algunos ejemplos: ACTIVE: Everybody thinks Cathy works very hard. PASSIVE 1: Cathy is thought to work very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...) PASSIVE 2: It is thought that Cathy works very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...) ACTIVE: They believe Tom is wearing a white pullover. PASSIVE 1: Tom is believed to be wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...) PASSIVE 2: It is believed that Tom is wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...)

4. USOS ADICIONALES DE SUPPOSEa) Se usa en afirmativo para acciones que estaban planeadas, que se supone que van a realizar, u obligaciones que uno debería cumplir. You were supposed to be here at 9:00 am!! b) Otras veces, el uso de supposed indica que estos planes o obligaciones finalmente no se cumplieron: The train was supposed to arrive at 5 o'clock. (but it arrived at 8 o'clock) You were supposed to go to the supermarket. (but you didn't go) c) Por el contrario, en negativo, supposed significa la no conveniencia o prohibición de hacer algo: You are not supposed to smoke here. (you are not allowed to smoke here) You are not supposed to copy our web files. (you must not copy our web files)

REPORT SPEECH

Mixed Exercise 1

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.

1. He said, "I like this song."
    He said that he liked that song.
2. "Where is your sister?" she asked me.
    She asked me where my sister was.
3. "I don't speak Italian," she said.
    She said that she didn't speak Italian.
4. "Say hello to Jim," they said.
    They asked me to say hello to Jim.
5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he said.
    He said that the film had begun at seven o'clock.
6. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.
    She told the boys not to play on the grass.
7. "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.
    She asked him where he had spent his money.
8. "I never make mistakes," he said.
    He said that he never made mistakes.
9. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.
   He wanted to know if she knew Robert.
10. "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.
     The stuntman advised the audience not to try that at home.

Mixed Exercise 2

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question and whether you have to change the tenses or not.

1. "I was very tired," she said.
    She said that she had been very tired.
2. "Be careful, Ben," she said.
    She told Ben to be careful.
3. "I will get myself a drink," she says.
    She says that she will get herself a drink.
4. "Why haven't you phoned me?" he asked me.
    He wondered why I hadn't phoned him.
5. "I cannot drive them home," he said.
    He said that he could not drive them home.
6. "Peter, do you prefer tea or coffee?" she says.
    She asks Peter if he prefers tea or coffee.
7. "Where did you spend your holidays last year?" she asked me.
   She asked me where I had spent my holidays the year before.
8. He said, "Don't go too far."
    He advised her not to go too far.
9. "Have you been shopping?" he asked us.
    He wanted to know if we had been shopping.
10. "Don't make so much noise," he says.
     He asks us not to make so much noise.

EXPLICACION REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
PRESENT  SIMPLE:she said "it`s cold."	PAST  SIMPLE:she said it was cold.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS:she said,"i`m  teaching english online."	PAST CONTINUOUS:she said she was teaching english online.
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE:she said,"i`ve been on the web since 1999."	PAST PERFECT SIMPLE:she said she had been on the web since 1999.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS:she said ,"i`ve been  teaching  english for seven years."	PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:she said she had been teaching english for seven years.
PAST SIMPLE:she said ,"i taught online yesterday ."	PAST PERFECT:she said she had taught online yesterday.
PAST CONTINUOUS:she said ,"i was teaching earlier."	PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:she  said had been teaching earlier.
PAST PERFECT:she said ,"the lesson had already started when he arrived."	PAST PERFECT:NO CHANGE-she said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:she said,"i`d already been teaching for five minutes."	PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:NO CHANGE-she said she`d  already been teaching for five  minutes
MODAL  VERB FORMS ALSO SOMETIMES CHANGE:
DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
WILL:she said,"i`ll teach english online tomorrow".	WOULD:she said she would teach english online tomorrow.
CAN:she said,"i cant teach english online."	COULD:she said she could teach english online.
MUST:she said,"i must have a computer to teach english online."	HAD TO:she said she had to have a computer to teach english online.
SHALL:she said,"what shall we learn  today?"	SHOULD:she asked what we should learn today.
MAY:she said,"may i open a new browser?"	MIGHT:she  asked if she might open a new browser.