Día 240 · Say, tell y verbos introductorios

⏱️ Duración total: ~3 h 15 min — Clase 60 min · Ejercicios 60 min · Reto 60 min · Quiz ~15 min. Puedes dividirlo en varias sesiones el mismo día.

🎯 Objetivo del día

Al terminar dominarás la diferencia say / tell en todas sus estructuras.
Conocerás verbos introductorios más ricos: explain, mention, admit, claim, add, promise.
Aplicarás el backshift completo con seguridad.
Sabrás cuándo el backshift es opcional (verdades actuales).
Elegirás el verbo introductorio adecuado según el matiz del mensaje.

📖 Clase (60 min)

Introducción y contexto

Ayer abriste la puerta del estilo indirecto. Hoy hacemos que tu inglés suene más natural y variado. Si reportas todo con said y told, suenas repetitivo y plano. Los hablantes nativos eligen el verbo introductorio según lo que la persona hizo al hablar: ¿explicó algo? (explained), ¿lo admitió? (admitted), ¿lo prometió? (promised), ¿lo mencionó de pasada? (mentioned). Esta riqueza léxica es justo lo que distingue un B1 sólido.

Además, hoy consolidamos definitivamente la diferencia say / tell, porque es el error número uno de los hispanohablantes (en español "decir" sirve para todo: me dijo, dijo que). Y afianzamos el backshift con todos los tiempos, incluyendo cuándo NO es necesario.

Explicación detallada (regla por regla)

Regla 1 — Las cuatro estructuras de say y tell.

Estructura	Correcto	Ejemplo
say + that	✓	She said that she was late.
say + to + persona + that	✓	She said to me that she was late.
tell + persona + that	✓	She told me that she was late.
tell + persona + to + infinitivo	✓	She told me to wait.

Errores frecuentes:

✗ say me / say him → ✓ tell me / tell him (o say to me).
✗ tell that... (sin persona) → ✓ tell + persona + that.

Regla 2 — Otros usos fijos de tell. tell aparece en expresiones fijas sin that: tell the truth (decir la verdad), tell a lie (mentir), tell a story (contar un cuento), tell a joke (contar un chiste), tell the time (decir la hora), tell the difference (notar la diferencia).

Regla 3 — Verbos introductorios más expresivos.

explain (that) → explicar: He explained that the train was late.
mention (that) → mencionar: She mentioned that she had a new job.
admit (that) → admitir: He admitted that he was wrong.
claim (that) → afirmar (algo dudoso): She claimed that she had finished.
add (that) → añadir: He added that he would help.
promise (that) → prometer: She promised that she would come.
complain (that) → quejarse: He complained that the food was cold.
suggest (that) → sugerir: She suggested that we leave early.

Ojo: explain, mention, suggest, admit NO llevan objeto de persona directamente. Si quieres la persona: explain to me, mention to her. ✗ explain me → ✓ explain to me.

Regla 4 — Backshift completo (resumen).

Directo	Indirecto
present simple →	past simple
present continuous →	past continuous
present perfect →	past perfect
past simple →	past perfect
will →	would
can →	could
may →	might
must (obligación) →	had to

Regla 5 — Cuándo NO hacer backshift.

El verbo introductorio está en presente: He says he is tired. (no cambia)
Es una verdad general / aún cierta: She said she lives / lived in Rome (si sigue viviendo, ambas valen).

Vocabulario clave

English	Pronunciación aprox.	Español
to explain	tu ikspléin	explicar
to mention	tu ménshon	mencionar
to admit	tu admít	admitir
to claim	tu kléim	afirmar / alegar
to add	tu ad	añadir
to promise	tu prómis	prometer
to complain	tu kompléin	quejarse
to suggest	tu sayést	sugerir
to insist	tu insíst	insistir
to reply	tu riplái	responder
to warn	tu uórn	advertir
to deny	tu dinái	negar
to point out	tu póint áut	señalar / destacar
the truth	de truz	la verdad
a lie	a lái	una mentira
a joke	a yóuk	un chiste

Gramática a fondo

Esquema de elección de verbo introductorio:

¿Solo informa? → said / told
¿Da una razón / aclara? → explained
¿De pasada, dato secundario? → mentioned
¿Reconoce algo negativo suyo? → admitted
¿Afirma algo no comprobado? → claimed
¿Da su palabra? → promised
¿Se queja? → complained

Verbo	¿Lleva persona directa?	Forma con persona
say	No	say to me
tell	Sí	tell me
explain	No	explain to me
mention	No	mention to me
admit	No	admit to me

Pronunciación y notas de uso

explained /iksˈpleɪnd/ — la -ed suena /d/.
admitted /ədˈmɪtɪd/ — la -ed suena /ɪd/ (porque termina en t).
mentioned /ˈmenʃənd/ — atención: -tion = /ʃən/.
suggest /səˈdʒest/ — la gg suena /dʒ/ ("ll" suave en inglés).

Errores comunes del hispanohablante

✗ He explained me the rule. → ✓ He explained the rule to me.
✗ She mentioned me that... → ✓ She mentioned to me that...
✗ He told that he was tired. → ✓ He told me that he was tired.
✗ She said me to wait. → ✓ She told me to wait.
✗ He admitted that he is wrong (con verbo pasado) → ✓ He admitted that he was wrong.
✗ Pronunciar suggest como /sugést/ → ✓ /səˈdʒest/.

Mini-diálogo de ejemplo

A: What did the manager say in the meeting? (¿Qué dijo el jefe en la reunión?) B: He explained that the deadline had changed. (Explicó que la fecha límite había cambiado.) A: Did he say why? (¿Dijo por qué?) B: He admitted that the team was behind schedule, and he promised that he would get help. (Admitió que el equipo iba con retraso, y prometió que conseguiría ayuda.) A: Anything else? (¿Algo más?) B: He mentioned that there would be a bonus. (Mencionó que habría un bono.)

✍️ Ejercicios (60 min)

Bloque 1 — say, tell, explain, mention (10 min)

He ___ me to be careful. (orden)
She ___ that she was tired.
He ___ the rule to the class.
They ___ to me that the shop was closed.
He ___ a funny joke.
She ___ that she had a new car. (de pasada)

Bloque 2 — Elige el verbo introductorio más adecuado (12 min)

(admitted / promised / complained / explained / claimed)

"Sorry, it was my fault." → He ___ that it was his fault.
"I will definitely come." → She ___ that she would come.
"This soup is too cold!" → He ___ that the soup was too cold.
"I'm late because of traffic." → She ___ that she was late because of traffic.
"I have won the competition." → He ___ that he had won.

Bloque 3 — Backshift completo (10 min)

"I have finished." → He said he ___.
"I am working." → She said she ___.
"We saw it." → They said they ___.
"I must leave." → He said he ___ leave.
"I may come." → She said she ___ come.

Bloque 4 — Traducción Español → Inglés (12 min)

Me explicó la regla.
Admitió que estaba equivocado.
Prometió que vendría.
Mencionó que tenía un trabajo nuevo.
Se quejó de que la comida estaba fría.
Me dijo que esperara.

Bloque 5 — Corrige los errores (8 min)

He explained me the problem.
She mentioned me that she was busy.
He told that he was late.
She said me to call her.

Bloque 6 — Producción escrita (8 min)

Reporta una conversación que tuviste usando al menos 5 verbos introductorios distintos (8 frases).

Ver soluciones

B1: 1. told · 2. said · 3. explained · 4. said · 5. told · 6. mentioned B2: 1. admitted · 2. promised · 3. complained · 4. explained · 5. claimed B3: 1. had finished · 2. was working · 3. had seen it · 4. had to · 5. might B4: 1. He explained the rule to me. 2. He admitted (that) he was wrong. 3. He promised (that) he would come. 4. He mentioned (that) he had a new job. 5. He complained (that) the food was cold. 6. He told me to wait. B5: 1. He explained the problem to me. 2. She mentioned to me that she was busy. 3. He told me that he was late. 4. She told me to call her. B6: Respuesta libre.

🚀 Reto del día (60 min)

"Report a real conversation" — informe variado.

Recuerda una conversación reciente (con familia, amigo, trabajo). Anota 8–10 frases en estilo directo. (10 min)
Repórtalas usando mínimo 5 verbos introductorios diferentes (said, told, explained, admitted, promised, mentioned, complained...). (20 min)
Aplica backshift correcto y pronombres bien cambiados. (incluido)
Escribe el informe final (12 frases) y grábate leyéndolo (1–2 min). (20 min)
Autoevalúa. (10 min)

Rúbrica (0–10):

say/tell/explain/mention usados con estructura correcta: 0–3
Variedad de verbos introductorios (5+): 0–2
Backshift correcto: 0–2
Pronombres/posesivos cambiados: 0–2
Pronunciación y fluidez: 0–1

✅ Quiz (~15 min)

¿Qué verbo lleva siempre objeto de persona: say o tell?
Corrige: He explained me the rule.
Corrige: She told that she was busy.
Verbo introductorio para reconocer un error propio = ?
"I will come" → She promised she ___ come.
"I have finished" → He said he ___.
¿mention lleva persona directa o con to?
must en backshift → ?
Traduce: Me dijo que esperara.
¿Cuándo NO se hace backshift? (un caso)

Ver respuestas

tell. 2. He explained the rule to me. 3. She told me that she was busy. 4. admit / admitted. 5. would. 6. had finished. 7. con to (mention to me). 8. had to. 9. He/She told me to wait. 10. Cuando el verbo introductorio está en presente, o es una verdad aún vigente.

📚 Recursos

British Council — Reported speech 2: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
BBC Learning English — say vs tell: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
Cambridge Dictionary (reporting verbs): https://dictionary.cambridge.org

⏭️ Siguiente

Mañana: reportar preguntas (reported questions) — cómo transformar preguntas de sí/no y preguntas WH al estilo indirecto.

Quiz

Q ¿Cuál es correcto?
* He explained the rule to me.
- He explained me the rule.
- He explained me to the rule.

Q Verbo introductorio para reconocer un error propio:
* admit
- promise
- mention

Q *"I have finished."* → He said he ___.
* had finished
- has finished
- finished

Q En backshift, *must* (obligación) cambia a:
* had to
- must to
- would must