Le Discours Indirect — Rapporter ce qui a été dit
Convert direct to indirect speech: apply the six tense shifts (présent → imparfait, PC → PQP, futur → conditionnel), handle pronoun and time-expression changes, and form indirect yes/no and information questions.
A lesson of French B1 — Intermediate, in Les Temps du Récit, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will convert direct speech to indirect speech, applying the correct tense shifts and pronoun changes.
What Is Reported Speech?
When you repeat what someone said without quoting them directly, you use discours indirect (reported or indirect speech). This requires changes to tenses, pronouns, and time expressions.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
| «Je suis fatigué.» | Il a dit qu'il était fatigué. |
| «Viens demain!» | Elle m'a demandé de venir le lendemain. |
Introducing Verbs
The most common reporting verbs in French:
dire que — to say that répondre que — to reply that expliquer que — to explain that ajouter que — to add that demander si — to ask whether demander de + infinitif — to ask someone to do something ordonner de + infinitif — to order someone to do something promettre de + infinitif — to promise to do something
Tense Shifts When the Reporting Verb Is in the Past
When the reporting verb (dit, a dit, disait) is in a past tense, the tenses inside the reported clause shift back one step.
| Original tense | Reported tense |
|---|---|
| Présent | → Imparfait |
| Passé composé | → Plus-que-parfait |
| Futur simple | → Conditionnel présent |
| Futur proche (aller + inf.) | → Imparfait de aller + inf. |
| Impératif | → de + infinitif |
Examples
«Je travaille.» → Il a dit qu'il travaillait. He said he was working.
«J'ai fini.» → Elle a dit qu'elle avait fini. She said she had finished.