Reported Speech in French
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In French, we distinguish the same as in English, between direct (French: le discours direct) and indirect speech (French: le discours indirect). You use the indirect speech when you want to report words that someone said or thoughts. The content of the statement should be reproduced more logically with the use of indirect speech.
The report requires some grammatical transformations.
examples | styles | translations |
---|---|---|
il m'a dit: "je vais bien" | direct | he said: "I am fine" |
il m'a dit qu'il allait bien | indirect | he said to me that he was fine |
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In the direct speech, words are enclosed in quotation marks and without a linking term after the verb of speech.
Examples:
In the indirect style, the words are connected to the verb of speech by a conjunction as:
uses | direct speech | indirect speech | translation |
---|---|---|---|
"que" | Paul dit: "il pleut" | Paul dit qu'il pleut | Paul says that it is raining |
"si" | est ce que vous sortez ? | il a demandé si vous sortez | he asked if you were going out |
"de" + infinitive | viens maintenant! | elle demande de venir maintenant | she wants you to come right now |
"ce qui" or "ce que" | qu'est ce qui se passe? | il demande ce qui se passe | he asks what is going on |
interrogative pronoun | où allez-vous ? | il demande où vous allez | he asks where you are going |
The indirect speech is initiated by the following verbs:
As you know, the indirect speech is no longer in quotation marks and in colon, therefore the sentence will undergo grammatical transformations in relation with:
When the sentence that designates the speaker is in the present tense, the tense remains in the indirect speech:
direct speech | indirect speech |
---|---|
Paul dit: "il pleut" | Paul dit qu'il pleut |
When the phrase that designates the speaker is in the past, the tense in the indirect speech change:
uses | direct speech | indirect speech | translation |
---|---|---|---|
present → imperfect | il m'a dit: "je vais bien" | il m'a dit qu'il allait bien | he told me that he was fine |
future → conditional | il m'a dit: 'je partirais" | il m'a dit qu'il partirait | he told me that he would go |
future perfect → past conditional | il m'a dit: "nous aurons terminé de faire nos devoirs | il m'a dit qu'ils auraient terminé de faire leurs devoirs | he told that they would have finished their homework |
completed past → pluperfect | il m'a dit: "j'ai appris ma leçon" | il m'a dit qu'il avait appris sa leçon | he told that he has learned his lesson |
You always keep the previous tenses matched but these changes are useful in narrations when doing indirect speech.
direct speech | indirect speech |
---|---|
aujourd'hui (today) | ce jour-là (that day) |
hier (yesterday) | la veille (last night) |
demain (tomorrow) | le lendemain (the next day) |
le jour prochain (the following day) | le jour suivant (the next day) |
Examples:
In the indirect style the tense stays the same, but you have to be logical with the situation. When the speaker talks about himself, you logically use the 3rd personal pronoun and as the others pronouns.
Examples
direct speech | indirect speech | translation |
---|---|---|
elle m'a dit: "je pense aller lui parler" | elle m'a dit qu'elle pensait aller lui parler | she told me that she was thinking about going to talk to him |
il m'a raconté: "nous sommes sortis avec eux" | il m'a raconté qu'ils étiez sortis avec eux | he told me that they were out with them |
il m'a demandé: "vous viendrez aussi ?" | il m'a dit si nous viendrions aussi | he asked me if we would come too |
elle m'a demandé: "tu vas partir en vacances ?" | elle m'a demandé si j'allais partir en vacances | she asked me if I will go in holidays |
In the indirect speech, you use a demonstrative pronoun to report what the speaker has said.
direct speech | indirect speech | translation |
---|---|---|
il m'a dit: "je n'ai plus ce jouet" | il m'a dit qu'il n'avais plus ce jouet-là | he told me that he did not have that toy anymore |
elle a dit: "cet enfant est malin" | elle a dit que cet enfant-là était malin | she said that this child was wise |
elle a dit: "je vais régler ce problème" | elle a dit qu'elle réglerait ce problème-là | she said that she will fix the problem |
In the indirect speech, you use a possessive pronoun and adjectives to report what is said. In this case, you also have to logically adapt to the situation just like the personal pronouns.
direct speech | indirect speech | translation |
---|---|---|
il m'a demandé: 'tu pourrais me rendre mon livre ?" | il m'a demandé si je pouvais lui rendre son livre | he asked if I could give him back his book |
elle m'a dit: "je suis dans votre maison" | elle m'a dit qu'elle était dans notre maison | she told that the she were in our house |
elle m'a dit: "cette robe est à moi" | elle m'a dit que cette robe-là était le sien | she told me that this dress was hers |
nous avons dit: "nous avons volé votre repas" | nous avons dit que nous avions volé leur repas | we said that we had stolen their meal |
Keep your motivation and test your knowledge about the indirect speech with our exercises.
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My name is Wanda, I'm 27 and I'm French.
I have a Master's Degree in Teaching French as a Foreign Language from the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, as well as 3 years of teaching experience (face-to-face, remote courses, or group classes).
I can teach you everything from grammar to culture, but I am particularly able to help you get a better pronunciation! Indeed, I also have a Master's Degree in Linguistics, for which I wrote a thesis about the pronunciation of people learning French as a foreign language =)
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What I like the most in teaching French is getting to meet and know people from different cultures =)
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Wanda is a fantastic teacher, she's always up to solve problems and doubts. She teaches from grammar to speaking, with a good emphasis on pronunciation and phonetics which are essential in French!
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*** Please note that I am on holidays in august***
Bonjour ! Comment ça va ?
My name is Lou, and I would be happy to be your french teacher !
French classes are for all levels, beginner to advanced. I can help you prepare to french exams and I also offer conversation classes.
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
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I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
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À bientôt!
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
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Natalia L.Hi Irina. Thank you very much for your comment. It has been a real pleasure to work with you these months and to see how you have improved your grammar as well as your oral and written expression. You have a very good level of French and I will help you to improve it in the way you need. See you soon!
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
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Join a small group of learners of 2 or 3 for conversation lessons with me. An article or video to watch before the lesson and a conversation with personalized corrections during the lesson. This option saves you at least 10 euros per lesson on Colanguage.
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