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Le discours rapporté (indirect speech) rapporte les paroles de quelqu'un sans les citer directement. Règles de concordance des temps (backshift) : Present Simple → Past Simple ; Present Continuous → Past Continuous ; Present Perfect → Past Perfect ; Past Simple → Past Perfect ; Will → Would ; Can → Could ; May → Might ; Must → Must/Had to. Pour les déclarations : 'She said (that) she was tired.' Pour les questions : yes/no → asked + if/whether ; WH → asked + mot interrogatif. L'ordre des mots en question indirecte est affirmative : 'He asked where she lived.' (pas d'inversion) Pour les ordres/demandes : told/asked + object + to infinitive. 'Close the door!' → 'She told him to close the door.' Les pronoms, les adverbes de temps et de lieu changent aussi : 'here' → 'there', 'now' → 'then', 'today' → 'that day', 'tomorrow' → 'the next day'.
Exercice 1 : Mettez au discours indirect.
1. 'I am studying for the exam,' she said.
2. 'Did you finish your homework?' he asked her.
3. 'Where do you live?' the teacher asked the student.
4. 'Don't make noise!' the librarian said to them.
5. 'I will call you tomorrow,' he promised.
Exercice 2 : Remettez au discours direct.
1. She told him that she had been waiting for an hour.
2. He asked if she could help him.
Why do tenses shift back in reported speech?
Correction
Tenses shift back (backshift) because reporting verb is in the past, and we need to maintain the logical time sequence. If someone said 'I am happy' in the past, we report 'She said she was happy' to show that the happiness was felt at the time of speaking in the past, not necessarily now.
How do you report a yes/no question in indirect speech?
Correction
Use 'asked + if/whether' and change the word order to affirmative (no inversion). 'Are you tired?' → 'He asked if/whether she was tired.' Notice: no auxiliary, no question mark, statement word order.
How do you report a command or request?
Correction
Use 'told/asked/ordered/begged + object + to + infinitive' (or 'not to + infinitive' for negative). 'Open the window!' → 'She told him to open the window.' 'Please don't leave!' → 'She begged him not to leave.'