You report someone's words with dire que, expliquer que, répondre que, demander si… Pronouns and possessives change with the person: Paul dit : « Je suis fatigué. » → Paul dit qu'il est fatigué. (Paul says he is tired.)
If the reporting verb is in the present, the tenses don't change. If it is in the past, the tenses "move back", as in English:
| direct words | reported speech (Il a dit que…: He said that…) |
|---|---|
| present: « Je suis malade. » (I am ill.) | imparfait: qu'il était malade (he was ill) |
| passé composé: « J'ai fini. » (I've finished.) | plus-que-parfait: qu'il avait fini (he had finished) |
| future: « Je viendrai. » (I'll come.) | conditional: qu'il viendrait (he would come) |
| near future: « Je vais partir. » (I'm going to leave.) | qu'il allait partir (he was going to leave) |
| imparfait, plus-que-parfait, conditional | don't change |
Time and place words change too: aujourd'hui → ce jour-là (that day), demain → le lendemain (the next day), hier → la veille (the day before), la semaine prochaine → la semaine suivante (the following week), ici → là (there).
Reported questions (no inversion, no "?"):
Orders: imperative → de + infinitive: « Ferme la porte ! » → Il m'a dit de fermer la porte. (He told me to close the door.)
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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