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Grammar
Objective: Report statements and questions introduced by a present-tense verb such as il dit que or il demande si, adjusting pronouns and interrogative words correctly.
| Original | Reported | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | il or elle | Paul dit qu'il est prêt. |
| tu | je | Elle me dit que je suis en retard. |
| mon, ma, mes | son, sa, ses | Paul dit qu'il aime son travail. |
| ton, ta, tes | mon, ma, mes | Elle me dit que ma lettre est arrivée. |
| nous | ils or elles | Les élèves disent qu'ils sont prêts. |
With a present-tense reporting verb, the tense of the reported clause does not change. The imparfait would place the tiredness in the past.
The first-person subject of the original statement shifts to third person in the reported clause, since the reported clause is now anchored to Paul.
The original first-person subject je shifts to il, and the tense stays in the present because the reporting verb is also in the present.
The conjunction que elides to qu' before the vowel-initial elle, and the time marker demain stays unchanged.
The indirect object pronoun me identifies the person addressed. The reported clause uses il for the original je.
The yes/no question is introduced by si, and the original vous shifts to nous, since the reported clause is now anchored to the group addressed.
The direct form qu'est-ce que becomes ce que in indirect speech, and the subject-verb order stays standard.
7 exercises · about 11 minutes
A reported question does not keep the direct-question form. The interrogative sequence qu'est-ce que becomes ce que in indirect speech.
This is a meaning distinction, not a form error. The second-person pronoun of the original question shifts to first person in the reported clause, since the reporter is now the person the question was addressed to.
The interrogative word quand introduces the indirect question, and the verb follows in the standard subject-verb order.
The possessive mon of the original becomes son, since the possessor is now referred to in the third person.
The second-person tu of the original question becomes je, since the question was addressed to the reporter.