STYLE INDIRECT

 

REPORTED SPEECH : LE STYLE INDIRECT

 

  • I. Observe the changes in the following chart  :

DIRECT SPEECH

 

REPORTED SPEECH

 

PRESENT SIMPLE

PRETERIT SIMPLE

 "   I   like going to the cinema,

but I don't feel like going out tonight." Mary said.

 

 

Mary said she liked going to the cinema.

She added that she didn't feel like going out that night.

 

PRESENT BE+VING

PRETERIT  BE+VING

 

"It'  s raining!"She explained to Tony.

 

 

 

She explained to Tony that it was raining. 

 

 

PRETERIT SIMPLE (=PAST SIMPLE )

PLUPERFECT SIMPLE

"And I didn't do my homework last week ...

...and I overslept yesterday." She grumbled.

 

 

 She grumbled she hadn't done her homework the week before

and that she had overslept the day before.

 

 

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

PLUPERFECT SIMPLE

"But I have cooked the meal!"He exclaimed.

 

He exclaimed he had cooked the meal. 

 

PRETERIT BE+VING

PRETERIT BE+VING

" You were snoring again in my sofa two hours ago." He complained.

 

 

He complained that she was snoring in his sofa two hours before.

 

 

PLUPERFECT SIMPLE

PLUPERFECT SIMPLE

"I had never seen such a lazy  person!" He told her.

 

 

He told her he had never seen such a lazy person.

 

 

MUST/HAVE TO

HAD TO

" I have to do everything myself here, ...

...you must react! Today!" He declared.

 

He declared that he had to do everything himself ...

...and that she had to react on that day.

WILL + BV

WOULD + BV

"I'll make an effort...next month...."She promised

 

 

She promised she would make an effort the following month.

 

 

CAN / MAY+ BV

COULD/MIGHT + BV

"I can change."She insisted.

 "I may arrive late." She warned.

 

She insisted that she could change.

She warned that she might arrive late. 

 

WH question : syntaxe interrogative (aux/S/V)

 WH+question indirecte: syntaxe affirmative (S/aux/V)

" What film do you want to see?" She asked him .

 

 

She asked him what film he wanted to see.

 

 

YES/NO questions : AUX+S+V

 IF + SUJET + GROUPE VERBAL

"Do you want to go now ?" She asked.

 

 

She asked if he wanted to go then.

 

 

IMPERATIVE : BV

TO + BV

"Stop talking !" He told her.

 

 

He told her to stop talking.

 

 

NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE : Don't+BV!

    NOT TO + BV

"Don't speak to me this way!" She told him.

 

 

She told him not to speak to her that way.

 

 

 

Conclusion :

Quand on rapporte des propos avec un verbe introducteur au passé ( ex : He said)  le passage du discours direct au discours indirect implique différents changements :

LES TEMPS

 

" What film do you want to see?" She asked him .

 

She asked him what film he wanted to see.

 

LES MODAUX CAN MAY MUST WILL

ATTENTION : Would, could, might, ought to, needn't have, must have, SHOULD et used to NE CHANGENT PAS.

"I can change."She insisted.

 "I may arrive late." She warned.

"I'll make an effort...next month...."She promised

" I have to do everything myself here, ...

...you must react! Today!" He declared.

She insisted that she could change.

She warned that she might arrive late. 

She promised she would make an effort the following month.

He declared that he had to do everything himself ...

...and that she had to react on that day.

LES PRONOMS PERSONNELS

 

" You must stop talking to me !" He told her.

 

He told her that she had to stop talking to him. 

 

L'ORDRE DES MOTS / LA SYNTAXE

 

"Do you want to go now ?" She asked.

 

She asked if he wanted to go then. 

 

LES REPERES DE TEMPS ET DE LIEU

DIRECT SPEECH

 

REPORTED SPEECH

NOW

 

 

THEN 

 

 

TOMORROW

 

 

THE NEXT DAY or FOLLOWING DAY

 

YESTERDAY

 

 

 

THE DAY BEFORE

HERE

 

 

 

THERE

TODAY

 

 

 

THAT DAY

THIS or THAT

 

 

 

THAT or THE

TONIGHT

 

 

 

THAT EVENING

THAT NIGHT

THE NEXT DAY

THE FOLLOWING DAY

AGO

ex : two years ago

 

BEFORE

two years before

next month (or year, week...)

 

 

the following month,

the next month

last month (or year, week ...)

the month before, the preceding month

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

 

IN TWO DAYS' TIME

in two days(or days, weeks...)

 

two days/weeks  from then

 Attention aux questions :

Rappel : On passe d'une syntaxe interrogative à une syntaxe affirmative :

" What film do you want to see?" She asked him .

She asked him what film he wanted to see.

WH question : syntaxe interrogative (aux/S/V)

Who, when, why, what, how,

how much/many/long/old/far/often....

                       WH+ SUJET + GROUPE VERBAL.

   "Do you want to go now ?" She asked.

She asked if he wanted to go then.

 

YES/NO questions : AUX+S+V

                    IF (ou WHETHER) + sujet + groupe verbal

Mets les questions suivantes au style indirect (corrigé au bout de la page) :

DIRECT

INDIRECT

How much is it?

He asked me ...

Who did you see?

He asked me ...

What were you  doing?

She asked me ...

How will she react?

He wondered ...

Have you been to Japan?

He asked me ...

Is she coming with us?

He asked me ....

 

Attention aux impératifs et exclamations :

DIRECT

INDIRECT

Open the door!.

He told him to open the door.

Don't move!

They ordered him not to move.

How strange!

He said it was strange.

 


 

  Vous noterez la différence entre TO SAY et TO TELL

TO SAY : dire (sans préciser à qui)

TO TELL: dire A QUELQU'UN - Tell me / us/ the manager, etc...

"I am tired" He said. => He said he was tired.

I am tired" He told his mother. => He told his mother he was tired.

 


 Les verbes de report de discours ne se limitent pas à say ou tell : Ils peuvent varier selon l'intention de la phrase :

ASSERTION

Add. admit. announce. declare. deny. explain. insist. mention. promise. propose.remind.say.suggest.tell.

WH.how. question

Ask.inquire.wonder.

Yes-no questions

Ask someone.ask oneself. Doubt .wonder

Answers

Answer. Reply. Explain.

advice

Advise. Tell.

order

Tell. Forbid. order


 

 

 

Mets les questions suivantes au style indirect (corrigé) :

DIRECT

INDIRECT

How much is it?

He asked me how much it was.

Who did you see?

He asked me who I had seen.

What were you  doing?

She asked me what I was doing.

How will she react?

He wondered how she would react.

Have you been to Japan?

He asked me whether/if I had been to Japan.

Is she coming with us?

He asked me whether/if she was coming with us.

 

 ENCORE BESOIN D'ENTRAÎNEMENT?

 

C'est parti pour une série d'exercices ( du plus facile au plus difficile ) :

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