Reported Speech Exercise
Transform direct speech to reported speech
Le discours indirect : rapporter des paroles
Le discours indirect transpose des paroles : "I am tired" → She said (that) she was tired. Trois chantiers s'ouvrent à chaque phrase : reculer le temps du verbe (backshift), ajuster les pronoms, et adapter les marqueurs de temps et de lieu (today → that day, here → there).
Le backshift suit une échelle fixe : présent → prétérit, prétérit/present perfect → past perfect, will → would, can → could, must → had to. Les francophones connaissent la concordance des temps, mais l'appliquent incomplètement — le prétérit français reste prétérit, alors que l'anglais le pousse vers had + participe : "I saw him" → She said she had seen him. Deuxième chantier négligé : les marqueurs — tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, ago → before ; les conserver tels quels trahit la transposition. Troisième règle : say et tell ne sont pas interchangeables — say something, tell someone something : She told me (that)… mais She said (that)… (« she said me » est l'erreur reine). Les vérités générales échappent au backshift : He said the Earth goes round the Sun. Astuce : traitez chaque phrase en trois passes — temps, pronoms, marqueurs. L'exercice vérifie les trois.
Choose the correct reported speech form
He said, 'I will call you.' → He said that he ___ call me.
He said, 'I can swim.' → He said that he ___ swim.
They said, 'We must go.' → They said that they ___ go.
They said, 'We are leaving.' → They said that they ___ leaving.
She said, 'I don't like coffee.' → She said that she ___ like coffee.
He said, 'I am working.' → He said that he ___ working.
She said, 'I have finished.' → She said that she ___ finished.
They said, 'We went home.' → They said that they ___ home.
She said, 'I am tired.' → She said that she ___ tired.
She said, 'I saw him yesterday.' → She said that she ___ him the day before.