Direct and indirect speech allow for reporting spoken words or thoughts. Converting direct speech to indirect speech in the present tense requires following certain grammatical transformation rules.
Direct Speech
In direct speech, the words are reported exactly as they were spoken, often enclosed in quotation marks.
- Il dit, « Je travaille demain. » (He says, "I am working tomorrow.")
- Elle demande, « Peux-tu m'aider ? » (She asks, "Can you help me?")
- Le professeur annonce, « Le cours commence à huit heures. » (The teacher announces, "The class starts at eight o'clock.")
Indirect Speech in the Present
Indirect speech rephrases the spoken words without quotation marks and integrates the sentence into a narrative context. In the present tense, there are few changes to verb tenses, but adjustments to pronouns, time and place adverbs, and sentence structure are necessary.
- Il dit qu'il travaille demain. (He says that he is working tomorrow.)
- Elle demande si tu peux l'aider. (She asks if you can help her.)
- Le professeur annonce que le cours commence à huit heures. (The teacher announces that the class starts at eight o'clock.)
Transformation of Interrogative Pronouns
- « Est-ce que » becomes « si » in indirect speech.
- « Qu'est-ce que » changes to « ce que » in indirect speech.
- Other interrogative pronouns (qui, où, quand, pourquoi, comment) keep their form.
Examples of Transformation
- Direct: « Est-ce que tu viens demain ? » (Direct: "Are you coming tomorrow?")
Indirect: Elle demande si tu viens demain. (Indirect: She asks if you are coming tomorrow.) - Direct: « Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? » (Direct: "What are you doing?")
Indirect: Il demande ce que tu fais. (Indirect: He asks what you are doing.) - Direct: « Où vas-tu ? » (Direct: "Where are you going?")
Indirect: Il se demande où tu vas. (Indirect: He wonders where you are going.) - Direct: « Pourquoi est-il en retard ? » (Direct: "Why is he late?")
Indirect: Nous nous demandons pourquoi il est en retard. (Indirect: We wonder why he is late.) - Direct: « Comment as-tu résolu le problème ? » (Direct: "How did you solve the problem?")
Indirect: Elle explique comment elle a résolu le problème. (Indirect: She explains how she solved the problem.)
Modifications of Time Indicators
- « Demain » becomes « le lendemain ». ("tomorrow" becomes "the next day".)
- « Hier » changes to « la veille ». ("yesterday" becomes "the day before".)
- « Aujourd'hui » changes to « ce jour-là ». ("today" becomes "that day".)
- « Ce soir » becomes « ce soir-là » or « le soir ». ("this evening" becomes "that evening" or "the evening".)
- « Maintenant » changes to « à ce moment-là ». ("now" becomes "at that moment".)
- « La semaine prochaine » changes to « la semaine suivante ». ("next week" becomes "the following week".)
- « La semaine dernière » becomes « la semaine précédente ». ("last week" becomes "the previous week".)
Examples of Transformation
- Direct: « Je partirai demain. » (Direct: "I will leave tomorrow.")
Indirect: Il a dit qu'il partirait le lendemain. (Indirect: He said that he would leave the next day.) - Direct: « J'ai vu ce film hier. » (Direct: "I saw that movie yesterday.")
Indirect: Elle a dit qu'elle avait vu ce film la veille. (Indirect: She said that she had seen that movie the day before.) - Direct: « Je le ferai aujourd'hui. » (Direct: "I will do it today.")
Indirect: Il a promis qu'il le ferait ce jour-là. (Indirect: He promised that he would do it that day.) - Direct: « Nous irons au cinéma ce soir. » (Direct: "We will go to the movies tonight.")
Indirect: Ils ont annoncé qu'ils iraient au cinéma ce soir-là. (Indirect: They announced that they would go to the movies that night.) - Direct: « Je suis libre maintenant. » (Direct: "I am free now.")
Indirect: Elle a affirmé qu'elle était libre à ce moment-là. (Indirect: She said that she was free at that moment.)