Au discours direct, on cite les paroles exactes : Tom said, “I’m tired.” Au discours indirect, on les rapporte : Tom said (that) he was tired. Il faut alors adapter les pronoms et, souvent, les temps.
Objectifs
- Choisir entre say et tell
- Appliquer la concordance des temps après un verbe introducteur au passé
- Adapter pronoms et repères de temps
- Rapporter une question et un ordre
1. Say ou tell ?
- say + (that) + paroles : She said (that) she was hungry.
- tell + personne + (that) : She told me (that) she was hungry.
- On ne dit pas « She said me » ✗ ni « She told that » ✗.
2. La concordance des temps
Quand le verbe introducteur est au passé (said, told, asked), on « recule » en général les temps d’un cran :
| Discours direct | Discours indirect |
|---|---|
| present simple : “I like jazz.” | prétérit : He said he liked jazz. |
| present continuous : “I’m working.” | prétérit continu : She said she was working. |
| prétérit / present perfect : “I saw it.” / “I’ve seen it.” | pluperfect : He said he had seen it. |
| will : “I’ll call you.” | would : She said she would call me. |
| can : “I can swim.” | could : He said he could swim. |
3. Questions et ordres rapportés
| Type | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|
| question fermée | “Are you ready?” | She asked me if I was ready. |
| question ouverte | “Where do you live?” | He asked me where I lived. |
| ordre | “Sit down!” | The teacher told us to sit down. |
| interdiction | “Don’t run!” | She told them not to run. |
À retenir
- say (that)… ; tell + personne (that)…
- Après un verbe au passé : présent → prétérit, will → would, can → could.
- Question : asked + if / mot interrogatif + sujet + verbe.
- Ordre : told + personne + (not) to + base verbale.
Et maintenant, à toi !
Vérifie que tu as compris avec les exercices, puis révise avec la fiche.