Reported speech and sequence of tenses

Kurz erklärt

Reported speech conveys someone’s words without quoting them directly. French normally introduces statements with que, yes/no questions with si, and commands with de plus an infinitive. When the reporting verb is in a past tense, the original verb often shifts into an earlier or conditional tense.

Bildung

Present reporting verb: tense usually stays unchanged. Past reporting verb: present -> imparfait; passé composé -> plus-que-parfait; futur simple -> conditionnel présent; futur antérieur -> conditionnel passé.

Verwendung

• Use que for statements and change pronouns to match the new viewpoint.
• Use si for indirect yes/no questions; do not use question-word order.
• Keep question words such as où, pourquoi, and comment in open questions.
• Use de plus an infinitive to report instructions or requests.
• Adjust time expressions when needed: demain can become le lendemain.

Beispiele

• Elle dit : « Je suis fatiguée. » -> Elle dit qu’elle est fatiguée. — She says, “I am tired.” -> She says that she is tired.
• Il a annoncé : « Je partirai demain. » -> Il a annoncé qu’il partirait le lendemain. — He announced, “I will leave tomorrow.” -> He announced that he would leave the next day.
• Léa m’a demandé : « As-tu fini ? » -> Léa m’a demandé si j’avais fini. — Léa asked me, “Have you finished?” -> Léa asked me whether I had finished.
• Le médecin lui a dit : « Reposez-vous. » -> Le médecin lui a dit de se reposer. — The doctor told him, “Get some rest.” -> The doctor told him to get some rest.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Il a dit qu’il partira demain.

✅ Il a dit qu’il partirait le lendemain.

After a past reporting verb, a future event is normally expressed with the present conditional; the time reference may also need to shift.

Merke

The tense shift depends on the tense of the reporting verb. Pronouns and time expressions must reflect the speaker’s new viewpoint.