How French works
In Unit 10 it was mentioned that the tense of a verb in a subordinate clause is often dependent on that of a main clause verb and that this state of dependence is referred to as sequence of tenses. One of the most important structures involving sequence of tenses is known as reported speech . This is when a person’s words are reported to a third party by means of an introductory verb followed by a completive clause . This contrasts with direct speech , which involves quoting the exact words of that person to a third party:
Il dit «J’ai faim»
He says “I’m hungry”
Il dit qu’il a faim
He says (that) he is hungry
The most common reporting verb used in reported speech is of course dire, but any verb implying the reporting of speech can be used, such as affirmer, ajouter, admettre, annoncer, constater, déclarer, expliquer, jurer, préciser, promettre, remarquer, répondre, suggérer.
Note that when the reporting verb comes after direct speech , the verb / auxiliary and subject are inverted and linked by a hyphen:
«J’ai faim» dit-il / a-t-il dit
"I’m hungry” he said
In reported speech , the rules for the sequence of tenses are as follows. When the verb used in the main clause of the reporting sentence is in the present or future tense, the tense used in the original direct speech is not changed in reported speech. For example:
Il dit «J’ai faim» → Il dit qu’il a faim
He says “I’m hungry” → He says (that) he’s hungry
Si tu le lui demandes, il dira «J’ai faim» → Il dira qu’il a faim
If you ask him, he’ll say “I’m hungry” → He’ll say (that) he’s hungry
However, when the verb used in the main clause of the reporting sentence is in the past tense, the tense used in the original direct speech is shifted one stage back in the past:
| Tense used in original direct speech | Tense used in reporting clause |
|---|---|
| present | imperfect |
| perfect | pluperfect |
| simple future | future perfect (conditional) |
For example:
Il a dit «J’ai peur» → Il a dit qu’il avait peur
He said “I’m frightened” → He said (that) he was frightened
Il a dit «J’ai eu peur» → Il a dit qu’il avait eu peur
He said “I was frightened” → He said (that) he had been frightened
Il a dit «J’aurai peur» → Il a dit qu’il aurait peur
He said “I’ll be frightened” → He said (that) he would be frightened
These tense changes need not be made if the original tenses still hold true at the time the reported speech is made. Imagine, for example, the following scenario. On the way to Paul’s house you meet Marie, who tells you
Paul est malade
Paul is unwell
A few minutes later you bump into Michel, and you say
Marie a dit que Paul est malade
Marie said that you are ill
However, a tense change must be made in the above context if the truth of what was originally said is doubtful. For example, to return to the above scenario, on arriving at Paul’s house, you find him playing tennis. You tell him
Ça m’étonne de te voir jouer au tennis. Marie a dit que tu étais malade
I'm surprised to see you playing tennis. Marie said you were ill.
There is no change in tense when the verb in the original direct speech is in the imperfect, pluperfect or conditional:
Il a dit «J’avais peur parce que j’étais allé me coucher tout seul» → Il a dit qu’il avait peur parce qu’il était allé se couché seul»
He said “I was frightened because I had gone to bed alone” → He said that he was frightened because he had gone to bed alone
Il a dit «J’aimerais aller me coucher» → Il a dit qu’il aimerait aller se coucher
He said “I would like to go to bed” → He said that he would like to go to bed
In addition to changes in tense , there are often other changes to be made.
Il a dit «J’ai faim» → Il a dit qu’il avait faim
He said “I’m hungry” → He said that he was hungry
Il a dit «Je t’ai vu» → Il a dit qu’il m’avait vu
He said “I saw you” → He said that he saw me
Il a dit «J’ai oublié mon parapluie» → Il a dit qu’il avait oublié son parapluie
He said “I’ve forgotten my umbrella” → He said that he’d forgotten his umbrella
As in English, these changes are related to time or place:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
| aujourd’hui | ce jour-là |
| today | that day |
| hier | la veille |
| yesterday | the day before |
| avant-hier | l’avant-veille |
| the day before yesterday | the previous day |
| ce matin / soir | ce matin-là / ce soir-là |
| this morning / everning | that morning / evening |
| lundi prochain | le lundi suivant |
| next Monday | the following Monday |
| lundi dernier | le lundi précédent |
| last Monday | the previous Monday |
| demain | le lendemain |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| après-demain | le surlendemain |
| the day after tomorrow | the following day |
| dans 5 jours | 5 jours plus tard |
| in five days | five days later |
| il y a 5 jours | 5 jours plus tôt |
| five days ago | five days previously |
| ici | là |
| here | there |
Examples:
«Je l’ai vue hier» → Elle a dit qu’elle l’avait vue la veille
“I saw her yesterday” → She said that she had seen her the day before
«Venez nous voir demain» → Elle nous a dit de venir les voir le lendemain
“Come and see us tomorrow” → She told us to come and see them the next day
Note that, as with tense changes, these changes need not be made if the original expressions still hold true at the time or from the place the reported speech is made:
«Je l’ai vue hier» → Elle a dit qu’elle l’a vue hier
“I saw her yesterday” → She said that she saw her yesterday
As in English, the imperative is replaced in reported speech by an infinitive :
Elle m’a dit: «Ouvre la fenêtre!»→ Elle m’a dit d’ouvrir la fenêtre
She said to me: “Open the window!” → She told me to open the window
It is also possible to replace the infinitive with a subjunctive , although this is less common:
Elle m’a dit que j’ouvre la fenêtre
She told me to open the window
Other types of completive clause involve the reporting not of speech but of facts, events, opinions, states and so on that have not necessarily been expressed verbally. These can be termed reported descriptions, and they too are subject to the rules for sequence of tenses . Sometimes these descriptions can be said to express actual or probable reality, in which case the subordinate clause verb is in the indicative . Here the sequence of tenses is identical to that used in reported speech :
Tu as peur
You're frightened
Il croit que tu as peur
He thinks (that) you're frightened
Si tu fais ça, il croira qu’tu as peur
If you do that, he’ll think you're frightened
Il croyait que tu avais peur
He thought (that) you were frightened
And sometimes these descriptions are imbued with a sense of judgement, doubt, emotion and so on, in which case the subordinate clause verb is in the subjunctive . Here the sequence of tenses are different in that the future and imperfect are often replaced by the present subjunctive:
Elle était là hier
She was in yesterday
J’étais content qu’elle soit là hier
I was pleased she was in yesterday
Je ne pense pas qu’elle soit là demain
I don’t think she will be in tomorrow
A third type of indirect expression involves the reporting of questions. This creates a type of subordinate clause mentioned in 4:3.3 called an indirect interrogative clause :
Je lui ai demandé quand il comptait revenir
I asked him when he intended coming back
The sequence of tenses rules for indirect questions are the same as for reported speech , as are those relating to changes in person and vocabulary. Indirect questions are formed as follows. First, the question is returned to affirmative form. This means that there is no est-ce que or inversion of subject and verb , and that there is no question mark:
Est-ce que vous pouvez m’aider? / Pouvez-vous m’aider? → Vous pouvez m’aider
And second, the reported question is linked to the introductory verb by si or a question word.
Elle m’a demandé si je pouvais l’aider
She asked me if I could help (her)
For total interrogation (i.e. expecting answer yes or no, formed by inversion or est-ce que), si is used:
«Pouvez-vous m’aider?» → Elle m’a demandé si je pouvais l’aider
For questions formed using où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien, lequel and quel, the question word is retained:
«Combien de jours restes-tu?» → Elle m’a demandé combien de jours je restais
“How many days are you staying?” → She asked me how many days I was staying
For questions formed using qui, qui est-ce qui or qui est-ce que, qui is used:
«Qui / qui est-ce qui a appelé?» → Elle m’a demandé qui avait appelé
“Who called?” → She asked me who called
«Qui / qui est-ce que tu regardes?» → m’a demandé qui je regardais
“Who are you looking at?” → She asked me who I was looking at
For questions formed using preposition + qui, these are retained:
«A qui est-ce que tu téléphones?» → Elle m’a demandé à qui je téléphonais
“Who are you phoning?” → She asked me who I was phoning
For questions formed using que or qu’est-ce qui, ce qui is used:
«Que / qu’est-ce qui s’est passé?» → Elle m’a demandé ce qui s’est passé
“What happened?” → She asked me what happened
For questions formed using que or qu’est-ce que, ce que is used:
«Que / qu’est-ce que tu regardes?» → Elle m’a demandé ce que je regardais
“What are you looking at?” → She asked me what I was looking at
For questions formed using preposition + quoi, these are retained:
«De quoi parles-tu?» → Elle m’a demandé de quoi je parlais
“What are you talking about?” → She asked me what I was talking about