Discours indirect

Introduction

On utilise le discours indirect pour relater ce que quelqu'un d'autre a dit:

Clara: "I’m tired." (Discours direct)
Sonia: Clara said that she was tired. (Discours indirect)

Si vous voulez raconter à quelqu'un ce que quelqu'un d'autre a dit, on peut simplement répéter leurs mots (discours direct):

Peter: She said "I’m hungry".

(on utilise des guillemets quand on écrit un discours direct)

ou on peut utiliser le discours indirect:

Peter: She said that she was hungry.

Form

Quand on utilise le discours indirect, le verbe rapporteur principal de la phrase est généralement au passé:

He said ...
She told me ...
They asked ...

Le présent dans le discours direct se transforme généralement en passé dans le discours indirect:

direct speech		indirect speech
"I'm going to the park."	➞	She said that she was going to the park.
"You must report to the manager."	➞	He told me that I had to report to the manager.
"We will do it."	➞	They said that they would do it.
"Ana can swim very well."	➞	I said that Ana could swim very well.

Le prétérit dans le discours direct peut rester un prétérit dans le discours indirect ou peut devenir un plus-que-parfait (past perfect):

Discours direct		Discours indirect
"I arrived late, so they sacked me."	➞	He said that he arrived late, so they sacked him. He said that he had arrived late, so they had sacked him.

On peut omettre le mot "that" dans un discours indirect:

I said that she should have seen a doctor.
I said she should have seen a doctor.

Entraînement 1:

Complétez le discours indirect en changeant le temps du verbe dans le discours direct:

.

1)

"I don't like olives."
She said that she olives.

2)

"I'll post the letter."
He said that he the letter.

3)

"We're going to the theatre."
They said that they to the theatre.

4)

"You can leave early."
She told me I early.

Quand on utilise le discours indirect, il ne faut pas oublier de changer les pronoms sujets et objets:

Discours direct		Discours indirect
"I'm late for work."	➞	April said that she was late for work.
"I will give you the box."	➞	Tom said that he would give me the box.

Il faut aussi changer les adverbes et les locutions adverbiales de temps et de lieu:

Discours direct		Discours indirect
"We will arrive tomorrow."	➞	They said they would arrive the next day.
"The diary is here in my office."	➞	He told me that the diary was there in his office.

Entraînement 2:

Complétez le discours indirect avec les pronoms corrects:

.

1)

"We are visiting the museum tomorrow."
They said were visiting the museum the next day.

2)

"I will see you later."
She said would see later.

3)

"We have left you our car."
They told me that had left their car.

4)

"I wasn't driving very fast when I crashed."
He said that wasn't driving very fast when crashed.

Si la situation relatée est toujours vraie au moment où elle est relatée, il n'est pas nécessaire de changer le temps du verbe pour le discours indirect:

Discours direct		Discours indirect
"I love my new house!"	➞	Mary said that she loves her new house. (C'est toujours vrai. Elle aime toujours sa maison.)

Mais changer le temps du verbe est aussi correct:

Discours direct		Discours indirect
"I love my new house!"	➞	Mary said that she loved her new house.

Dans les situations suivantes, il faut changer le temps du verbe:

La situation relatée a changé ou est terminée;
Rose said that she was going to New York.
(Pas "is going" parce qu'elle est arrivée maintenant.)
Ce qui a été dit est différent de ce qui est vrai;
She told me she would tell him.
(Pas "will tell" car soit elle ne lui a pas dit, soit on ne sait pas si elle lui a dit.)

Quand on relate des ordres, des demandes ou des requêtes, on utilise "tell" ou "ask" et l'infinitif avec "to":