{"id":2277,"date":"2026-03-27T09:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T08:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sillabi.com\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T08:42:54","slug":"how-to-use-reported-speech-discours-indirect-in-french-a-clear-and-practical-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sillabi.com\/en\/how-to-use-reported-speech-discours-indirect-in-french-a-clear-and-practical-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use reported speech (Discours Indirect) in French: a clear and practical guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When learning French, you quickly reach a point where understanding and forming simple sentences is no longer enough. You also need to know how to report what someone has said, asked, or thought. In French, this is done through reported speech<\/strong>, known as discours indirect<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reported speech allows you to reformulate a sentence without repeating it exactly as it was originally said. Instead of quoting someone\u2019s exact words, you integrate them into a new sentence, adapting them to the context and the speaker\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Est-ce que tu viens ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande si tu viens.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many learners find this structure challenging because it requires several transformations at once. However, with a clear and gradual approach, it can be mastered without difficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll explore how reported speech<\/strong> works in French, what changes it involves, and how to use it correctly in the most common situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. What is reported speech?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reported speech (discours indirect<\/em>) <\/strong>is a structure that allows you to report someone\u2019s words or thoughts without using quotation marks and without keeping the exact original wording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this, you typically use reporting verbs such as dire, demander, penser, vouloir savoir, ignorer, <\/em>usually followed by que <\/em>or si<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example: Il dit que demain il ira au cin\u00e9ma.<\/em><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sentence, we are not quoting the person directly, but reformulating what he\/she said. This makes the sentence smoother and more natural, especially in written French or in formal contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When moving from direct to reported speech, certain changes are required. These transformations affect pronouns, sentence structure, verb tenses, and some expressions of time and place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Changing pronouns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the first aspects to consider is personal pronouns and possessive adjectives, which need to be adapted to the new point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When reporting a sentence, the reference subject changes, and as a result, the pronouns change as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demain j<\/strong>\u2019irai au cin\u00e9ma. \u2192 Il dit que demain il <\/strong>ira au cin\u00e9ma.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, je <\/em>becomes il<\/em>, because the speaker is no longer speaking directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean me dit : \u00ab Ton <\/strong>d\u00eener est tr\u00e8s bon. \u00bb \u2192 Jean pense que mon <\/strong>d\u00eener est tr\u00e8s bon.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, ton <\/em>becomes mon<\/em>, because the point of view has shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same type of transformation also occurs in questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pierre : \u00ab O\u00f9 se trouve votre <\/strong>maison ? \u00bb \u2192 Pierre nous demande o\u00f9 se trouve notre <\/strong>maison.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These adjustments are essential to keep the sentence coherent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Transforming questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a question is turned into reported speech, the transformation does not only affect a few words\u2014it involves the entire structure of the sentence. The question is no longer independent, but becomes a subordinate clause depending on a reporting verb such as demander, vouloir savoir,<\/em> or se demander<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This change has important consequences: the sentence loses its direct interrogative form and takes on a statement structure, while still keeping the meaning of a question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most noticeable changes is the disappearance of structures typical of direct questions. The expression est-ce que<\/em> is no longer used, and subject-verb inversion disappears. The sentence therefore follows the standard subject\u2013verb\u2013object order, as in a declarative sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand these transformations, it is useful to distinguish between different types of questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of yes\/no questions, that is, questions that expect a yes or no answer, the conjunction si <\/em>is used. This applies both to questions introduced by est-ce que <\/em>and to those with inversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Est-ce que<\/strong> tu viens ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande si<\/strong> tu viens.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of open questions, the same interrogative words are kept, but the sentence structure changes. Words such as quand, pourquoi, comment, o\u00f9<\/em> are used, followed by a clause with normal word order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Quand est-ce que<\/strong> tu viens ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande quand<\/strong> tu viens.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Quand <\/strong>venez-vous ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande quand<\/strong> vous venez.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important case concerns questions introduced by qui<\/em>. Here, the interrogative word remains unchanged, but the direct structure is still removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Qui est-ce qui<\/strong> viendra ce soir ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande qui<\/strong> viendra ce soir.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Qui est-ce que<\/strong> tu invites ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande qui<\/strong> tu invites.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, it is essential to pay attention to structures with qu\u2019est-ce qui <\/em>and qu\u2019est-ce que<\/em>, which in reported speech become ce qui <\/em>and ce que <\/em>respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Qu\u2019est-ce qui<\/strong> se passe ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande ce qui<\/strong> se passe.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Qu\u2019est-ce que<\/strong> tu penses de ce roman ? \u00bb \u2192 Il demande ce que<\/strong> tu penses de ce roman.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, all these transformations have a common goal: to integrate the question into a larger sentence, making it grammatically correct in reported speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, it is important not to translate word for word, but to understand how the structure works. Once these rules are internalized, moving from direct to reported speech becomes much more natural and automatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Changing verb tenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A key aspect of reported speech (discours indirect<\/em>) is the transformation of verb tenses. This step is essential because it ensures a correct time relationship between when something was said and when it is being reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand when and how this transformation takes place, it is important to start with a basic distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the reporting verb is in the present, as in il dit que<\/em>, the verb tenses in the reported clause generally do not change. In this case, the moment of speaking and the moment of reporting coincide, so no adjustment is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transformations occur when the reporting verb is in the past, for example in structures such as il a dit que, elle a affirm\u00e9 que, ils ont racont\u00e9 que.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the speech is reported from a later point of view, and the verb tenses must be adapted accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This phenomenon is known as the sequence of tenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main transformations are the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n