Indirect speech is used to report words without reproducing word for word what was said. It is used when recounting a conversation, when summarizing information, or when you want to keep some distance from the exact words. In Direct speech, the words are cited as they were spoken; here, they are integrated into a longer sentence. The reader or listener then receives the content, not the exact quotation. This form is often chosen after a verb such as dire, expliquer or demander, especially in narration, a report, or a reported conversation.

Situations where indirect speech is used

Usage	Explanation
Reporting speech	Indirect speech is used to relate what a person said without repeating their words exactly.
Softening the tone	Indirect speech is often chosen to make the statement more neutral and less abrupt.
Summarizing a conversation	It is used to keep it brief when one wants to retain only the main idea of an exchange.
Avoiding repetition	It is used to avoid quoting a long statement word for word when it is already known.
Telling afterward	It is chosen when the story is told later than the original speech.
Integrating an explanation	It is used to insert reported information into a story or an explanation.

The introductory verb announces who is speaking and how the speech is presented. Dire fits general content: Il dit qu’il part. Annoncer emphasizes official or important information: La mairie annonce qu’elle ferme le parc. Expliquer introduces a clarification, a reason or a method: Elle explique qu’elle ne vient pas parce qu’elle est malade. Demander is used for a question or a request: Il demande si le train est en retard. Répondre appears when speech follows another speech: Elle répond qu’elle n’a rien vu. The choice of verb already prepares the tone of reported speech.

affirmerpréciserdireannoncerrépondreavertirexpliquerconfierdemanderpromettre

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Verbe pour rapporter une question ou une requêteVerbe pour donner la raison ou le détail d’une paroleVerbe général pour introduire une parole rapportéeVerbe pour dire quelque chose avec certitudeVerbe pour dire quelque chose de personnel ou intimeVerbe pour ajouter un détail utile à ce qui a été ditVerbe pour prévenir d’un risque ou d’un problèmeVerbe pour reproduire la réaction à une question ou à une remarqueVerbe pour présenter une information importante de façon officielle ou claireVerbe pour s engager à faire quelque chose

Verbs utiles pour introduire un discours indirect

Word	Definition
dire	Verb for generally introducing reported speech.
annoncer	Verb to present important information in an official or clear way.
expliquer	Verb to give the reason or detail of a statement.
demander	Verb to report a question or request.
répondre	Verb to reproduce the reaction to a question or remark.
préciser	Verb to add a useful detail to what was said.
affirmer	Verb to say something with certainty.
confier	Verb to tell something personal or intimate.
promettre	Verb to commit to doing something.
avertir	Verb to warn of a risk or problem.

Scramble

When reporting someone’s words, pronouns change according to the new point of view. Je becomes the person who is speaking in the narrative: Elle dit qu’elle vient. tu or vous become il, elle, ils or elles depending on the situation: Tu es fatigué becomes Il dit qu’il est fatigué. Possessives follow the same logic: mon becomes son, ma becomes sa, mes becomes ses if the referenced person is no longer the center of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns also adapt: je me repose becomes il dit qu’il se repose. The change always depends on the person reporting, not the person cited.

Pronoun adaptations in indirect speech

Idea
I changes to the person who is speaking now in the story.
you is replaced by the person being addressed in the story.
we is adapted according to the people mentioned in the story.
my or my is transformed into the possessive form that suits the new point of view.
Reflexive pronouns are replaced by the form of the reported subject.
The meaning is kept if the change of person is clear to the reader.

After a introductory verb in the past, the tense of the reported verb recedes by one degree. The present often becomes the imperfect: Il dit qu’il a faim becomes Il a dit qu’il avait faim. The future becomes the conditional: Elle dit qu’elle partira becomes Elle a dit qu’elle partirait. The passé composé becomes the plus-que-parfait: Il dit qu’il a fini becomes Il a dit qu’il avait fini. This transformation preserves the general sense, but places the words in a past frame. When the introductory verb is in the present, this backshift is not mandatory: Il dit qu’il est prêt remains in the present. With Direct speech, the verb form remains tied to the exact Words; here, it adapts to the narrative.

Tense shifts after a verb in the past

Idea
The present becomes imperfect after a past introductory verb.
The passé composé becomes pluperfect after a past introductory verb.
The future becomes present conditional after a past introductory verb.
The near future often becomes conditional or imperfect depending on the context.
The imperfect remains imperfect when the action has already taken place.
The pluperfect remains pluperfect because the event had already occurred earlier.

Time references move with the point of view of the narrative. Aujourd’hui becomes that day or that very day when talking about a past moment. Hier becomes the day before. Demain becomes the next day. Cette semaine becomes that week. Maintenant becomes at that moment. Il y a deux jours often remains as is, because the distance is already clear, but the context may require two days earlier or two days later. The principle remains the same: replace time markers tied to the moment of speech with markers tied to the moment reported.

Transformation of reported time references

Idea
Today becomes that day when reported later.
Yesterday becomes the day before in indirect narration.
Tomorrow becomes the following day after a past-tense verb.
Now becomes at that moment or then depending on the context.
This week becomes that week or the following week depending on the story.
Here becomes over there when the place changes in the story.

A direct question becomes a clause introduced by a verb such as demander, savoir or expliquer. There is no longer a question mark, and the word order subject + verb remains normal. Où habites-tu ? becomes Il demande où tu habites. Quand part-il ? becomes Elle demande quand il part. Est-ce que tu viens ? becomes Je demande si tu viens. With an interrogative word like où, quand, pourquoi or comment, we keep that word. When the question expects a yes or no answer, we use si. Unlike direct speech, there is no subject-verb inversion.

Transformation of questions into indirect speech

Idea
The question mark is removed in an indirect question.
Subject inversion is removed in an indirect question.
if is often used for a yes-or-no question.
An interrogative word is kept for an open question.
The verb follows the normal structure of a declarative sentence.
The tone remains interrogative without direct form.

To report an order, instruction or advice, one often uses dire de + infinitif. Ferme la porte becomes Il dit de fermer la porte. Prenez place becomes Elle dit de prendre place. This construction is natural when the person receiving the order does not need to be named. If the recipient must appear clearly, one can use demander à quelqu’un de + infinitif : Le professeur demande aux élèves de se taire. The tone remains firm or neutral depending on the verb chosen. Indirect speech avoids repeating the imperative of direct speech while preserving the function of the order.

Forms for reporting an order naturally

Idea
to tell someone to with an infinitive is often used to report an order.
A simple and direct tone is kept with an infinitive.
to ask someone to is used for a polite request.
to order someone to is used for a stronger order.
to advise someone to can be chosen for reported advice.
The direct form is avoided when the order is integrated into the story.

The passage from direct speech to indirect speech changes the form, but not the essential content. Marie dit : « Je rentre ce soir. » becomes Marie dit qu’elle rentre ce soir or Marie a dit qu’elle rentrerait ce soir depending on the tense of the introductory verb. The person speaking, the pronouns, the tenses and the time references adapt to the new frame. What remains identical is the reported idea. A sentence in direct speech puts the words in the foreground; a sentence in indirect speech puts the narration in the foreground. Both forms serve to convey the same information, but with a different organization.