Le discours indirect en anglais

Le discours indirect (reported speech) permet de rapporter ce que quelqu'un a dit sans citer ses paroles exactes.

Changement de temps (backshift)

Quand le verbe introducteur est au passé, les temps reculent :

• Present Simple → Past Simple : "I am tired" → He said he was tired.
• Present Continuous → Past Continuous : "I am working" → She said she was working.
• Past Simple → Past Perfect : "I saw him" → He said he had seen him.
• Will → Would : "I will call" → She said she would call.

Changement de pronoms et références

• I → he/she : "I am happy" → He said he was happy.
• today → that day
• tomorrow → the next day / the following day
• yesterday → the day before / the previous day
• here → there
• this → that

Verbes introducteurs

• say (sans objet) : He said (that) he was tired.
• tell (+ objet) : He told me (that) he was tired.
• ask (questions) : She asked if I was coming.

Questions indirectes

• Yes/No : "Are you coming?" → She asked if/whether I was coming.
• Wh- : "Where do you live?" → He asked where I lived.