Direct speech / Indirect speech
•Direct speech c’est le discours direct, quand on rapporte exactement les mots tels qu’ils ont été prononcés.
•Reported speech c’est le discours indirect, on rapporte ce que les gens ont dit sans reprendre leur discours mot pour mot.
Lors du passage au discours indirect, on devra parfois changer:
•Les pronoms (pronouns)
•Les temps (tenses)
•Les indicateurs de lieux et de temps (place and time expressions)
Si notre récit est au passé, on doit décaler le discours d’un cran vers le passé, en gardant l’aspect simple ou
progressif. Le pronom relatif “that” peut être omis.
Simple Present
He said,‘ I want to go.’
Present Continuous
‘I’m having a nice time,’ he said.
Simple past
‘I killed the bear,’ he said.
Simple Past
He said that he wanted to go.
Past Continuous
He said (that) he was having a nice time.
Plu Perfect
He said he had killed a bear.
Tous les mots deictiques (qui n’ont de sens que selon la situation d’énonciation) doivent être modifiés:
•this/these
•here
He said to me, ’ look at this bird.’
She said to me, ‘Stand here and wait for me.’
•that/those/the
•there
He told me to look at that bird.
She told me to stand there and wait for her
•tonight
•now
•today
•yesterday
•tomorrow
•a week ago
•last year
‘He left last week,’ she said.
•that night
•then
•that day
•the previous day /the day before
•the next/ following day
•a week earlier/before
•the previous year/ the year before(that)
She said (that) he had left the previous week / the week
before.
Les 3 verbes les plus utilisés au discours indirects sont: say, tell et ask.
•say : dire quelque chose (sans préciser à qui)
‘I don’t know what to do,’ he said. He said (that) he didn’t know what to do.
•Tell : dire quelque chose à quelqu’un. (on est obligé de préciser à qui)
John to bill:’ I caught three fish today.’ John told Bill he caught three fish today.
•Ask: demander, poser une question (on peut préciser à qui ou pas)
He said ,’Do you like strawberries? He asked me if I liked strawberries.
He asked if I liked strawberries.
On pourra également utiliser d’autres verbes, tels que shout, cry, exclaim, whisper, reply, retort, wonder,
explain.....
Exercise 1 Completez les phrases en adaptant le contenu vers un discours indirect
1. He said, "I like this song." → He said
2. "Where is your sister?" she asked me. → She asked me
3. "I don't speak Italian," she said. → She said
4. "Say hello to Jim," they said. → They asked me
5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he said. → He said
6. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said. → She told the boys
7. "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him. → She asked him
8. "I never make mistakes," he said. → He said
9. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know. → He wanted to know
10. "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience. → The stuntman advised the audience
Exercise 2 Rapportez les propos de ces gens. Attention à bien choisir le verbe (Brian asked his mum ... Gill
told her husband to…, Maria said that …
1.Tim ……………………………………………………………………….
2.Jack ……………………………………………………………………….
3.Jean ……………………………………………………………………….
4.Mike ……………………………………………………………………….
5.Beth ……………………………………………………………………….
6.Sam ……………………………………………………………………….
7.Bob ……………………………………………………………………….
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