Karamö, le prof virtuelLeçon 3 sur 15
Reported speech
Je sais rapporter en anglais ce que quelqu'un a dit, demandé ou ordonné, en changeant correctement les temps, les pronoms et les indicateurs de temps et de lieu.
- 1 h
- 6 exercices corrigés
- 1 schéma
- QCM de 5 questions
À la fin de la leçon, tu sauras :
- Passer du discours direct au discours indirect pour les affirmations, les questions et les ordres
- Appliquer la concordance des temps (backshift)
- Transformer les pronoms, les possessifs et les expressions de temps et de lieu
- Choisir le bon verbe introducteur (say, tell, ask, order, advise…)
Avant de commencer : Les 12 temps de l'anglais, les pronoms personnels et possessifs, la formation des questions avec do/does/did.
1Je découvre
Hier, à la sortie du lycée de Labé, le proviseur a parlé aux élèves de Terminale :
« I am proud of you. The BAC will start on Monday. Don't be late! »
Ce matin, Fatoumata n'était pas là. Elle appelle son amie Mariama pour savoir ce qui a été dit. Mariama ne peut pas répéter les phrases mot pour mot en disant « I am proud of you », car ce n'est pas elle qui est fière, et « Monday » n'est plus le même jour pour elle. Elle rapporte donc :
*« The headmaster said that he was proud of us. He told us that the BAC would start on Monday, and he ordered us not to be late. »*
Le verbe am est devenu was, will est devenu would, you est devenu us, et l'ordre est devenu ordered us not to.
Quelles transformations faut-il faire pour rapporter correctement les paroles de quelqu'un en anglais ?
2Je comprends
1. Discours direct et discours indirect
Le discours direct (direct speech) reproduit les paroles exactes, entre guillemets : Alpha said, "I am tired."
Le discours indirect (reported speech ou indirect speech) rapporte le contenu des paroles, sans guillemets, dans une proposition subordonnée : Alpha said (that) he was tired.
Trois choses peuvent changer : les temps, les pronoms et possessifs, les expressions de temps et de lieu.
2. Say ou tell ?
- say + (that) + phrase : She said (that) she was hungry. Si on précise à qui on parle : *say to someone* : She said to me that…
- tell + quelqu'un + (that) : *She told me (that) she was hungry.* Tell est toujours suivi de la personne, sans to.
On n'écrit jamais ~~She said me~~ ni ~~She told that…~~ sans complément de personne.
3. La concordance des temps (backshift)
Quand le verbe introducteur est au passé (said, told, asked), les temps du discours direct « reculent » d'un cran dans le passé.
| Discours direct | Discours indirect |
|---|---|
| present simple : *"I work."* | past simple : *he worked* |
| present continuous : *"I am working."* | past continuous : *he was working* |
| present perfect : *"I have worked."* | past perfect : *he had worked* |
| past simple : *"I worked."* | past perfect : *he had worked* |
| will : *"I will work."* | would : *he would work* |
| can : *"I can work."* | could |
| may : *"I may work."* | might |
| must : *"I must work."* | had to (ou must) |
Ne changent pas : would, could, should, might, ought to et le past perfect.
Pas de concordance quand le verbe introducteur est au présent (He says that he is tired) ou quand on rapporte une vérité générale : The teacher said that water boils at 100 °C.
4. Les pronoms et les expressions de temps et de lieu
Les pronoms changent selon qui rapporte et à qui : *"I love my village,"* said Sékou → *Sékou said that he loved his village.*
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| now | then, at that time |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| yesterday | the day before, the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day, the following day |
| last week | the week before, the previous week |
| next month | the following month |
| ago | before |
| here | there |
| this / these | that / those |
- 1Je choisis le verbe introducteur : say, tell, ask, order, advise…
- 2Je change les pronoms et les possessifs selon qui parle et à qui (I → he/she, my → his/her).
- 3Je recule les temps si le verbe introducteur est au passé (is → was, will → would).
- 4Je change les expressions de temps et de lieu (tomorrow → the next day, here → there).
- 5Je supprime les guillemets et je vérifie l'ordre des mots.
5. Rapporter une question
On utilise ask (ou want to know, wonder). La question rapportée n'est plus une question : l'ordre des mots redevient sujet + verbe, sans do/does/did, sans point d'interrogation.
- Question avec mot interrogatif (where, when, why, how, what, who) : on garde le mot interrogatif.
"Where do you live?" she asked me. → *She asked me where I lived.*
- Question fermée (réponse yes/no) : on introduit par if ou whether.
"Are you ready?" he asked. → *He asked if I was ready.*
6. Rapporter un ordre, un conseil, une demande
On utilise un verbe comme tell, order, ask, advise, beg, warn, remind + personne + to + base verbale. À la forme négative : not to + base.
"Close the door," the teacher said to Ousmane. → *The teacher told Ousmane to close the door.*
"Don't touch the wire," the electrician said to us. → *The electrician warned us not to touch the wire.*
"You should rest," the doctor said to Kadiatou. → *The doctor advised Kadiatou to rest.*
Méthode
Pour rapporter une phrase au BAC :
- J'identifie le type : affirmation, question (wh- ou yes/no) ou ordre/conseil.
- Je choisis le verbe introducteur : said / told someone (affirmation), asked (question), told / ordered / advised someone to (ordre).
- Je change les pronoms et possessifs.
- Je recule les temps si le verbe introducteur est au passé.
- Je transforme les expressions de temps et de lieu.
- Pour une question : ordre sujet + verbe, pas de do/did, if/whether pour une question fermée, pas de point d'interrogation.
Exemple
Put into reported speech: Lansana said to me, "I bought this phone in Conakry last week."
Affirmation avec une personne → Lansana told me (that)…
I → he ; this → that.
Bought (past simple) → had bought (past perfect).
Last week → the week before.
Answer: Lansana told me that he had bought that phone in Conakry the week before.
Exemple
Put into reported speech: The nurse asked Hawa, "Have you taken your medicine today?"
Question fermée (yes/no) → asked Hawa if / whether…
You → she ; your → her.
Have you taken (present perfect, forme interrogative) → she had taken (past perfect, ordre affirmatif).
Today → that day.
Answer: The nurse asked Hawa if she had taken her medicine that day.
7. Du discours indirect vers le discours direct
Le BAC demande aussi l'inverse. On fait le chemin en sens contraire : on remet les guillemets, on avance les temps (was → is, had done → did ou have done, would → will), on rétablit les pronoms et les expressions (the next day → tomorrow), et on reforme la question avec do/does/did si besoin.
She asked me where I had put the keys. → She asked me, "Where did you put the keys?" (ou "Where have you put the keys?")
3Je retiens
Je retiens
Say (that)… / say to someone ; tell someone (that)…
Si le verbe introducteur est au passé, les temps reculent : present → past ; past et present perfect → past perfect ; will → would ; can → could ; may → might ; must → had to.
Pas de recul pour une vérité générale ou si le verbe introducteur est au présent.
Now → then ; today → that day ; tomorrow → the next day ; yesterday → the day before ; here → there ; this → that ; ago → before.
Questions : asked + mot interrogatif ou if/whether + sujet + verbe (pas de do/did, pas de ?).
Ordres, conseils : told / ordered / advised + personne + (not) to + base verbale.
4Erreurs fréquentes
- Garder l'ordre de la question : on écrit « She asked me where I lived », pas « She asked me where did I live ».
- Confondre say et tell : « He told me that… » ou « He said that… », jamais « He said me that… ».
- Oublier de changer les pronoms : « Fanta said that she was late », pas « Fanta said that I was late ».
- Rapporter un ordre avec that : « He told us to sit down », pas « He told us that sit down ».
5Je m’exerce
1Exercice 1
Complete with said or told.
a) Aïssatou ... me that she was sick.
b) The teacher ... that the test was easy.
c) My father ... us to come back early.
d) Ibrahima ... to his friend that he was ready.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) told (suivi de me) b) said c) told (suivi de us) d) said (said to his friend)
2Exercice 2
Put these statements into reported speech. Begin with the words given.
a) Mamadou said, "I am revising my lessons." → Mamadou said that…
b) Fanta said, "We will visit our grandmother tomorrow." → Fanta said that…
c) Sékou said to me, "I lost my ID card yesterday." → Sékou told me that…
d) The teacher said, "The Earth turns around the Sun." → The teacher said that…
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) Mamadou said that he was revising his lessons.
b) Fanta said that they would visit their grandmother the next day.
c) Sékou told me that he had lost his ID card the day before.
d) The teacher said that the Earth turns around the Sun. (vérité générale : pas de recul)
3Exercice 3
Put these questions into reported speech.
a) "Where do you come from?" the visitor asked me.
b) "Can you speak English?" she asked Ousmane.
c) "Why did you leave so early?" my mother asked us.
d) "Have you seen my notebook?" Kadiatou asked her brother.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) The visitor asked me where I came from.
b) She asked Ousmane if / whether he could speak English.
c) My mother asked us why we had left so early.
d) Kadiatou asked her brother if he had seen her notebook.
4Exercice 4
Report these orders and pieces of advice.
a) "Sit down and be quiet!" the teacher said to the pupils.
b) "Don't swim in the river during the rainy season," the old man said to the children.
c) "You should drink a lot of water," the doctor said to Alpha.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) The teacher told the pupils to sit down and be quiet.
b) The old man warned the children not to swim in the river during the rainy season.
c) The doctor advised Alpha to drink a lot of water.
5Exercice 5
Put these sentences back into direct speech.
a) Hawa told me that she was waiting for the bus.
b) The policeman asked the driver if he had a licence.
c) The coach told the players not to give up.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) Hawa said to me, "I am waiting for the bus."
b) The policeman asked the driver, "Do you have a licence?"
c) The coach said to the players, "Don't give up!"
6Exercice 6
(BAC format) Read the dialogue, then report it in a paragraph of about six lines, beginning: Yesterday, Lansana met his former teacher…
Teacher: "Lansana! What are you doing now?"
Lansana: "I am studying agronomy at the university."
Teacher: "Do you like it?"
Lansana: "Yes, I do. I want to help the farmers of my region."
Teacher: "Work hard and come back to see us next year."
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
Example answer:
*Yesterday, Lansana met his former teacher. The teacher asked him what he was doing then. Lansana answered that he was studying agronomy at the university. The teacher asked him if he liked it. Lansana said that he did and explained that he wanted to help the farmers of his region. Finally, the teacher told him to work hard and to come back to see them the following year.*
Cherche d’abord seul, sur ton cahier, puis ouvre le corrigé pour comparer.
6Je vérifie
Choisis une réponse pour chaque question : la correction s’affiche aussitôt.
Crée ton compte élève gratuit pour cocher les leçons terminées, suivre ta progression et gagner des points au QCM.
