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B1grammar38 questions

Reported speech

Le reported speech éloigne les paroles de quelqu'un du moment où elles ont été dites ; le temps, les pronoms et les mots de temps glissent avec elles. Ici tu revois le recul du temps, le changement de pronom et de mots de temps.

Apprentissage rapide

Rapporter les paroles de quelqu'un les éloigne du moment où elles ont été dites ; le temps, les pronoms et les mots de temps glissent avec elles.

À retenir

  • Le temps recule en général d'un cran : present -> past, past -> past perfect.
  • Les pronoms passent au point de vue de celui qui rapporte.
  • Les mots de temps et de lieu bougent aussi : now -> then, tomorrow -> the next day, here -> there.

Exemples

  1. 1David told me that he was planning to buy a new electric vehicle next year.
  2. 2Sarah said that she had already finished writing her quarterly project report.

Piège courant à éviter

Une question rapportée perd son ordre interrogatif et son do : she asked where I lived, et non where did I live.

Approfondir

La règle

  1. Reporting, not quoting

    Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) is used to communicate what another person said without quoting their exact words in quotation marks. When the reporting verb is in the past simple (said, told, asked, explained), standard English grammar shifts the verb tenses one step backward into the past (the process of Backshift).

  2. One step back in tense

    Tense Backshift Rules: Present Simple → Past Simple: "I live in Madrid" → He said that he lived in Madrid. Present Continuous → Past Continuous: "I am working" → She said that she was working. Past Simple → Past Perfect: "I bought a car" → He said that he had bought a car. Present Perfect → Past Perfect: "I have finished" → She said that she had finished. Will → Would: "I will call you" → He said that he would call me. Can → Could: "I can swim" → She said that she could swim.

  3. Say or tell

    Say vs. Tell: Say does not require an indirect object.

    • She said that she was tired

    Tell obligatorily requires a personal object receiver ("She told me that she was tired", never "She told that...").

  4. Reporting questions

    Reporting Questions:

    (1) Word order reverts to standard affirmative statement order: Subject + Verb.

    (2) Auxiliary verbs do, does, and did disappear entirely.

    (3) Wh- questions retain the question word.

    • She asked where I lived

    (4) Yes/No questions introduce if or whether.

    • She asked if I was ready

  5. Time and place words

    Pronoun and Deictic Adjustments: now → then; today → that day; yesterday → the day before; tomorrow → the following day; here → there; this → that.

Anatomie de la phrase

Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.

  1. SujetDavidVerbetoldObjetmePropositionthat he was planning to buy a new electric vehicle next year.

  2. SujetSarahVerbesaidPropositionthat she had already finished writing her quarterly project report.

  3. SujetSheVerbeaskedObjetmePropositionwhere I usually spent my summer holidays with my relatives.

Guide visuel

How to read this B1 topic

At B1, grammar links ideas: condition, result, reported meaning, experience, and narrative order.

1. Name the relationship

Ask whether the sentence gives a condition, contrast, cause, report, or result.

If it rains, we will stay home.

2. Separate time from aspect

Finished event, visible result, duration, and background action use different forms.

I had left before she arrived.

3. Test both clauses

In complex sentences, the second half often proves the first half.

I wish I knew.

Decision path before answering

Use these checks before choosing between close options.

  1. 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
  2. 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
  3. 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
  4. 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.

Contrasts that often decide the answer

Event or background

Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.

I left while she was talking.

Fact or stance

Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.

This may indicate a problem.

Clause or compressed phrase

Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.

Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.

Exemples

  1. 1David told me that he was planning to buy a new electric vehicle next year.
  2. 2Sarah said that she had already finished writing her quarterly project report.
  3. 3The travel agent told us that our flight to Amsterdam would depart on schedule.
  4. 4The inspector asked the driver if he had his valid driver's license with him.
  5. 5My brother explained that he couldn't attend the family dinner on Sunday.
  6. 6She asked me where I usually spent my summer holidays with my relatives.
  7. 7The teacher said that the final examination would take place the following morning.
  8. 8Emma told her classmates that she was feeling very tired after the long journey.
  9. 9He asked whether we were interested in joining the community cycling club.
  10. 10They said that they had lived in this coastal town since their early childhood.

Exceptions

Omission of Backshift for Universal Truths: Backshift is not mandatory when the reported statement represents an unchanging scientific truth or permanent reality: Direct: "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius." → Reported: "The teacher said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius." Conversational Omission of That: In everyday spoken English, the conjunction that after said or told is frequently and naturally omitted: "He told me he was tired."

Erreurs fréquentes

  • Question syntax in reported questions

    Erreur

    She asked me where did I live.

    Correct

    She asked me where I lived.

    Reported questions do not use did.

  • Using tell without an object

    Erreur

    She told that she was ready.

    Correct

    She told me that she was ready.

    Tell requires a personal pronoun object.

  • Forgetting tense shift with past reporting verbs

    Erreur

    He said that he will call me.

    Correct

    He said that he would call me.

    Will shifts back to would.

Récap

L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.

À retenir

  1. Le temps recule en général d'un cran : present -> past, past -> past perfect.
  2. Les pronoms passent au point de vue de celui qui rapporte.
  3. Les mots de temps et de lieu bougent aussi : now -> then, tomorrow -> the next day, here -> there.

Erreurs fréquentes

  • Erreur: She asked me where did I live.

    Correct: She asked me where I lived.

  • Erreur: She told that she was ready.

    Correct: She told me that she was ready.

  • Erreur: He said that he will call me.

    Correct: He said that he would call me.

Teste-toi

Rapporte trois choses qu'on t'a dites aujourd'hui, puis entraîne-toi sur ce point.

Points de grammaire associés

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