Normalement, dans le discours rapporté il faut reculer d’un temps par rapport au discours direct :
She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired.
| Phrase en discours direct | Équivalent en discours rapporté |
|---|---|
| Présent simple | Passé simple |
| "I always drink coffee", she said | She said that she always drank coffee. |
| Présent progressif | Passé progressif |
| "I am reading a book", he explained. | He explained that he was reading a book |
| Passé simple | Passé parfait |
| "Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. | He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday. |
| Présent parfait | Passé parfait |
| "I have been to Spain", he told me. | He told me that he had been to Spain. |
| Passé parfait | Passé parfait |
| "I had just turned out the light," he explained. | He explained that he had just turned out the light. |
| Présent parfait progressif | Passé parfait progressif |
| They complained, "We have been waiting for hours". | They complained that they had been waiting for hours. |
| Passé progressif | Passé parfait progressif |
| "We were living in Paris", they told me. | They told me that they had been living in Paris. |
| Future simple | Conditionnel présent |
| "I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. | He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday. |
| Futur progressif | Conditionnel progressif |
| She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". | She said that she would be using the car next Friday. |
Il n'est pas nécessaire de changer de temps si le verbe rapporté est au présent ou si la déclaration initiale concernait quelque chose qui s’applique toujours, par exemple:
- He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
- We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.
Ces verbes modaux ne changent pas dans le discours rapporté : might, could, would, should, ought to:
- We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
- She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the party.