veqe xeloq sumewem padirahe yaneqa razu poba
Direct and Indirect Speech in French
In French, there are two ways to report what someone has said: direct speech (discours direct) and indirect speech (discours indirect).
Direct Speech Direct speech involves quoting the exact words spoken by someone. It is enclosed within quotation marks and separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma or a colon. For example:
- Elle a dit : "Je suis fatiguée."
- "Je n'ai pas faim," a-t-il répondu.
Indirect Speech Indirect speech, on the other hand, reports the content of what was said without using the exact words. It involves changing the pronouns, verb tenses, and other elements to fit the context of the reporting sentence. Here are the main changes:
Pronoun changes: First-person pronouns (je, me, nous) become third-person (il/elle/ils/elles), and second-person pronouns (tu, vous) become third-person as well.
Verb tense changes: The tense of the verb in the reported speech is adjusted according to the tense of the reporting verb. For example, if the reporting verb is in the present tense, the verb in the reported speech is usually in the present tense or the imperfect tense.
Adverb changes: Adverbs of time and place may need to be changed to reflect the new context.
Example of indirect speech:
- Elle a dit qu'elle était fatiguée. (Direct: "Je suis fatiguée.")
- Il a répondu qu'il n'avait pas faim. (Direct: "Je n'ai pas faim.")
Indirect speech is often introduced by the conjunction "que" (that) or by a verb in the infinitive form, such as "dire" (to say), "affirmer" (to affirm), or "penser" (to think).
Both direct and indirect speech are important in French for accurately reporting what others have said, with direct speech preserving the original words and indirect speech adapting the content to the new context.
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