Changements de temps : discours direct

Think of this like a two-step dance. Step one is the quote. Someone says something directly. Je suis content, says Marc. Step two is the report. You tell someone about Marc. Marc dit qu'il est content. Notice the changes? The quotation marks disappear. The word que appears. The pronoun je becomes il. This is the heart of the rule. You are shifting the perspective. It is not Marc talking anymore. It is you talking about Marc. It is like changing the camera angle in a movie. You go from a close-up to a wide shot. Most of the time, the tense stays the same. If Marc says it now, you report it now. Simple, right? Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes. So don't worry if it feels weird at first. You're just learning to be a good messenger.

1. 1Start with a reporting verb. Use dire for most things. Il dit... or Elle dit... are your best friends.
2. 2Add the magic word que. This is like the glue of the sentence. If the next word starts with a vowel, use qu'.
3. 3Change the subject pronoun. If the speaker said je, you use il or elle. If they said nous, you use ils or elles.
4. 4Match the verb to the new subject. If the tense is the same, just conjugate it.
5. 5If the reporting verb is in the past, move the main verb back. For A1, focus on changing présent to imparfait. Il a dit : "Je suis là" becomes Il a dit qu'il était là.
6. 6Update any possessive adjectives. Mon might become son.
7. 7Remove the colon and the quotation marks. They are not needed anymore.

You use this when you want to be a gossip. Or just a helpful friend! Use it when telling a story about a meeting. Le patron dit que nous finissons tôt. Use it when ordering for a friend at a restaurant. Elle dit qu'elle veut la soupe. It is perfect for job interviews too. You might report what your previous boss said about you. Mon ancien chef dit que je suis ponctuel. Use it when giving directions you heard from someone else. L'homme dit que la banque est à gauche. It makes your French sound much more natural. It moves you away from just repeating phrases. You start to build real, connected sentences.

Don't use it for direct quotes in a book. Authors love quotation marks for a reason. They want the character's exact voice. If you want to show strong emotion, stay direct. Il a crié : "C'est fini !" sounds more dramatic. Don't use it if you are unsure of the message. If you report it, you are responsible for the accuracy. In very formal legal documents, direct quotes are safer. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green means report away for social fun. Red means stick to quotes for official stuff. Also, avoid it if the sentence is too long. If it has five clauses, it gets messy. Keep it short. Keep it simple.

The biggest mistake is forgetting que. In English, we often skip "that". He says he is coming. In French, you must keep it! Il dit qu'il vient. Never skip the glue! Another mistake is the "vowel clash". Don't write que il. Always write qu'il. It sounds much smoother. Also, watch your pronouns. If you say Je dit que je..., you are talking about yourself. If you are talking about Pierre, say Pierre dit qu'il.... Finally, don't forget to change the verb ending. If you change the subject, the verb must follow. Je suis becomes il est. It sounds basic. But in the heat of a conversation, it's easy to forget!

Don't confuse this with asking questions. To report a question, we don't use que. We use si for yes/no questions. Il demande si tu viens. For statements, que is the king. Also, compare it to the infinitive pattern. Sometimes we say Il dit de venir. This is for orders. Our rule is for facts and thoughts. Il dit qu'il vient. One is a command. The other is just news. Think of que as the "news channel". Think of de as the "command center". They look similar. But they do very different jobs.