Backshifting of Tenses

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple (am/is/are)	Past Simple (was/were)
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Past Simple	Past Perfect
Present Perfect	Past Perfect

• Direct: "I am happy" → Reported: He said that he was happy
• Direct: "I live in Paris" → Reported: She said that she lived in Paris
• Direct: "I went to school" → Reported: He said that he had gone to school
• Direct: "I have finished" → Reported: She said that she had finished

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
can	could
may	might
must	had to / would have to
will	would

• Direct: "I can swim" → Reported: He said that he could swim
• Direct: "I may go" → Reported: She said that she might go
• Direct: "I must leave" → Reported: He said that he had to leave
• Direct: "I will help" → Reported: She said that she would help

• 1 Quand la déclaration est toujours vraie :
  Direct: "Water boils at 100°C" → Reported: He said that water boils at 100°C
• 2 Quand le verbe de rapport est au présent :
  Direct: "I am tired" → Reported: He says that he is tired
• 3 Quand on cite des vérités universelles ou des faits constants
• 4 Quand on rapporte des citations exactes ou des proverbes

• should → should (reste inchangé)
• would → would (reste inchangé)
• could → could (reste inchangé)
• might → might (reste inchangé)

1 He said that he was studying English.
2 She said that she had finished her work.
3 They said that they had been watching TV.
4 He said that he would call me later.

1 He said that he could drive a car.
2 She said that she might attend the meeting.
3 He said that he had to finish the project.
4 She said that she would help me.

1 He said that the sun rises in the east (no backshift for universal truth).
2 She says that she is happy (no backshift with present tense reporting verb).
3 He said that he should go then (should doesn't change).
4 She said that light travels faster than sound (no backshift for constant fact).

Quand une clause rapportée contient elle-même une autre clause rapportée, le backshift s'applique à toutes les couches :

• Direct: "I think that he knows that she is coming."
• Reported: He said that he thought that he knew that she was coming.

• Direct: "If I were rich, I would travel the world." → Reported: He said that if he were rich, he would travel the world.
• Direct: "If I had known, I would have helped." → Reported: She said that if she had known, she would have helped.

1 He said that he thought that if he had studied harder, he would have passed the exam.
2 She said that she knew that he could speak three languages fluently.
3 They said that they had been wondering whether the meeting would be cancelled.

Le backshift s'applique également aux questions rapportées :

• Direct: "Where do you live?" → Reported: He asked where I lived.
• Direct: "Are you coming?" → Reported: She asked if I was coming.
• Direct: "What did you buy?" → Reported: He asked what I had bought.

Contrairement aux questions directes, les questions rapportées suivent l'ordre normal des phrases affirmatives :

• Direct: "Where do you live?" (inversion du sujet et du verbe)
• Reported: He asked where I lived (ordre normal : sujet + verbe)

1 He asked where I was going.
2 She asked if/whether I had finished my homework.
3 They asked if/whether I would join them.
4 He asked if/whether I could help him.

• Oublier de faire le backshift :
  ❌ "He said I am tired" → ✅ "He said I was tired"
• Faire un backshift incorrect :
  ❌ "He said I will come" → ✅ "He said I would come"
• Changer les modaux incorrectement :
  ❌ "He said I can swim" → ✅ "He said I could swim"

• Mettre des questions directes dans le discours rapporté sans changement
• Ne pas tenir compte des exceptions au backshift
• Ne pas appliquer le backshift dans les clauses imbriquées

1 ❌ "He said that he can swim" → ✅ "He said that he could swim"
2 ❌ "She said that the sun rose in the east" → ✅ "She said that the sun rises in the east" (universal truth)
3 ❌ "He said that he will come tomorrow" → ✅ "He said that he would come the next day"
4 ❌ "They asked if he was knowing the answer" → ✅ "They asked if he knew the answer" (use simple past, not continuous)

• Present Simple → Past Simple
• Present Continuous → Past Continuous
• Past Simple → Past Perfect
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect

• can → could
• may → might
• must → had to
• will → would
• should, would, could, might → restent inchangés

• Vérités universelles
• Verbes de rapport au présent
• Faits constants

John said that he was studying for his exams. He added that he would finish them the following week. He continued that his friend Tom could help him with math. However, he noted that he might not be available. He concluded that if he finished early, he would go on vacation.

Cette version applique correctement le backshift à chaque phrase rapportée.