Reported questions and commands · Questions et commandes rapportées
Reporting questions and orders
- We can report questions and commands, not just statements.
- The word order and verbs change in special ways.
- She asked where I lived. He told me to wait.
She asked where the meeting was; the calendar asked the same thing.
Rapporter questions et ordres
- Nous pouvons rapporter des questions et des commandes, pas seulement des énoncés.
- L'ordre des mots et les verbes changent de manières spéciales.
- She asked where I lived. He told me to wait.
She asked where the meeting was; the calendar asked the same thing.
Reported questions
- Use statement word order (subject + verb), and no question mark.
- Yes/No questions → if / whether: He asked if I was busy.
- Wh- questions → keep the question word: She asked where I lived.
- No do / does / did: not where did I live.
Questions rapportées
- Utilisez l'ordre déclaratif (sujet + verbe), et pas de point d'interrogation.
- Questions Oui/Non → if / whether : He asked if I was busy.
- Questions Wh- → gardez le mot interrogatif : She asked where I lived.
- Pas de do / does / did : pas where did I live.
Report the question “Where do you live?” · Rappelez la question “Where do you live?”
Reported questions use statement order, no “did”: “… where I lived.” · Les questions rapportées utilisent l'ordre déclaratif, sans “did” : “… where I lived.”
Report the Yes/No question “Are you busy?”: He asked ___ I was busy. · Rappelez la question Oui/Non “Are you busy?” : He asked ___ I was busy.
Yes/No questions are reported with “if” or “whether”. · Les questions Oui/Non sont rapportées avec “if” ou “whether”.
Translate into English: 她问我住在哪里。 · Traduisez en anglais : 她问我住在哪里。
Statement order, no “did”: “She asked where I lived.” · Ordre déclaratif, sans “did” : “She asked where I lived.”
Reported commands
- Use tell / ask + someone + to + base verb.
- She told me to wait. He asked me to help.
- tell and ask take a person (me, him…).
Commandes rapportées
- Utilisez tell / ask + quelqu'un + to + infinitif.
- Elle m'a dit d'attendre. Il m'a demandé d'aider.
- tell et ask prennent une personne (me, him…).
Negative commands
- For "don't …", use not to + base verb.
- He asked me not to be late. The sign tells people not to smoke.
Commandes négatives
- Pour « ne pas … », utilisez not to + verbe à l'infinitif.
- Il m'a demandé de ne pas être en retard. Le panneau indique aux gens de ne pas fumer.
Question, command or negative command? · Question, commande ou commande négative ?
Reported questions use statement order; commands use told + to; negatives slip in 'not to'. · Les questions rapportées utilisent l'ordre declaratif ; les commandes utilisent told + to ; les négations s'insèrent avec 'not to'.
Is this a correct reported command? “He asked me not to be late.” · Est-ce une commande rapportée correcte ? “He asked me not to be late.”
Yes — reported commands use (not) to + base verb: “asked me not to be late.” · Oui — les commandes rapportées utilisent (not) to + verbe infinitif : “asked me not to be late.”
Common mistakes
- ❌ He asked me am I busy. → ✓ He asked me if I was busy. — if + statement order.
- ❌ He told me don't be late. → ✓ He told me not to be late.
- ❌ She suggested me to go. → ✓ She suggested going. / She suggested that I go.
Erreurs courantes
- ❌ He told me am I busy. → ✓ Il m'a demandé si j'étais occupé. — if + ordre statement.
- ❌ He told me don't be late. → ✓ Il m'a dit de ne pas être en retard.
- ❌ She suggested me to go. → ✓ Elle a suggéré d'y aller. / Elle a suggéré que j'y aille.
Match the direct speech to its reported form. · Reliez le discours direct à sa forme rapportée.
Commands → (not) to + verb; wh-questions keep the question word; yes/no → if / whether. · Commandes → (not) to + verbe ; les questions wh- conservent le mot interrogatif ; yes/no → if / whether.
Which sentence is correct? · Quelle phrase est correcte ?
tell + person + to + verb — say never takes this pattern. · tell + personne + to + verbe — say ne prend jamais cette structure.
- Reported questions: statement order, if / whether or a wh- word, no do/did.
- Reported commands: tell / ask + someone + to + base verb.
- Negative: not to + base verb.
- Questions rapportées : ordre statement, if / whether ou un mot wh, sans do/did.
- Commandes rapportées : tell / ask + quelqu'un + to + verbe à l'infinitif.
- Négatif : not to + verbe à l'infinitif.
Think of a question someone asked you. Report it in one sentence (She/He asked …). · Pensez à une question que quelqu'un vous a posée. Rappelez-la en une phrase (She/He asked …).
Example: “My teacher asked if I had finished my homework.” · Exemple : « Mon professeur m’a demandé si j’avais fini mes devoirs. »