The Canadian Style
http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca
Liens de la barre de menu commune
Liens institutionnels
-
Bureau de la traduction
Portail linguistique du Canada
-
TERMIUM Plus®
-
Chapitres
- + Abbreviations
- + Hyphenation: Compounding and Word Division
- + Spelling
- + Capitalization
- + Numerical Expressions
- + Italics
- + Punctuation
- - Close Quotations and Quotation Marks
- Introduction to Quotations and Quotation Marks
- Run-in format
- Punctuation and grammar in run-in quotations
- Indirect (reported) speech
- Paragraphing: run-in format
- Block format
- Paragraphing: block format
- Quotations within quotations
- Omissions
- Insertions, alterations and parentheses
- Reference to words as such
- Words used in an ironic or special sense; slang and technical terms
- Titles
- French and foreign-language quotations
- Abuse of quotation marks
- + Reference Matter
- + Letters and Memorandums
- + Reports and Minutes
- + Usage
- + Plain Language
- + Elimination of Stereotyping in Written Communications
- + Geographical Names
- + Revision and Proofreading
- + French Typographical Rules
Divulgation proactive
Avis important
L’outil The Canadian Style a été archivé et ne sera plus mis à jour jusqu’à son retrait définitif.
Pour obtenir notre contenu le plus à jour, veuillez consulter Writing Tips Plus, un outil combinant le contenu des outils Writing Tips et The Canadian Style. N’oubliez pas de modifier vos favoris!
La zone de recherche et les fonctionnalités
8.04 Indirect (reported) speech
Another way of reproducing someone else’s words without repeating them exactly is through indirect or reported speech. By adding a reporting verb (said, stated, exclaimed, declared, etc.) and shifting tenses as required, you can integrate the original speaker’s statement grammatically into the new sentence. Adverbs and adjectives expressing nearness in place or time (here, this, now, next, etc.) become the corresponding adverbs or adjectives of remoteness (there, that, then, the following, etc.) in indirect speech. Examples are given at the end of this section following the heading Direct speech / Indirect speech.
In indirect speech, the first example in 8.02 Run-in format would be restructured to read as follows:
- The Minister said that prospects for growth were not good.
The verb in the subordinate clause shifts from the present tense of direct speech (are) to the past tense (were) in keeping with the rules of tense sequence. Likewise, a verb that was in the future tense in direct speech often takes the conditional form in indirect speech. Thus if the Minister’s words had been
- "There will be no growth for some time."
the indirect form would be
- The Minister said that there would be no growth for some time.
However, the present and future tenses are retained and demonstratives are not modified if the actions or situations referred to are still current or future at the time of quotation:
- Direct quotation
"There will be no growth this year."
- Indirect speech (statement reported in the same year)
The Minister said that there will be no growth this year.
- Indirect speech (statement reported in a subsequent year)
The Minister said that there would be no growth in that year.
Alternatively, a blend of direct and indirect speech may be preferred when a particular part of the original statement is to be highlighted:
- The Minister said that prospects for growth were not good and that "governments [were] becoming increasingly worried about large spending deficits."
Because the first subordinate clause verb (were) is in the past tense, the tense of the verb within the quotation must be altered. This time, because direct speech is being retained and the speaker did not actually use the past tense, the editorial change has to be indicated by means of square brackets (see also 8.10 Insertions, alterations and parentheses on altering quotations).
The table below shows the corresponding tense and other changes when direct speech is converted to indirect speech:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
| Simple present "I hate this film," she said. | Simple past She said that she hated that film. |
| Present progressive "I’m watching the fireworks," he said. | Past progressive He said that he was watching the fireworks. |
| Present perfect "I’ve found a new job," she said | Past perfect She said that she had found a new job. |
| Present perfect progressive He said, "I’ve been running around all day." | Past perfect progressive He said that he had been running around all day. |
| Simple past "I saw Maria in Saskatoon last Saturday," he said. | Past perfect He said that he had seen Maria in Saskatoon the previous Saturday. |
| Future She said, "I’ll be in Nova Scotia by Friday." | Conditional She said that she would be in Nova Scotia by Friday. |
| Future progressive "I’ll be needing the car on the fifteenth," Paul said. | Conditional progressive Paul said that he would be needing the car on the fifteenth. |
| Conditional "I would really like to go," he said. | Conditional (no tense change) He said that he would really like to go. |
© Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada, 2024
TERMIUM Plus®, la banque de données terminologiques et linguistiques du gouvernement du Canada
Outils d'aide à la rédaction – The Canadian Style
Un produit du Bureau de la traduction
