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French reported speech quiz: 11 questions with explanations

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Practise French reported statements, indirect questions and requests in eleven questions. Track pronouns, past viewpoint and time words with explained answers.

In short

Report a statement with que, a yes/no question with si, and a request with de + infinitive. Keep track of who “I”, “you” and “we” refer to. When reporting from a past viewpoint, common shifts are present → imparfait, passé composé → plus-que-parfait and future → conditional.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A woman searches a shelf for her notebook while a friend listens.
L’a tells Hugo that elle cherche son carnet. Illustration: Atelier
Three message types
Direct speechReported speech
Léa : « Je cherche mon carnet. »Léa dit qu’elle cherche son carnet.
Hugo à Léa : « Tu viens ? »Hugo demande à Léa si elle vient.
Léa à Hugo : « Attends ici. »Léa demande à Hugo d’attendre ici.

Each question tells you who is speaking and when the report happens. Where the instruction asks for a past viewpoint, use that viewpoint throughout. For indirect questions, keep ordinary subject–verb order after the question word. Work through all eleven items, then use the explanations to check your choices.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Léa says Je cherche mon carnet. Hugo reports her statement now. Choose his report.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Léa dit qu’elle cherche son carnet.. The person searching is Léa, so the report uses the feminine third-person subject and her notebook.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Paul said J’ai perdu le reçu. Report the earlier loss using the plus-que-parfait.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Paul a expliqué qu’il avait perdu le reçu.. The loss happened before the explanation. The requested past perfect uses an imperfect auxiliary and the past participle.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Emma said Je suis fatiguée. Keep the past viewpoint and the feminine agreement.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Emma a dit qu’elle était fatiguée.. The present state shifts to the imperfect in this report, and the adjective stays feminine.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Hugo asks Léa Est-ce que tu viens ? Léa reports his question now. Choose her report.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Hugo me demande si je viens.. The indirect yes/no question uses ordinary subject–verb order. Léa is the person being asked to come.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Léa asks Hugo Où habites-tu ? A colleague reports the question now.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Léa demande où Hugo habite.. Keep the place question word and use the named subject followed by its third-person verb.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Complete the indirect question meaning “what is missing”.Je voudrais savoir ___ manque.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    ce qui. The missing information is the subject of the verb, so use the subject form of “what”.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Complete the indirect question meaning “what she is preparing”.Je voudrais savoir ___ elle prépare.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    ce que. The subject is already she. The missing information is the direct object of preparing.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Léa tells our group Ne partez pas. Which report keeps the negative request?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Léa nous a demandé de ne pas partir.. The negative belongs to the requested action: not leaving. The first option denies that a request was made.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    On Monday, Léa said Je partirai demain. On Wednesday you report this from the past viewpoint. Choose the version that keeps Tuesday as the departure day.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Léa a dit qu’elle partirait le lendemain.. The following day is relative to her Monday statement, so it still identifies Tuesday.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    Léa told our group Je vous aiderai. We report her promise from the past viewpoint.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Léa nous a dit qu’elle nous aiderait.. Léa remains the helper; our group remains the recipient of the help. The future becomes conditional in this viewpoint.

  11. Question 11No account needed
    Does Léa a dit qu’elle travaillait à Lyon tell you whether she still works there?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    No: it reports her earlier statement.. The imperfect places the information at the earlier speaking point. Current employment needs more context.

What are the most common reported speech mistakes?

A small correction with a clear reason
You need to track…Try this
The participantsReplace each pronoun with a name before reporting.
The time relationshipMark the loss before the explanation; choose the earlier-past form.
An indirect questionIdentify whether “what” is the subject or object.
A relative dayWrite Monday → Tuesday before replacing “tomorrow”.

Lundi, Léa a dit : « Je partirai demain. » Elle a dit qu’elle partirait le lendemain, donc mardi.

On Monday, Léa said, “I’ll leave tomorrow.” She said she would leave the next day, so Tuesday.

If you report the same message immediately on Monday, Léa dit qu’elle partira demain also keeps Tuesday as the departure day. Choose time words from the actual reporting moment. The participant and the intended day stay stable even when the wording changes.

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