French reported speech: check the day, viewpoint and deadline
Follow a Monday message into a Wednesday report. Check earlier actions, future-in-the-past promises, deadlines and time words with four questions.
In short
Keep three moments separate: when the action happens, when the person speaks and when you report it. From a past viewpoint, avait envoyé looks back before the statement; enverrait looks forward from it. Check the day named by demain or ce matin as carefully as the verb.
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Read the Monday message
Lundi à 14 heures, Sami a dit : « J’ai envoyé le dossier ce matin. Je vous rappellerai demain. »
On Monday at 2 pm, Sami said, “I sent the file this morning. I’ll call you back tomorrow.”
The file was sent on Monday morning. The promised call is on Tuesday.
| Moment | Date | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the file | Monday morning | Before Sami speaks |
| Sami’s statement | Monday at 2 pm | Original speaking point |
| Promised call | Tuesday | After his statement |
| Your report | Wednesday | Current reporting point |
Report it on Wednesday
Sami a dit lundi qu’il avait envoyé le dossier ce matin-là et qu’il nous rappellerait le lendemain.
Sami said on Monday that he had sent the file that morning and would call us back the next day.
The original listeners are now the reporting group, so vous becomes nous.
The promised call is later than the Monday statement even though you are writing on Wednesday. Rappellerait reports the promise. To tell your reader what happened next, add a separate update: Il nous a rappelés mardi. Here, the reporting group includes a man; an all-female group writes rappelées.
| Original wording | Past-viewpoint wording | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| ce matin | ce matin-là | The morning of the statement |
| demain | le lendemain | The day after the statement |
| hier | la veille | The day before the statement |
How do you report a deadline in French?
Lundi, Léa a promis : « J’aurai terminé avant vendredi. »
On Monday, Léa promised, “I’ll have finished before Friday.”
The promise concerns completion before a later deadline.
Léa a promis lundi qu’elle aurait terminé avant vendredi.
Léa promised on Monday that she would have finished before Friday.
Aurait terminé preserves the completion deadline as seen from Monday.
Write the same report on Saturday and it still reports Monday’s promise. To give the outcome, add what you know: Elle a terminé jeudi. Keep the promise and the update in separate sentences so the reader can follow both.
A current viewpoint is also possible
Maya m’a confirmé hier qu’elle travaille ici.
Maya confirmed to me yesterday that she works here.
The reporter presents her workplace as current. A past reporting verb can accompany a retained present.