La Concordance des Temps
This lesson will show intermediate to advanced learners of French how to relay information and retell a dialogue using French tenses that match. You can download a PDF of this lesson in my private French Grammar Library.
Observe the following chart, and when you want to relay or retell information that has been said, pay close attention to the verb tense that is used in the direct conversation (left column). When you relay the information, use the tense indicated in the right column. Examples follow.
| Direct Conversation | Relayed Conversation |
| présent | imparfait |
| imparfait | imparfait |
| passé composé | plus-que-parfait |
| futur proche | imparfait |
| futur simple | conditionnel |
Examples
Read the following examples and pay close attention to the tense that is used in the first sentence. That is the direct conversation (left column on the chart). Then look at the tense used in the very last sentence. That is the relayed conversation (right column on the chart).
Relaying information from a direct conversation that was spoken in the PRESENT TENSE.
- Martine SAYS she’s going to France.
- Martine dit qu’elle va en France.
- What did Martine say?
- Qu’est-ce que Martine a dit?
- Martine SAID she was going to France.
- Martine a dit qu’elle allait en France.
Relaying information from a direct conversation that was spoken in the IMPARFAIT.
- Martine SAYS it was a good idea to go to France.
- Martine dit que c’était une bonne idée d’aller en France.
- What did Martine say?
- Qu’est-ce que Martine a dit?
- Martine SAID it was a good idea to go to France.
- Martine a dit que c’était une bonne idée d’aller en France.
Relaying information from a direct conversation that was spoken in the PASSÉ COMPOSÉ.
- Martine SAYS she went to France.
- Martine dit qu’elle est allée en France.
- What did Martine say?
- Qu’est-ce que Martine a dit?
- Martine SAID she had gone to France.
- Martine a dit qu’elle était allée en France.
Relaying information from a direct conversation that was spoken in the FUTUR PROCHE.
- Martine SAYS she is going to go to France.
- Martine dit qu’elle va aller en France.
- What did Martine say?
- Qu’est-ce que Martine a dit?
- Martine SAID she was going to go to France.
- Martine a dit qu’elle allait aller en France.
Relaying information from a direct conversation that was spoken in the FUTUR SIMPLE.
- Martine SAYS she will go to France.
- Martine dit qu’elle ira en France.
- What did Martine say?
- Qu’est-ce que Martine a dit?
- Martine SAID she would go to France.
- Martine a dit qu’elle irait en France.
