Reported Speech — English Bac Éco

Dans le programme du Bac Éco

English has a coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Économiques stream, the same weight as Philosophy and Law. It sits behind the professional subjects (General Economics and Accounting, coefficient 6; Business Organisation, coefficient 3; Applied Mathematics, coefficient 4). The stream's grounding in institutions and collective behaviour makes the English themes on citizenship, organisations and development familiar ground.

À l'épreuve

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (about 180 words). Economics candidates are used to analysing collective phenomena and institutions, which helps on essay prompts about international organisations, brain drain or sustainable development — provided the answer stays in plain English, not economics jargon.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac Éco English exam (coefficient 2)
Apply the backshift of tenses (present → past, past → past perfect, will → would)
Report a yes/no question with if / whether and an open question by keeping the question word
Report an order or a request with tell / ask + object + to + infinitive
Adjust time and place markers (now → then, tomorrow → the next day, here → there)

Notions clés

The tense change (backshift)

present simple → past simple, present continuous → past continuous, past simple → past perfect, present perfect → past perfect, will → would, can → could. E.g. “I am tired.” → She said (that) she was tired.

Reported questions and word order

Word order goes back to that of a statement (subject + verb), with no auxiliary do / does / did; a yes/no question is introduced by if or whether; an open question keeps the question word (what, where, why…). E.g. “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived.

Orders and marker changes

tell / ask + object + to + infinitive for an order or a request (“Close the door.” → He told me to close the door). Time and place markers also change: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, here → there, this → that.

Erreurs fréquentes

Forgetting the tense backshift: “She said she is tired” is wrong in classic reported speech — use “She said she was tired”.

Keeping question word order (auxiliary before subject) in a reported question: “He asked where did I live” is wrong — use “He asked where I lived”.

Forgetting to change time markers: reporting “I'll call you tomorrow” without changing tomorrow to the next day distorts the meaning when the report is made on another day.

Exemple corrigé

Énoncé

Put into reported speech: Tom said, “I will finish the project tomorrow.”

Correction

Backshift the modal. will becomes would in reported speech.

Change the time marker. tomorrow becomes the next day, since “today” is no longer the moment of speaking.

Adjust the pronoun. I becomes he (Tom is talking about himself).

Result. “Tom said (that) he would finish the project the next day.”

Le cours, puis l'entraînement.

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3 exercices pour t'entraîner

Exercice 1

Easy

Report: She said, “I am reading a good book.”

Voir la correction

“She said (that) she was reading a good book.” — present continuous → past continuous.

Exercice 2

Medium

Report the question: He asked, “Did you see the movie?”

Voir la correction

“He asked if I had seen the movie.” — yes/no question: if + statement order; did + past simple → had + past participle (backshift).

Exercice 3

Hard

Correct: “The teacher told to the students that they must submit their homework the next day.”

Voir la correction

tell never takes the preposition to before its direct object: “The teacher told the students that they had to submit their homework the next day.” (must becomes had to in classic reported speech).

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Questions fréquentes

Is the backshift always compulsory?

It is expected in Bac writing, except when the reporting verb (say, tell, ask) is in the present (“He says he is tired”) or when the reported fact is a still-valid general truth (“She said the sun rises in the east”).

How do I report an order or a prohibition?

With tell + object + to + infinitive for an order (“He told me to close the door”), and tell + object + not to + infinitive for a prohibition (“He told me not to be late”).

if or whether for a reported yes/no question?

Both are correct and interchangeable for a yes/no question: “He asked if / whether I had seen the movie.” whether is compulsory before or not (“whether or not”).

How do I fit English revision around the economics and accounting subjects?

A short weekly session: one chapter (rule or word list, two examples), then a short paragraph. Focus especially on the society themes — citizenship, international organisations, development — which are close to your other subjects, and keep a model introduction and conclusion ready. A mark above your average is within reach.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac Éco English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-correction, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether a sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.