Reported speech time words (le lendemain, la veille)

When you backshift tenses, the time words shift too — demain said last month is not tomorrow any more:

direct speechreported (past viewpoint)
aujourd'huice jour-là
hierla veille
demainle lendemain
la semaine prochainela semaine suivante
He said he would leave the next day.
Il a dit qu'il partirait le lendemain.
She explained to me that she had arrived the day before.
Elle m'a expliqué qu'elle était arrivée la veille.
They promised they would come back the next morning.
Ils ont promis qu'ils reviendraient le lendemain matin.
She confessed that she had lied the day before.
Elle a avoué qu'elle avait menti la veille.
He said that on that day, he was sick.
Il a dit que ce jour-là, il était malade.

le lendemain and la veille also work outside reported speech, for the day after or before any day you are talking about:

The next day, it was raining.
Le lendemain, il pleuvait.
The day before the departure, we were nervous.
La veille du départ, nous étions nerveux.
The day after the party, we were tired.
Le lendemain de la fête, nous étions fatigués.

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