B1 · Reported speech
Reported statements
English that is optional; French que never is.
At a glance
- Remember
- No clause without que.
- Form
- Elle dit : « Je suis fatiguée. »direct
- Signal words
- dire que
- penser que
- croire que
- répondre que
- expliquer que
- ajouter que
- Trap
- Wrong:Il dit il vient demain.Right:Il dit qu'il vient demain.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) person ending
| direct | Elle dit : « Je suis fatiguée. » |
| reported | Elle dit qu’elle est fatiguée. |
| with a person | Elle me dit qu’elle est fatiguée. |
| two statements | Il dit qu’il est prêt et qu’il attend. |
| before a vowel | Je crois qu’elle a raison. |
| I say | je dis |
| you say | tu dis |
| he, she says | il, elle dit |
| we say | nous disons |
| you say (plural, polite) | vous dites |
| they say | ils, elles disent |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
que is never left out.
Il pense que tu as raison.He thinks you are right.
Before a vowel que becomes qu'.
Elle répond qu’elle ne peut pas.She answers that she cannot.
The person told stands as a pronoun before the verb.
Il nous dit que le train est annulé.He tells us the train is cancelled.
With two statements que is repeated.
Il dit qu’il est venu et qu’il a attendu.He says he came and waited.
Example sentences
Elle dit qu’elle arrive dans dix minutes.She says she is arriving in ten minutes.
Il m’explique que le magasin ferme à midi.He explains to me that the shop closes at midday.
Nous pensons qu’il a raison sur ce point.We think he is right on that point.
Ils répondent qu’ils ne savent rien.They answer that they know nothing.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English lets that go almost anywhere — he says he is coming, she told me she was late — and nothing sounds missing. Carrying the habit across produces a string of words a French reader does not parse as a sentence. que is not filler: it is the joint between the two clauses, and without the joint the sentence comes apart.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Reported speech passes on what somebody said without keeping the words. It is introduced by a verb of saying and by que.
And que can *never* be left out. English drops that constantly — he says he is coming, I think you are right — and French has no equivalent of that licence at all. Il dit qu'il vient is the only form; Il dit il vient is not a sentence, not even in speech.
Before a vowel que becomes qu': qu'il, qu'elle, qu'on. The contraction is compulsory too, and it is what makes the missing word audible once you listen for it.
With two statements, que is repeated before each one: Il dit qu'il est fatigué et qu'il rentre. English can put that in front of the first clause only, or leave it out of both. French repeats it every time.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: avoir · dire · être · répondre · penser · pouvoir · arriver · venir