reporting statements
To report what someone else says or thinks, link the main clause (il dit, il pense, etc.)
and the subordinate clause with que (qu' in front of a word beginning with a vowel):
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| Tex et Tammy ont une querelle d'amoureux. Fiona essaie de les raccommoder. |
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Tex and Tammy are having a lovers' tiff. Fiona is trying to patch things up. |
| Tammy: Tu ne m'écoutes jamais! |
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Tammy: You never listen to me! |
| Tex (devant la télé): Je n'ai pas entendu. |
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Tex (in front of the TV): I did not hear. |
| Fiona: Elle dit que tu ne l'écoutes jamais. |
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Fiona: She is saying that you never listen to her. |
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reporting questions
To report simple yes/no questions, use si. Note that si changes to s' in front
of a word beginning with an i (s'il), but does not change before other vowels (si elle, si on).
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| Tammy: Est-ce que tu vas faire un effort? |
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Tammy: Are you going to make an effort? |
| Tex (toujours devant la télé): Quoi? |
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Tex (still in front of the TV): What? |
| Fiona: Elle te demande si tu vas faire un effort. |
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Fiona: She is asking you if you are going to make an effort. |
| Tex: Bien sûr, mais après le match de foot. |
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Tex: Sure, but after the soccer game. |
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To report an information question use the interrogative word quand, comment, où, etc.:
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| Tammy: Où étais-tu hier soir? Comment as-tu rencontré cette grande blonde? Quand finit ce match? |
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Tammy: Where were you last night? How did you meet that tall blonde? When does this game finish? |
| Tex: Comment? |
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Tex: Excuse-me? |
| Fiona: Elle te demande où tu étais hier soir, comment tu as rencontré cette grande blonde et quand ce match finit. |
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Fiona: She is asking you where you were last night, how you met that tall blonde and when this game finishes. |
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To report questions starting with que, qu'est-ce que, and qu'est-ce qui, use ce que and ce qui. Note that the inverted subject and verb return to normal order when reporting a que question:
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| Tex: Je ne comprends pas! Qu'est-ce qu'elle veut dire? Qu'est-ce qui se passe? |
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Tex: I don't understand! What does she mean? What's going on? |
| Fiona: Tammy, Tex ne comprend pas ce que tu veux dire. Il ne comprend pas ce qui se passe. |
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Fiona: Tammy, Tex does not understand what you mean. He does not understand what's going on. |
| Tammy: Que faisait-il avec cette grande blonde? |
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Tammy: What was he doing with that tall blonde? |
| Fiona: Tex, Tammy veut savoir ce que tu faisais avec cette grande blonde. |
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Fiona: Tex, Tammy wants to know what you were doing with that tall blonde. |
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reporting orders
To report an order, replace the imperative by de (d') + infinitive:
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| Tammy: Tex, éteins tout de suite cette télévision! Ecoute-moi! Ne fais pas l'idiot! |
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Tammy: Tex, turn this TV off immediately! Listen to me! Don't be stupid! |
| Tex: Pardon? |
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Tex: Excuse me? |
| Fiona: Tammy t'ordonne d'éteindre tout de suite cette télévision. En plus, elle te dit de l'écouter. Elle te demande de ne pas faire l'idiot. |
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Fiona: Tammy is ordering you to turn this TV off immediately. And she is telling you to listen to her. She is asking you not to be stupid. |
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reporting answers
To report yes and no answers, use que:
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| Plus tard, Fiona raconte la fin de l'histoire à ses amis. |
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Later, Fiona tells the end of the story to her friends. |
| Fiona: . . . et soudain, Tammy demande à Tex s'il peut éteindre la télé et il lui répond que NON. |
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Fiona: . . . and suddenly, Tammy asks Tex if he can turn off the TV and he answers NO. |
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