Passing on a message in French
Leo and Ana are arranging to meet you. You pass on their messages immediately, on the same day. For information, use dit que (says that); for a yes/no question, demande si (asks whether). Change the person where needed, but keep the time and the speaker’s intention.
Recover the original message
Venir means come to the listener or a shared meeting place. Here je viens means I’m coming, tu viens means you’re coming to one familiar person, and nous venons means we’re coming. À huit heures means at eight o’clock. The present can describe an arranged future visit.
Listen to the same words as a statement and a question: Je viens à huit heures. / Tu viens à huit heures ? The rising voice and question mark make the second a question. Je is I, tu is you, il is he and elle is she. Nous includes the original speaker and at least one other person.
Je viens à huit heures.
- informal
Tu viens à huit heures ?
Nous venons à huit heures.
Two reporting verbs and two links
Dire means say: il dit is he says, elle dit is she says. Demander here means ask a question: elle demande is she asks, il demande is he asks. These two singular forms use the same verb ending.
Que introduces the information being reported; si introduces a reported yes/no question. Demain means tomorrow. The que here links a statement to its content; it is not the relative que that identifies a person or object. The si here means whether, not a condition.
Information: says that
Leo says Je viens à huit heures (I’m coming at eight). You tell Ana: Il dit qu’il vient à huit heures (He says he’s coming at eight). The first il is Leo, and so is the second: his je becomes il because you are talking about him. Viens becomes vient to agree with il.
Ana’s Je viens demain (I’m coming tomorrow) becomes Elle dit qu’elle vient demain (She says she’s coming tomorrow). Keep que in these French reports, even though English can omit that. Que becomes qu’ before il, elle and ils. The reporting verb dit is present here: the reported verb stays present in these examples. Demain still names the same day because you report on the same day.
Il / Elle dit que / qu’ personne + verbe
Il dit qu’il vient à huit heures.
Je viens demain.
Elle dit qu’elle vient demain.
A question stays a question in meaning
Ana asks Leo Tu viens à huit heures ? (Are you coming at eight?). You report her question: Elle demande s’il vient à huit heures (She asks whether he’s coming at eight). Elle is Ana; il is Leo, the person she addressed as tu. You have not confirmed that Leo is coming: you have passed on her question.
Leo asks Ana Tu viens demain ? (Are you coming tomorrow?). Report Il demande si elle vient demain (He asks whether she’s coming tomorrow). After si, use subject + verb here: il vient, elle vient. Do not keep the direct-question frame est-ce que or inversion. Si becomes s’ before il/ils, but stays si before elle. These reports end with a full stop because the whole sentence states what someone asks.
Il / Elle demande si / s’ personne + verbe
Elle demande s’il vient à huit heures.
- informal
Tu viens demain ?
Il demande si elle vient demain.
Follow the people, not a fixed substitution
Ana is speaking for herself and Leo when she says Nous venons à huit heures (We’re coming at eight). You are not in that group. Tell another person: Elle dit qu’ils viennent à huit heures (She says they’re coming at eight). Ils refers to Ana and Leo together; viennent is the form for ils. The woman speaking is still elle.
Je does not always become il, and tu does not always become il either: identify the speaker and the addressee first. Use the pronoun that fits the person from your new viewpoint. Keep eight o’clock, not a guessed new time. If a pronoun is unclear, name the person instead.
Elle dit qu’ils viennent à huit heures.
Pass on the essential message
Try before reading the models below. 1. Leo tells you Je viens à huit heures. Pass this on to Ana. 2. Ana asks Leo Tu viens à huit heures ? Pass on Ana’s question to someone else. 3. Ana tells you Je viens demain. Report it today. The first three audio examples give the answers in that order. Check who says or asks, who is coming, and when.
For recognition only, the last example is a past report: Il disait qu’il venait à huit heures (He was saying he was coming at eight). Disait is was saying; venait is was coming, an imperfect form. A present in the original message can shift to an imperfect under past reporting. You do not need to produce that system here; practise the present dit/demande reports above.
Il dit qu’il vient à huit heures.
Elle demande s’il vient à huit heures.
Elle dit qu’elle vient demain.
Il disait qu’il venait à huit heures.
Check person, time and intention
Use the left pattern for information and the right one for a yes/no question. The second row recalls the shortened spellings. Read this table; its cells have no audio. Before sending a message, check the person, the original time and whether it is a statement or a question. A reported question is not an answer.
| Information | Yes/no question |
|---|---|
| Il dit que… | Elle demande si… |
| qu’il / qu’elle / qu’ils | s’il / si elle |