LearnModule 11 · Lesson 22 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 5 · Rapporter et relier

Questions et ordres rapportés

Module 11 of the free French course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 22 of 30: A reported yes/no question takes si: il m'a demandé si j'étais libre. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 22.

The words

French	English	Say it
il m'a demandé si j'étais libre	he asked if I was free	eel mah duh-mah(n)-day see zhay-teh LEEBR
ce que je faisais	what I was doing	suh kuh zhuh fuh-ZEH
il m'a dit de partir	he told me to leave	eel mah dee duh pahr-TEER
patienter	to wait patiently	pah-syah(n)-TAY
l'ordremasculine — the article elides to l'	the order, the command	lordr
la demande	the request	lah duh-MAH(n)D
refuser net	to refuse flatly	ruh-few-zay NET

Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.

Hear the words

Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.

La règle · The rule

A reported yes/no question takes si: il m'a demandé si j'étais libre. A reported what-question takes ce que: il m'a demandé ce que je faisais.

Et aussi · And also

Orders become de plus the infinitive: il m'a dit de partir, elle nous a demandé de patienter.

Attention · Watch out

A reported yes/no question takes si, a what-question takes ce que, an order takes de + infinitive: il m'a dit de partir. No question mark survives in reported speech.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with il m'a demandé si j'étais libre.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 22 in Module 11 are the written half of this page.

This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.

Keep these words

Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.

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