📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 18 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 4 · Rapporter ce qu'on dit
The reporting verbs
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 18 of 30: Dire is the plain one. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 18.
The words
French
English
Say it
répondre
to reply
ray-POH(n)DR
ajouter
to add
ah-zhoo-TAY
annoncer
to announce
ah-noh(n)-SAY
avouer
to admit
ah-voo-AY
il a répondu que
he replied that
eel ah ray-poh(n)-DEW kuh
la remarque
the remark
lah ruh-MAHRK
préciser
to specify
pray-see-ZAY
le point de vue
the point of view
luh pwa(n) duh VEW
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
Dire is the plain one, and using it five times in a paragraph is what marks a text as beginner's French. Reach for the others: expliquer (explain), répondre (reply), ajouter (add), répéter, annoncer (announce), avouer (admit).
Et aussi · And also
Each one carries a judgment about the speaker, which is exactly what makes a reported paragraph readable: il a répondu que... tells the reader the speaker was answering, not starting.
Attention · Watch out
dire five times in one paragraph marks a text as beginner's French. répondre, ajouter, annoncer and avouer each say HOW the speaker spoke.
écrire, passé composé — the table
je ai écrit · tu as écrit · il/elle a écrit · nous avons écrit · vous avez écrit · ils/elles ont écrit
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with répondre.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out écrire, passé composé in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
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.