📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 20 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 4 · Rapporter ce qu'on dit
Dire de — passing on an instruction
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 20 of 30: An order becomes reported speech with de plus the infinitive, no que, no subjunctive. 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 20.
The words
French
English
Say it
il me dit d'attendre
he tells me to wait
eel muh dee dah-TAH(n)DR
de ne pas partir
not to leave
duh nuh pah pahr-TEER
l'ordremasculine — the article elides to l'
the order (command)
lordr
interdire
to forbid
a(n)-tehr-DEER
permettre
to allow
pehr-MEHTR
obéir
to obey
oh-bay-EER
l'infinitifmasculine — the article elides to l'
the infinitive
la(n)-fee-nee-TEEF
la consigne
the instruction
lah koh(n)-SEEN-yuh
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
An order becomes reported speech with de plus the infinitive — no que, no subjunctive. « Attends! » becomes il me dit d'attendre. « Ne pars pas » becomes il me dit de ne pas partir.
Et aussi · And also
Notice where the negative goes: both halves of ne...pas sit together in front of the infinitive. That is a small rule with a big payoff, because it comes up every time you pass on a piece of advice.
Attention · Watch out
An order is reported with de + infinitive: il me dit d'attendre, never il me dit que j'attends. And ne pas sits together before the infinitive: de ne pas partir.
attendre — the table
je attends · tu attends · il/elle attend · nous attendons · vous attendez · ils/elles attendent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with il me dit d'attendre.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out attendre 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.