Learn French: Qu'est-ce que vous dites de ce texte passionnant ? - What do you say about this fascinating text?

Qu'est-ce que vous dites de ce texte passionnant ?

What do you say about this fascinating text?

Breakdown of Qu'est-ce que vous dites de ce texte passionnant ?

vous

you (plural/formal)

this (before a noun)

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

qu'est-ce que

what (in questions)

Questions & Answers about Qu'est-ce que vous dites de ce texte passionnant ?

Why is it vous dites instead of vous disez?

The verb dire (to say) is highly irregular. While most verbs in the vous form end in -ez, dire is one of the rare exceptions that ends in -tes. It behaves a lot like vous faites (you do) and vous êtes (you are), so vous dites just has to be memorized!

Why use the word de after the verb here? Doesn't that mean 'of'?

Yes, de usually means 'of' or 'from', but with the verb dire, the phrase dire de means 'to say about' or 'to think of'. The question is asking for your opinion, literally 'What do you say of this text?'

Why is it ce texte and not cet texte?

The word texte is masculine, and the standard masculine word for 'this' is ce. You only use cet for masculine words when they start with a vowel or a silent h.

Why does the adjective passionnant come after texte?