Breakdown of Il dit que la rumeur est fausse.
être
to be
il
he
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
dire
to say, to tell
Questions & Answers about Il dit que la rumeur est fausse.
Can I leave out the word que like we often drop the word 'that' in English?
No, you cannot. In English, you can say 'He says the rumor is false' or 'He says that the rumor is false.' In French, the conjunction que is absolutely required to connect the two clauses. You can never drop it.
I previously learned that que means 'what' or 'whom'. Is it doing the same thing here?
Not quite! You probably learned que as a question word or a relative pronoun. Here, que acts as a subordinating conjunction. It simply links the main sentence (Il dit) to the dependent sentence (la rumeur est fausse), translating exactly to the English word 'that'.
Why is the word for false spelled fausse here instead of faux?
Which verb is dit from?
It comes from the irregular verb dire (to say or to tell). Il dit is the present tense for 'he says'.