Breakdown of Le journaliste dit que la rumeur est fausse.
être
to be
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
le journaliste
the journalist
dire
to say, to tell
que
that (introducing a clause)
la rumeur
the rumor
faux
false
Questions & Answers about Le journaliste dit que la rumeur est fausse.
Do I always have to use que (that) here, or can I leave it out like in English?
You must always use it! In English, we often drop the word "that" and simply say "The journalist says the rumor is false." In French, the conjunction que is absolutely mandatory to connect the two parts of the sentence in reported speech.
Why does the reported part of the sentence use the present tense (est) instead of shifting to a past tense?
Because the introductory verb, dit (says), is in the present tense. When reporting speech introduced by a present tense verb, you keep the exact same tense the person originally used. The journalist's original words were: La rumeur est fausse. Since he is reporting it in the present, the tense stays exactly the same.
Why is the word for false spelled fausse here instead of faux?
Because adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe, which is la rumeur (a feminine noun). The masculine form of this adjective is faux, and its irregular feminine form is fausse.
I've seen la journaliste before. Is this word masculine or feminine?
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