Breakdown of Ma grand-mère a dit que ma cousine était enceinte.
être
to be
avoir
to have
mon
my (mon, ma, mes)
la cousine
the cousin (female)
la grand-mère
the grandmother
dire
to say, to tell
que
that (introducing a clause)
enceinte
pregnant
Questions & Answers about Ma grand-mère a dit que ma cousine était enceinte.
Why is était in the imparfait here instead of the present tense (est)?
This is the sequence of tenses in action! The grandmother's original quote was in the present tense: Ma cousine est enceinte (My cousin is pregnant). Because the reporting verb is in a past tense (a dit), the reported present tense must shift back to the imparfait (était).
What would the sentence look like if the grandmother were saying it right now?
If the reporting verb is in the present tense, there is no tense shift in the reported speech. You would simply say: Ma grand-mère dit que ma cousine est enceinte (My grandmother says that my cousin is pregnant).
In English, I can say 'My grandmother said my cousin was pregnant' without the word 'that'. Can I drop que in French?
No, you can never drop que in French. Even though 'that' is often optional in English reported speech, French strictly requires que (or qu' before a vowel) to connect the main clause to the reported clause.
I've seen the word enceinte used for audio speakers. Is this the same word?
Learn Ma grand-mère a dit que ma cousine était enceinte and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free