Question 1

Why do we use s'entend dire instead of a normal passive like est dit?

Accepted Answer

In French, verbs that take an indirect object, like dire à quelqu'un (to say to someone), cannot be turned into a standard passive voice where that person becomes the subject. You cannot say Le client est dit. To get around this, French uses s'entendre (literally to hear oneself) plus an infinitive to express that someone is on the receiving end of a spoken action.

Question 2

Since this lesson is about se voir and s'entendre, could I use se voit dire here?

Accepted Answer

You will sometimes hear se voir used with verbs of speech, but s'entendre is the much more natural and preferred choice when the action is verbal or auditory. You generally use s'entendre with verbs of communication like dire, demander, reprocher, or répondre.

Question 3

Doesn't s'entendre usually mean to get along with someone?

Accepted Answer

It does! For example, Ils s'entendent bien means they get along well. However, when it is followed directly by an infinitive like dire, it reverts to its literal reflexive meaning of hearing oneself. So Le client s'entend dire non literally translates to the client hears himself being told no.

Question 4

Why do we use par le banquier if this isn't a standard passive sentence?

Accepted Answer

Even though the grammatical structure relies on a reflexive active verb (s'entend), the meaning of the sentence is entirely passive. Because it functions as a passive voice in context, it still uses par to introduce the agent performing the action (the banker), just like a regular passive sentence would.

Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

Breakdown of Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

Questions & Answers about Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

Learn Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier and more in French