Breakdown of Ils se sont entendu dire que l'hypothèque était difficile.
être
to be
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
difficile
difficult
dire
to say, to tell
que
that (introducing a clause)
s'entendre
to get along
l'hypothèque (f)
the mortgage (f)
Questions & Answers about Ils se sont entendu dire que l'hypothèque était difficile.
How does s'entendre dire translate to 'were told'?
This is an indirect passive construction. Instead of using the standard passive voice, French often uses s'entendre (to hear oneself) followed by an infinitive. Here, ils se sont entendu dire literally means 'they heard [someone] say to themselves', which translates smoothly to 'they were told'.
Why isn't there an 's' on entendu to agree with the plural subject ils?
When s'entendre or se voir is followed by an infinitive, the past participle only agrees if the subject is the one performing the action of the infinitive. Here, ils (represented by se) are not doing the telling (dire) — someone else is. Because they are receiving the action of the infinitive rather than performing it, entendu does not agree and remains invariable.
Could I use se sont vu dire instead of se sont entendu dire here?
Why is était in the imperfect tense rather than the passé composé?
The main action happened in the past (ils se sont entendu dire). The difficulty of the mortgage was an ongoing state or fact at that specific time, rather than a single, completed action. Therefore, the imperfect tense (était) is used to describe the background situation they were being told about.
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