en me disant
The phrase "telling me" in French is translated as en me disant.
The phrase en me disant describes the act of giving information to the speaker. It is used to express an action that happens simultaneously with another action, often translated as "while telling me" or "by telling me".
Which one should you use?
Use en me le disant to mean "telling it to me" and en me les disant to mean "telling them to me" when the information consists of multiple items.
How does it change in a sentence?
To include a direct object like 'it' or 'this', the pronoun 'le' is inserted between the indirect object 'me' and the verb 'disant'. If the information being told consists of multiple items (plural), the pronoun 'les' is used before the verb.
Did you know?
- The form mi used in northern dialects for 'to me' can be traced back to the Oaths of Strasbourg, one of the oldest surviving documents in a Romance language.
- The word disant is a present participle, which in French can sometimes function as an adjective to describe a person's manner or expression.
- The spelling of me changes to m' if the following word starts with a vowel, such as in en m'en disant, a rule known as elision.
Examples in context
- Pouvez-vous me dire si le rendez-vous est confirmé?Can you tell me if the appointment is confirmed?
- Veuillez m'informer des prochaines étapesPlease inform me of the next steps
- Elle a promis de me communiquer les résultats rapidementShe promised to tell me the results quickly
- Tu peux me dire si elle a répondu à mon message?Can you tell me if she replied to my message?
- Il essaye toujours de me raconter des blaguesHe always tries to tell me jokes
- Elle ne m'a pas dit la véritéShe didn't tell me the truth
- Il va me communiquer les résultats demainHe will tell me the results tomorrow
- Tu m'aides en me disant la vérité.You are helping me by telling me the truth.
- Merci de m'avoir alerté en me disant cela.Thank you for alerting me by telling me that.
- Il m'a rassuré en me disant qu'il viendrait.He reassured me by telling me that he would come.
Example conversation
Gabriel is talking to Léa about a secret project.
- GabrielTu me rends service en me disant tout.You are doing me a favor by telling me everything.
- LéaJe préfère être honnête avec toi, Gabriel.I prefer to be honest with you, Gabriel.
- GabrielEn me disant cela, tu m'enlèves un poids.By telling me that, you take a weight off my shoulders.
- LéaJe suis contente de pouvoir t'aider.I am happy to be able to help you.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
