# FR: ne pas se le faire dire deux fois



## bjoleniacz

*Je ne me le fais pas dire deux fois.*

Hi, I understand that this means "You don't have to tell me twice."

I can't figure out why the pronoun is "me" instead of "te" here.  
Doesn't this actually mean "I won't make myself say it again?"

Merci d'avance!

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads have been merged to create this one.


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## geostan

No, contrary to appearances. It is more akin to:

_I won't have it told to me twice_. With the faire causative, the English equivalent may be active or passive in meaning according to the context.


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## itka

That's a kind of passive (with "faire" as an auxiliary of _factitif_) : 

Je me le fais dire = on me le dit
Je ne me le fais pas dire = on n'a pas besoin de me le dire


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## bjoleniacz

Great!  Thanks everyone!  One more question.  How do I know which verb the pronouns modify?

For example, my mistake came in believing the pronoun "me" modified "faire", instead of "dire".  I guess in causitive constructions, you have to know from context which verb the pronouns belong to?


Je ne me(2) le(2) fais(1) pas dire(2) deux fois...
"Je ne fais pas dire-moi-le deux fois"

But what if you wanted to say "I won't make myself say it again"?
Je ne me(1) le(2) fais(1) pas dire(2) deux fois.
"Je ne fais-moi pas dire-le deux fois."

Would this still be written the same way?


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## itka

> But what if you wanted to say "I won't make myself say it again"?
> Je ne me(1) le(2) fais(1) pas dire(2) deux fois.
> "Je ne fais-moi pas dire-le deux fois."


If you are doing the action, you don't need a causative verb (un verbe factitif) and you'd just say : _"Je ne le dirai pas deux fois"_

But you can change the sentence and compare :
_1.__"Tu ne me le fais pas dire deux fois"._
_2. "Tu ne me le fais pas te le dire deux fois."_
...but the second sentence is only an example to clear the grammar ! It's so clumsy nobody never would say it !

Hum... désolée !
_*It's so clumsy nobody would ever say it* !_


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## Thomas1

itka said:


> [...]_1.__"Tu ne me le fais pas dire deux fois"._
> _[...]_


Could you also phrase this sentence in the following way:
Tu ne me fais pas le dire deux fois.
?

The reason I'm asking is that 'me' is the direct object of 'faire' and 'le' of 'dire'.


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## itka

Thomas1 said:


> Could you also phrase this sentence in the following way:
> Tu ne me fais pas le dire deux fois.
> ?
> The reason I'm asking is that 'me' is the direct object of 'faire' and 'le' of 'dire'.


I don't think it could be understood, but anyway we are wandering now in a subspace ! None of these two sentences has a chance to be uttered !


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## CapnPrep

itka said:


> _2. "Tu ne me le fais pas te le dire deux fois."_


You don't make me tell it to you twice.



bjoleniacz said:


> I guess in causitive constructions, you have  to know from context which verb the pronouns belong to?


Absolutely. These sentences often have more than one possible interpretation. For example, as you noted, _Je me le fais dire_ can mean either "I am told it" or "I make myself say it" (and also "I make someone say it to me"). Usually the passive interpretation of _se faire_ ("to get X-ed") is more natural than the "make oneself do X" interpretation.


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## geostan

Thomas1 said:


> Could you also phrase this sentence in the following way:
> Tu ne me fais pas le dire deux fois.
> .



I realize that many things are possible, but following traditional rules, I would say no.


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## Nancy35

*Jeremy ne se le fait pas dire deux foix.*

First, is the LE referring to Jeremy?

Second, what precise meaning does SE FAIRE serve here.

I understand that the sentence means "Jeremy doesn't need to be told twice", but I'm hoping someone can help me come to terms with Se Faire in this conext and how it serves this meaning.

Thanks. xxx


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Nancy35 said:


> I understand that the sentence means "Jeremy doesn't need to be told twice",


 
C'est une expression toute faite.


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## nadeline

*ne pas se le faire dire deux fois* sous entend que l'on avait envie d'entendre ce que l'on vient de nous dire.

par exemple : un enfant a très envie de sortir et demande à son père s'il peut aller jouer dehors avec ses amis... 
le père  lui répond : " oui "
l'enfant sort illico, sans demander son reste ( il ne se l'est pas fait dire deux fois = il ne va pas reposer la question ) 

vous comprenez ?


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## Astamalana

"le" refers to 'what' we told Jemery. And it's that "le" he doesn't need to hear it twice.

Your translation is accurate though. 

SE FAIRE = do something to yourself 

Se faire :
Je me fais
tu te fais 
il se fait 
nous nous faisons
vous vous faites
ils se font.

Ex : Je *me* fais à manger = I cook something *for me*. Je fais à manger = I cook something.

If you remove "se faire" you can't relie "le [...] dire deux fois" to Jeremy. The exact same thing happens in your translation.

"Jeremy doesn't need *to be* told twice." Here "to be" is the equivalent.


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