# FR: to be told to X / to be said to X



## Jasper30

Hello,

I am trying to use the Voix Passive in this sentence and I am unsure of tense.

I have been told that the shops were closed. 

On m’a dit que les magasins étaient fermes. 
OR, 
On m’avait dit que les magasins étaient fermes. 
.


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## Gutenberg

On m'a dit que les magasins étaient fermés.


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## Jasper30

Thank you. However, now I can't make sense of the difference between I HAVE BEEN TOLD and I WAS TOLD. Are they translated the same way?


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## Gutenberg

I have been told... = je me suis laissé dire...


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## Jasper30

Hello,

I am having difficulty understanding if I have been told / I was told / I am said to be all translate as On m'a dit...


I have been told that the shops were closed. 
On m’a dit que les magasins étaient fermes. 
 
I was told to be well-behaved at the wedding
On m’a dit d’être sage au mariage 
 
I am said to be well behaved
On m’a dit que je suis sage.


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## forgot

I am said to be = on dit que je suis... , or _les gens disent que je suis.... _
The other two are indeed translated as "on m'a dit".


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## BEEKEEPER

Jasper30 said:


> I am said to be well behaved
> On m’a dit que je suis sage.


On dit de moi que je suis sage.


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## Gutenberg

Aussi :
On me dit sage.


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## SapphireMFL

Can "I have been told" be translated literally as "J'ai été dit(e)" or does this not make sense in French?


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## ShineLikeStars

could you say: Je me suis fait dire ?


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## moustic

No, it doesn't make sense in French. 
You have to use the structure with "on" -> on m'a dit que ...

@ shinelikestars - no, I'm afraid your suggestion doesn't work either ... "je me suis laissé dire" would work, see #4


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## ShineLikeStars

moustic said:


> @ shinelikestars - no, I'm afraid your suggestion doesn't work either ... "je me suis laissé dire" would work, see #4



Are you sure? If I enter : "Je me suis fait dire" in Google I get 548,000 hits. Here is an example of a usage here: http://en.bab.la/dictionary/french-english/je-me-suis-fait


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## moustic

You're right  - I got about 9,000 hits for "je me suis fait dire" in google books.

But I must admit, I can't remember having heard it - or it hasn't registered...


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## Beauceron-puppy

I've never heard anyone say "Je me suis fait dire"
It might be correct. if it's said by a linguist, someone who's naturally eager to speak with the most perfect syntax, a very erudite person OK.
But from a foreigner, it will sound like a grammar mistake, even though it may not be.
If you want to sound french, don't say it.


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## ShineLikeStars

This is interesting. I've heard a few francophones say_ je me suis fait dire _in casual speech. I'm wondering what the English equivalent would be (that is, an expression that could be grammatically correct, but may be taken as incorrect if said by a non-native speaker).


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