French Indirect Exclamations - Lawless French Grammar


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Exclamations indirectes

When communicating strong feelings of shock, awe, anger, etc., we usually use direct exclamations. But it’s also possible to exclaim indirectly, by expressing these sorts of feelings in sub-clauses.

Par exemple…

Direct exclamation		Indirect exclamation
Comme elle est belle !		Je vois comme elle est belle.
She is so beautiful!		I see how beautiful she is.

Quelle catastrophe !		Je sais quelle catastrophe c’était.
What a catastrophe!		I know what a catastrophe it was.

Indirect exclamations occur in sub-clauses and do not have an exclamation point, unlike direct exclamations. In addition, indirect exclamations require the same verb tense changes as indirect speech does.

Par exemple…

Direct		Indirect
Comme il est méchant !		J’ai compris comme il était méchant.
He is so mean!		I understood how mean he was.

Quelle belle expérience !		Je sais quelle belle expérience tu as vécue.
What a great experience!		I know what a great experience you had.

The exclamative adverbs que, ce que, and qu’est-ce que can only be used in direct exclamations. When converting to indirect exclamations, they change to either combien or comme.

Par exemple…

Direct		Indirect
Qu’est-ce qu’il est beau !		Nous avons vu comme il était beau.
He is so handsome!		We saw how handsome he was.

Que de temps on a perdu !		Tu te rends compte de combien de temps on a perdu ?
We lost so much time!		Do you realize how much time we lost?