Hi Tony The difference between "s'est déclaré" and "a déclaré" is the person at which he has expressed his words. In the first case, he declared a status upon himself, like illness for instance, but often it's general, not addressed to a person particularly. In the second, he has expressed himself directly to an other person often, or just he has told something at the attention of someone precisely. Examples : 1. Il s'est déclaré pâle pour toute la semaine. = He has declared sick for all the week 2. Il a déclaré qu'il était d'accord sur le projet. = He has declared that he was agree about the project. For "s'est dit" et "a dit". Again, in the first case, he has spoken to himself and in the second, he has told to someone else. In the first case, it's always the question of status because you have the s' which express the "se", meanings "himself" (Il se l'est dit à lui-même, in details )