8.3.12

Relative Pronouns

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Qui, Que, Dont

'Qui', 'que' and 'dont' are used to refer to both people and things.

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Qui - who, which, that

  • 'Qui' is used for the subject, the person or thing doing the action.
    • Ma sœur, qui a vingt- trois ans, habite à l'étranger.
      • My sister, who is 23, lives abroad.
  • 'Qui' is also used after prepositions (à, pour or de).
    • Elle parle avec qui?
      • Who is she talking to?
    • La femme à qui il parle.
      • The women he is speaking to.
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Que - who, whom, which, that

  • 'Que' is used for the object, the person or thing having the action done to them.
    • Le bus que j'ai pris.
      • The bus that I caught.
    • Les amis que je vois le moins sont Sam et Theo.
      • The friends that I see the least are Sam and Theo.
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Dont - of which, about which, whose

  • 'Dont' is used to replace 'de' when 'de' follows a verb.
    • Parler de → L'homme dont nous avons parlé.
      • To speak about → The man about which we spoke.
  • When talking about something as part of a group.
    • Elle est propriétaire de cinq maisons dont une est à l'étranger.
      • She owns five houses, of which one is abroad.
  • 'Dont' replaces 'de' when it talks about possession.
    • C'est un auteur dont j'admire l'œuvre.
      • The author whose work I admire.

Ce qui, Ce que, Ce dont, Quoi

These are called indefinite relative pronouns. They are used in relative clauses.

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Ce qui - what, which

  • 'Ce qui' is the subject of a sentence, it takes the 'il/elle/on' form of the verb.
    • Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est la nourriture.
      • What interests me is the food.
    • Tu sais ce qui me ferait plaisir?
      • Do you know what would please me?
    • C'est ce qui fait son charme.
      • That is what is part of his charm.
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Ce que, qu' - what

  • 'Ce que, qu' is used as a direct object, it comes after the subject and a verb.
  • It is used when no prepositions are needed.
    • Pour faire valoir ce que de droit.
      • For all due intents and purposes.
    • Dis-moi ce que tu en penses.
      • Tell me what you think of it.
    • Il peut dire ce qu'il veut.
      • He can say what he wants.
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Ce dont - which, what

  • 'Ce dont' is used instead of the preposition 'de'.
    • Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est un stylo.
      • What I need is a pen.
    • Ce dont il a peur, c'est les araignées.
      • What he is scared of is spiders.
    • J'oublie tout ce dont j'ai rêvé.
      • I forget all of what I dreamed.
Illustrative background for Quoi - which, whatIllustrative background for Quoi - which, what ?? "content

Quoi - which, what

  • 'Quoi' is used instead of any preposition that isn't 'de'.
    • J'ai regardé la télé, après quoi j'ai fait mon devoir.
      • I watched the tv, after which I did my homework.
    • Son mari ferait n'importe quoi pour lui.
      • Her husband would do anything for her.
    • Ce avec quoi je suis d'accord.
      • What I agree with.

Jump to other topics

1Everyday Activities

2Personal & Social Life

3The World Around Us

4The World of Work

5The International World

6Common Tenses

7Advanced Tenses

8Extra Grammar

8.1Articles

8.2The Passive Voice

8.3Pronouns

8.4Asking Questions

8.5Nouns

8.6Prepositions

8.7Adverbs

8.8Adjectives

8.9Negative

8.10Conjunctions

8.11Miscellaneous

8.12Verbs

8.13Numbers

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