8.2.6
Relative Pronouns
Qui, Que, Dont
Qui, Que, Dont
'Qui', 'que' and 'dont' are used to refer to both people and things.


Qui - who, which, that
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.
- Ma sœur, qui a vingt- trois ans, habite à l'étranger.
- '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.
- Elle parle avec qui?


Que - who, whom, which, that
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.
- Le bus que j'ai pris.


Dont - of which, about which, whose
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.
- Parler de → L'homme dont nous avons parlé.
- 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.
- Elle est propriétaire de cinq maisons dont une est à l'étranger.
- 'Dont' replaces 'de' when it talks about possession.
- C'est un auteur dont j'admire l'œuvre.
- The author whose work I admire.
- C'est un auteur dont j'admire l'œuvre.
Ce qui, Ce que, Ce dont, Quoi
Ce qui, Ce que, Ce dont, Quoi
These are called indefinite relative pronouns. They are used in relative clauses.


Ce qui - what, which
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.
- Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est la nourriture.


Ce que, qu' - what
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.
- Pour faire valoir ce que de droit.


Ce dont - which, what
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.
- Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est un stylo.


Quoi - which, what
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.
- J'ai regardé la télé, après quoi j'ai fait mon devoir.
1Home & Abroad
1.1Town & Rural Life
1.2Holiday, Tourism & Directions
1.4Everyday Life & Traditions
2Education & Employment
2.1School Life & Routine
2.2School Trips, Events & Exchanges
3Personal Life & Relationships
3.1House & Home
3.2Daily Routine & Helping at Home
4The World Around Us
4.1Global Issues
4.2Weather
4.3Travel & Transport
4.5Information & Tech
5Social Activities, Fitness & Health
5.1Special Occasions
5.2Hobbies & Interests
5.3Numbers
5.4Shopping & Money
5.5Illness & Health
5.6Food & Drink
6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs
6.1.2Regular IR Verbs
6.1.3Regular RE Verbs
6.1.4Reflexive Verbs
6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)
6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)
6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)
6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)
6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)
6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)
6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)
6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)
6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)
6.1.14Irregular Present Participles
6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
Jump to other topics
1Home & Abroad
1.1Town & Rural Life
1.2Holiday, Tourism & Directions
1.4Everyday Life & Traditions
2Education & Employment
2.1School Life & Routine
2.2School Trips, Events & Exchanges
3Personal Life & Relationships
3.1House & Home
3.2Daily Routine & Helping at Home
4The World Around Us
4.1Global Issues
4.2Weather
4.3Travel & Transport
4.5Information & Tech
5Social Activities, Fitness & Health
5.1Special Occasions
5.2Hobbies & Interests
5.3Numbers
5.4Shopping & Money
5.5Illness & Health
5.6Food & Drink
6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs
6.1.2Regular IR Verbs
6.1.3Regular RE Verbs
6.1.4Reflexive Verbs
6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)
6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)
6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)
6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)
6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)
6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)
6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)
6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)
6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)
6.1.14Irregular Present Participles
6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
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