Relative Pronouns
French: Cambridge International GCSE, topic 8.3.12
Qui, Que, Dont
'Qui', 'que' and 'dont' are used to refer to both people and things.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Test yourself on Relative Pronouns
Which of these are NOT the meaning of 'dont'?
'Le film, ____ j'ai vu hier, était amusant': what is the correct missing pronoun?
Which is the correct version of this sentence?
Which is the correct version of this sentence?