Look at these sentences using qui:
Note that qui is used to express both singular and plural which/who, just like in English.
Knowing when to use qui and when to use que can be tricky for English speakers, as we often mistakenly think qui only means who, but it can be used to refer to inanimate objects as well as people.
How to use qui (instead of que) in French
There's an easy pattern to spot when deciding between qui and que to say who, that or which:
Use qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive /object pronoun (e.g. me, te, se, lui, le, la, nous, vous, leur, les, etc), and use que if the following word is a noun (thing or person).
Replacing objects and people with qui
Here are examples of sentences being changed so that people and objects are replaced with relative pronouns in both French and English:
I'm reading a book. A book is called "Pride and Prejudice" -> I'm reading a book which/that is called "Pride and Prejudice".
Marie knows Julien. Julien plays guitar. -> Marie knows Julien who plays guitar.
ATTENTION:
Qui never becomes qu' in front of a vowel or mute h: only the letter e can be omitted for pronunciation in this case!
See also the more advanced lessons:
À + qui, auquel, à laquelle = to whom, what, which (French Relative Pronouns)
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Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
(Jean-Jacques Rousseau)It's the imagination that extends for us the measure of what's possible, and feeds desires with the hope of satisfying them.
(Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant,
Dans les grands sapins verts, oh !Long live the winter wind,
that goes whistling, blowing,
through the big green pine trees, oh!
Qui siffle dans les branches...And all above the wind,
Which whistles in the branches...
Word missing in one of the test anwers
Hillary,
Having carried out some research and discussed with some members of the team, this is what I found -
" Both versions are grammatically correct and can be used in English, but they have slightly different meanings:
1. "This is the girl who plays guitar" - This implies that the girl generally plays guitar as an instrument or skill. It doesn't refer to a specific guitar.
2. "This is the girl who plays the guitar" - This version, with "the" before guitar, can imply either:
a) She plays a specific guitar that has been previously mentioned or is known in context.
b) She plays the guitar as an instrument in general (similar to the first version, but slightly more formal).
Both forms are commonly used and often interchangeable in casual conversation when referring to playing an instrument.
Anne, these are our guidelines for the English we use -
https://www.kwiziq.com/is-this-english-correct
I hope this helps!
I’d say that "plays guitar" is American English and "plays the guitar" is British English - the former construction is creeping into the UK media eg he plays piano, but it isn’t necessarily regarded as grammatical English here!
I’d be interested to know the general policy of the language experts on this site vis à vis usages from the UK/US/other Anglophone countries.
Word missing in one of the test anwers
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Why is this page all in English?
There seems to be a mistake on this page. Everything is in English!
Hi Myrna,
The page looks fine to me too.
Not sure if you are querying the grammar explained in English but this is the way it is conducted in Kwiziq.
Bonne Continuation !
Must be technical hitch somewhere - looks fine now. Best to contact help desk if persists in your connection.
Why is this page all in English?
There seems to be a mistake on this page. Everything is in English!
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"les" or "des"
Bonjour,
I have a tiny off-topic question relating the articles of the nouns before qui/que.
Must the articles always be "les" instead of "des" because the noun is defined by qui/que later on already. Is this the right way to understand it?
The examples in this lesson always use un/une and verb of preference like "adorer" (which we all know must go with definite articles).
So I'm just asking what if I want to say: "They are the girls who I saw yesterday". Should it be:
a) Elles sont les filles que j'ai vues hier
b) Elles sont des filles que j'ai vues hier
Merci.
Hi Thy,
The answer is neither as it should be -
If you said -
Hope I understood your question correctly, let me know if not.
Hello Cécile,
Yes you understand it correctly, thank you for your answer, it clears up my confusion.
Bonne journée.
"les" or "des"
Bonjour,
I have a tiny off-topic question relating the articles of the nouns before qui/que.
Must the articles always be "les" instead of "des" because the noun is defined by qui/que later on already. Is this the right way to understand it?
The examples in this lesson always use un/une and verb of preference like "adorer" (which we all know must go with definite articles).
So I'm just asking what if I want to say: "They are the girls who I saw yesterday". Should it be:
a) Elles sont les filles que j'ai vues hier
b) Elles sont des filles que j'ai vues hier
Merci.
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Pronom relatif simple ou composé
Bonjour Aurélie
I was doing an exercise that asked me to choose between pronom relatif simple or composé. I'm confused which one to use here.
La question........ j'aimerais une réponse est la suivante : où allons-nous ?
can I use que here?
You may want to read this exercise (scroll about halfway down):
Ce qui (vs ce que) = what/which (French Relative Pronouns)
Pronom relatif simple ou composé
Bonjour Aurélie
I was doing an exercise that asked me to choose between pronom relatif simple or composé. I'm confused which one to use here.
La question........ j'aimerais une réponse est la suivante : où allons-nous ?
can I use que here?
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question on grammar explanation
Hia - in the lessons notes, it says: "If subjects, verbs, and objects confuse you watch the cartoon video explaining them. They're easier than they sound."
Can you advise where the video is to watch? Maybe I am missing the obvious ;-)
Bonjour M.,
In this lesson, there is a set of 3 2 videos (at the end of the lesson - under "Examples and Resources"), one of which is titled "Subject, verbs and objects (direct and indirect) MADE EASY!". This is the one explaining them.
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
EDIT: This lesson included 3 videos originally. It only includes 2 videos after one of the videos was reported as being unavailable online.
Bonjour,
One of the video got removed a while after I first replied.
I have amended my reply.
Bonne journée !
Hello, I can't see the 3rd video you are talking about. Is it removed?
There are just 2 videos on this page! Please advise.
question on grammar explanation
Hia - in the lessons notes, it says: "If subjects, verbs, and objects confuse you watch the cartoon video explaining them. They're easier than they sound."
Can you advise where the video is to watch? Maybe I am missing the obvious ;-)
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qui and est cannot come together
qui+est = qu'est ??
Hi Ersan,
Copied directly from the lesson:-
"ATTENTION:
Qui never becomes qu' in front of a vowel or mute h: only the letter e can be omitted for pronunciation in this case!"
Jim
qui and est cannot come together
qui+est = qu'est ??
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Une famille de musiciens (Vocabulaire)
I came across this sentence in a recent test. I understand that 'qui' replaces the subject (grand-père ). What is the function of 'lui' ?
Bonjour Andrea,
As Alan pointed out 'lui' is a stress pronoun. It replaces 'mon grand-père'.
Here is a link to the Kwiziq lesson on this particular grammar point:
stressed-pronouns
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
Hi Andrea,
I see "lui" to be an indirect object pronoun.
The family of musicians met your grandfather who used to play the trumpet WITH it (A family (une)).
Hope this helps.
Jim
I thought it was a stress pronoun, used to emphasise the contrast/similarity with the grandmother who played violin. We could perhaps use "himself" in English.
"My grandmother, who used to play violin in an orchestra, met my grandfather who himself played trumpet, at a concert."
Une famille de musiciens (Vocabulaire)
I came across this sentence in a recent test. I understand that 'qui' replaces the subject (grand-père ). What is the function of 'lui' ?
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lui, le, la, leur - reflexive pronouns?
In this lesson you say "Use qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive pronoun (e.g. me, te, se, lui, le, la, nous, vous, leur, les, etc)", but isn't there a mistake here? Can lui, le, la, leur be reflexive pronouns?
Hi Guilherme,
Thank you for pointing this out and for your suggestion which is now added to the lesson paragraph.
Bonne Continuation!
Hi Guilherme,
Pronouns:-
lui / leur - indirect le / la / les - direct
me / te / se / nous / vous - reflexive and also (except se) direct or indirect as appropriate.
Hope this helps
Jim
Thanks. In that case, I suggest adding the word "objects" to the following line: "Use qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive/object pronoun (e.g. me, te, se, lui, le, la, nous, vous, leur, les, etc)."
Second paragraph of the section "How to know when to use qui (instead of que) in French"
lui, le, la, leur - reflexive pronouns?
In this lesson you say "Use qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive pronoun (e.g. me, te, se, lui, le, la, nous, vous, leur, les, etc)", but isn't there a mistake here? Can lui, le, la, leur be reflexive pronouns?
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Where do I find the cartoon video for qui vs que?
Hi Grant,
I am not sure which cartoon video you are talking about. I have checked all the videos on the lesson page and they all seem to play ok.
Bonne Continuation!
Where do I find the cartoon video for qui vs que?
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brûla pendant huit jours. = burned for eight days.
It is passé simple, a tense mostly used in literary French. Here is more on it:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-simple-past-le-passe-simple
brûla pendant huit jours. = burned for eight days.
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que or qui
how do you know where to use qui or que
Hi Elle,
You might find the following Kwiziq lessons relevant to your question -
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-qui-to-say-who-which-or-that-relative-pronouns
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-que-to-say-whom-which-or-that-relative-pronouns
Hope this helps!
There are several lessons on that topic. You might want to look them up in the library: https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision
que or qui
how do you know where to use qui or que
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Qui ou Lequel
There is a
IIl veut visiter le château qui est au milieu de la forêt.
Can we use lequel ?
Still confused with lequel.
Qui is the subject of a subordinate clause.
Lequel is the indirect object of a subordinate clause and is used in conjunction with a preposition.
Anne m'a montré le livre, qui te plaît tant. -- Anne showed me the book, that you like so much.
Anne m'a montré le livre dans lequel le héros s'appelle comme toi. -- Anne showed me the book, in which the hero has the same name as you.
A remark on the side: care must be taken with the preposition de, which sometimes needs the relative pronoun dont and sometimes duquel/de laquelle, but that's a different story...
Qui ou Lequel
There is a
IIl veut visiter le château qui est au milieu de la forêt.
Can we use lequel ?
Still confused with lequel.
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Doubt in relative pronouns
Bonjour Madame Cécile,
I am facing a difficulty in understanding a sentence which reads-
"Le déguisement qui vous va le mieux est celui de Catwoman."
Now, in this sentence the relative pronoun 'qui' has been used because it establishes a link between the noun (déguisement) and the verb (aller) . The problem I am facing is with "vous" but I think it is actually an object pronoun and not a subject pronoun as the verb "va" agrees with "le déguisement" and not "vous".
The two sentences would be - Le déguisement va le mieux à vous. Il est celui de Catwoman.
Hence "qui" is used.
But if the sentence had been as- " La robe que vous avez achetée est très excellente."
Here "que" is used because it is the object of the verb 'acheter'. It's not the robe which has bought but it's what the pronoun 'vous' has bought.
The two sentences could be as- Vous avez acheté une robe . La robe est très excellente.
Madame , Please verify if I am correct or is there some flaw ?
Merci d'avance.
Hi Varsha,
All correct, the only thing I will correct is the old enemy - c'est/il est
Le déguisement qui va le mieux à vous, c'est celui de Catwoman
Correct.
Merci beaucoup Madame Cécile
Bonne année à vous.
Doubt in relative pronouns
Bonjour Madame Cécile,
I am facing a difficulty in understanding a sentence which reads-
"Le déguisement qui vous va le mieux est celui de Catwoman."
Now, in this sentence the relative pronoun 'qui' has been used because it establishes a link between the noun (déguisement) and the verb (aller) . The problem I am facing is with "vous" but I think it is actually an object pronoun and not a subject pronoun as the verb "va" agrees with "le déguisement" and not "vous".
The two sentences would be - Le déguisement va le mieux à vous. Il est celui de Catwoman.
Hence "qui" is used.
But if the sentence had been as- " La robe que vous avez achetée est très excellente."
Here "que" is used because it is the object of the verb 'acheter'. It's not the robe which has bought but it's what the pronoun 'vous' has bought.
The two sentences could be as- Vous avez acheté une robe . La robe est très excellente.
Madame , Please verify if I am correct or is there some flaw ?
Merci d'avance.
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Aurélie, both que and qui can be used for which and that. And we qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive pronoun.
Hi Fiona,
You could have a subject pronoun or a name after 'que' as in the following examples :
C'est le château que Claudine a visité = That's the chateau which Claudine visited
Il veut revisiter le château que j'ai déjà vu plusieurs fois = He wants to revisit the chateau that I have seen several times already
Hope this helps
Aurélie, both que and qui can be used for which and that. And we qui when the following word is a verb or reflexive pronoun.
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I can’t work out when it is “ce qui/ce que” or “qui/que”… I.e. when does “Ce” go in front of qui/que? Thank you
Hi Steven, I'll give it a shot.
The pronoun "ce" is used whenever the following relative pronoun (qui or que) refers to an idea that is not specifically mentioned in the same sentence. For example:
Natalie a un livre qui parle de Napoléon. -- Natalie has a book which talk about Napoleon.
Dans ce livre, elle trouve ce qui l'intéresse. -- In that book she finds what interests her.
Elle y apprend ce que Napoléon a fait. -- She learns from it, what Napoleon did.
The first sentence uses "qui" as a relative pronoun which refers to "un livre".
The second sentence uses "ce qui", which refers to a general idea of what interests her. There is no clear target in the sentence to which a mere "qui" could refer. It is "ce qui" because that is the subject of the sentence.
The third sentence uses "ce que" because, again, it referes to a general idea, namely that which Napoleon did. Also, it is the direct object ot the sentence, hence "ce que" instead of "ce qui".
As a rough guideline you can use "ce qui/ce que" whenever you would use "what" in English. If you can use "which", itis "qui/que".
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
I can’t work out when it is “ce qui/ce que” or “qui/que”… I.e. when does “Ce” go in front of qui/que? Thank you
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Agreement with Qui as a relative pronoun
Hi Deanna,
As Chris says the verb will agree with the preceeding noun. e.g.
C'est vous qui êtes sur la liste des candidats?
C'est nous qui parlons ...
C'est moi qui suis malade...
Hope this helps!
Hi Deanna,
yes, the relative pronoun always replaces the noun it relates to. Hence, if "qui" refers to a plural noun, the verb in the subordinate clause needs to be in plural as well.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Agreement with Qui as a relative pronoun
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This is more of a comment than a question:
This is more of a comment than a question:
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Qui or Que before Tu?
Que. See Que = Whom/which/that (French Relative Pronouns)
use que when the word that follows is (or represents) a person or thing/s, such as Cécile, je, tu, il, etc. (as opposed to qui when the word that follows is a verb).Hi CrystalMaiden/Alan,
The words "que" or "qui" perform different functions: they can be either interrogative pronouns or relative pronouns. Depending on how they are used, they behave a bit differently.
First their interrogative function:
Qui se trouve dans la chambre? -- Who is in the room?
Que se trouve dans la chambre? -- What is in the room?
Qui sent la chocolate? -- Who smells like chocolate?
Que sent la chocolate? -- What smells like chocolate?
Here "qui" is for persons and "que" for inanimate objects. They always function as the subject of the sentence and behave in their roles very much like the English "who" and "what".
Then there is their functions as relative pronouns. And whether you use "que" or "qui" doesn't depend on whether it concerns a person or an object. Their use is determined by whether it represents the subject (nominative) or the direct object (accusative) of the subordinate clause.
C'est le pull qui me va bien. -- It is the sweater which suits me.
C'est Sabine, qui m'aime. -- It is Sabine who loves me
In both cases you use "qui" because in both instances it functions as the subject in the subordinate clauses.
C'est Sabine, que j'aime. -- It is Sabine whom I love.
Le pull, que tu as acheté, me plaît. -- I like the sweather, which you bought.
Here you use "que" for Sabine as well as the sweater because "que" represents the direct object in the subordinate clause. The correspondingt subjects are "je" and "tu", respectively. Hence the rule: if you can find a subject in the subordinate clause then you will need "que" (as there can't be multiple independent subjects in a clause).
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Hi Chris,
Yes I know, but using "que" rather than "qui" before a noun or non-reflexive pronoun is a quick tip given on the website. The point is that the noun/pronoun that follows must be the subject of a verb, and so the thing referred to by "que" will presumably be the object and so needs "que" rather than "qui". There is a similar quick tip for "qui" which I think CrystalMaiden was referring to.
Qui or Que before Tu?
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lequel
Is there a question you would like tomask?
-- Chris.
lequel
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It would be helpful if the lesson contrasted qui and ce qui. Thank you, K
It would be helpful if the lesson contrasted qui and ce qui. Thank you, K
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Extra Words - Unnecessary?
Yes, of course, your sentence "Tu as reçu une lettre de ta cousine." is absolutely correct, and less wordy I agree!
Here we wanted to demonstrate the use of "qui", hence the "wordy" sentence ;)
A bientôt !
Extra Words - Unnecessary?
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I'd like to know why we use qui in the following sentence?
Bonjour Mark,
Here is a slightly different case, which is the use of whom/which when preceded by a preposition: "avec qui".
Please have a look at the matching lesson, and let us know if you have questions:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/prepositions-qui-lequel-laquelle-on-what-behind-whom-beside-which-etc-relative-pronouns
À bientôt !
Beacuse it is introduced by a preposition - avec
I'd like to know why we use qui in the following sentence?
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HI,when we should use "ce qui" and when "qui" ?
Take a look at these lessons:
Qui:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-qui-to-say-who-which-or-that-relative-pronouns
Ce qui:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/ce-qui-what-which-relative-pronouns
HI,when we should use "ce qui" and when "qui" ?
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