Ce qui se passe vs Qu'est ce qui se passe

Question

Can someone please help me figure out why the correct answer to "Savez vous . . . s'est passé" is "ce qui" and not "qu'est ce qui se passé"? I thought the latter meant "what happened?" Thanks!

Accepted Answer

Hi Kalpana,
Both translate as:
what happened 
but you will use them differently.

Qu'est ce qui s'est passé ? = What happened?  Question in direct speech 
Savez-vous ce qui s'est passé ?= Do you know what happened? question in indirect speech

Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Kalpana,I assume you are querying "Savez-vous" rather than as you have written, "savez vous".If I am correct in my assumption then the question is already set with "savez-vous" and would not require the further following question structure "qu'est ce qui ....."Therefore"savez-vous ce qui s'est passé ?"   --> "Do you know what has happened ?" Would be a correct structure as it stands.It is the difference between "Do you know .....? " and "What has happened?"Bonne journéeJim

Answer

is this sentence in english correct? What is essential is this! -> This sentence seems so wrong in english, is there a comma missing before “is this!”

Answer

is this sentence in english correct? What is essential is this! -> This sentence seems so wrong in english, is there a comma missing before “is this!”