Que/quoi

Joakim R.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Que/quoi

This lesson tells us to use Que at the beginning, or Quoi at the end of a question. So what about the phrase "Quoi de neuf ?"
Asked 8 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer
Bonjour Joakim!

That's a great question, but I think I've got an explanation :)

When asking simply "What?" with no verb or clause afterwards, you will use the word "Quoi ?" rather than "Que ?" (or "Comment ?" which is considered a more elegant term). Anyway, so when you ask "Quoi de neuf ?", there is no clause, as you're literally asking "What new?", hence the use of "quoi" and not "que".

[You could use "que" if the question was "What is new?" = "Qu'est-ce qui est nouveau ?" or the rule would apply with "what [is there] new?" = "Qu'y a-t-il de nouveau ?" vs "Il y a quoi de nouveau ?".

I hope that's helpful!

Que/quoi

This lesson tells us to use Que at the beginning, or Quoi at the end of a question. So what about the phrase "Quoi de neuf ?"

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