These examples show how ce que is used:
How to know when to use ce que instead of ce qui in French
When to use ce qui or ce que versus qui or que ?
If it refers to a noun (expressed before), then you will use que/qui.
If it refers to the whole part of the sentence, the whole idea, then it will be ce que/ce qui.
Mes plantes, que j'arrose tous les jours, sont très belles.
My plants, which I water every day, are very beautiful.
Here que refers to plants.
Here ce que refers to the whole fact that I love bananas, not just to the bananas.
ATTENTION: Case of quoi
Quoi will be used when what is followed by an infinitive = "what to do, what to think...":
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Tu ne comprends pas ce que je t'explique.
You don't understand what I'm explaining to you.
Il croit ce que la télé lui raconte.
He believes what the TV tells him.
Lise pense à ce qu'il lui a dit.
Lise thinks about what he told her.
Tu ne devineras jamais ce que Paul a fait!
You will never guess what Paul did!
Je fais ce que je veux.
I do what I want.
J'aime les bananes, ce que tu trouves fascinant.
I love bananas, which you find fascinating.

Q&A

Lisa
Kwiziq community member
10/06/17
Chris
Kwiziq community member
13/06/17
-- Chris.

Lisa
Kwiziq community member
13/06/17

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
18/04/17
Do you mean when to use "quE" vs "quI", or "CE que/CE qui" vs "QUE/QUI" ?
Cordially

Stephen
Kwiziq community member
18/04/17
Kwiziq community member
19/04/17
Both "ce que/ce qui" and "que/qui" are pronouns, which means they repeat something previously stated.
"The table *that* I bought." -> here *that* repeats "table"
The difference between "ce que" and "que" is what they're referring to.
As we explained in the related lesson, "que"(which/that) replaces a noun, whereas "ce que"(what/which) replaces a whole clause (i.e. containing a verb):
"*I eat a lot of bread*, which makes me bloated."
-> Here it's the whole statement which is repeated in "which" (It's the fact that I eat too much bread that makes me bloated) = ce qui
Je mange beaucoup de pain, ce qui me ballone.
"I love *the dog* that you got for me."
-> Here it's only "the dog" which is repeated in "that" (you got me the dog) = que
J'adore le chien que tu m'as offert.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/04/17
Both "ce que/ce qui" and "que/qui" are pronouns, which means they repeat something previously stated.
"The table *that* I bought." -> here *that* repeats "table"
The difference between "ce que" and "que" is what they're referring to.
As we explained in the related lesson, "que"(which/that) replaces a noun, whereas "ce que"(what/which) replaces a whole clause (i.e. containing a verb):
"*I eat a lot of bread*, which makes me bloated."
-> Here it's the whole statement which is repeated in "which" (It's the fact that I eat too much bread that makes me bloated) = ce qui
Je mange beaucoup de pain, ce qui me ballone.
"I love *the dog* that you got for me."
-> Here it's only "the dog" which is repeated in "that" (you got me the dog) = que
J'adore le chien que tu m'as offert.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Stephen
Kwiziq community member
19/04/17

Stephen
Kwiziq community member
19/04/17

Stephen
Kwiziq community member
19/04/17

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/04/17

Stephen
Kwiziq community member
19/04/17

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
11/04/17
I had a look at the lesson, and actually the question you're referring to was "Which is *not* correct?", the answer being indeed "Vous pouvez prendre tout *ce qu'*est sur la table." as "ce qui" would be the correct option here.
As for the case of "tout ce que/tout ce qui", this is actually the object of a different lesson in the system, so thanks to you, I've now moved this question accordingly.
Note that "tout" used on its own (not like "le tout") is always a pronoun followed by "ce".
Have a look at our lesson on "tout ce que/tout ce qui":
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/tout-ce-qui-tout-ce-que-all-everything-that
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Don
Kwiziq community member
11/04/17

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
28/01/16
That's a very interesting question indeed!
Let's point out first that we're talking about the relative pronouns here, which are used to introduce a new information in a sentence (as opposed to question words like "what?").
Once you know this, the separation is quite simple: "qui/que" can mean "who/which/that ..." whereas "ce qui/ce que" mean "what ...".
e.g. La fille que je regarde. (The girl whom[m]/that I'm watching.)
e.g. Je fais ce que je veux. (I do what I want.)
I hope that's helpful!

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
28/01/16
If it refers to a noun (expressed before), then you will use "que/qui".
If it refers to the whole part of the sentence, the whole idea, then it will be "ce que/ce qui".
e.g. Les gens que je rencontre ... (The people which I meet...)
Here "que" refers to "people"
e.g. J'aime les bananes, ce que tu trouves fascinant. (I love bananas, which you find fascinating.)
Here "ce que" refers to the whole fact that I love bananas, not just to the bananas
:)
Helena
Kwiziq community member
29/01/16

Ron
Kwiziq community member
10/04/17
Here "ce que" refers to the whole fact that I love bananas, not just to the bananas. . .
While I understand the explanation given, using the rule of thumb about following a noun, "If it refers to a noun (expressed before), then you will use "que/qui"." then que could also be correct, i.e. he finds bananas fascinating -- of course in reality that would be interesting that someone found bananas fascinating, like he/she had never seen a banana.
I do believe the better example is: "Je fais ce que je veux. (I do what I want.)"
tinoe
Kwiziq community member
15 November 2017
1 reply
the order of pronouns
e.g me te se nous vous etc
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
16 November 2017
16/11/17
Please take a look at our lesson: https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/double-object-pronouns-using-direct-and-indirect-object-pronouns-together