In French, to express "whose", you use the relative pronoun "dont".
How to use "dont" in French
Look at these sentences using the pronoun dont:
Note that the construction with dont is similar to the one with whose in English.
Although whose tends to be less used with inanimate objects in English, dont is actually the idiomatic way to express this in French.
Although whose tends to be less used with inanimate objects in English, dont is actually the idiomatic way to express this in French.
In French, dont replaces the possessive expression possession + de:
La sœur de Marc -> Marc, dont la sœur est journaliste, ...
Marc's sister -> Marc, whose sister is a journalist, ....
Unlike in English, you can find cases when dont and the possession are separated by a verb, for example:
When the owner is a person, you can alternatively use de qui as well as dont: however de qui is much less common and doesn't sound nearly as good in French.
ATTENTION:
In the context of possession (whose), you won't use duquel, de laquelle, desquels nor desquelles.
See also De qui/dont/duquel = of/about whom, of/about which - with prepositional verbs with "de" (French Relative Pronouns), Duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles with prepositional phrases with "de" (French Relative Pronouns) and Dont = Including/[quantity] of which (French Relative Pronouns)
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Braimap today »
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
J'ai rencontré cet acteur dont le nom me dit quelque chose...I met this actor whose name rings a bell ...
Les enfants, dont je connais la maman, sont bien élevés.The children, whose mum I know, are well behaved.
Les enfants, de qui je connais la maman, sont bien élevés.The children, whose mum I know, are well behaved.
Tu as jeté la chaussure dont le talon est cassé.You threw away the shoe with the broken heel [lit. whose heel is broken].
