French Language > Pronouns

Relative Pronouns
Who, Which, That, and Beyond

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I. The Forms

I divide them into three categories.

A. Basic Forms: Qui, Que, Lequel

1. Qui = “Who, Which, That” as Subject of its Clause

Qui can have either a person or a thing as its antecedent. On the other hand, qui can function only as subject of its own clause (= of its own verb).

• Je ne connais pas l’homme qui a marché sur votre pied. (I do not know the human bean who stepped on your foot.)
  Commentary: Qui is subject of a marché. Its antecedent is a person.
• C’est une nouvelle qui me choque profondément. (This is a piece of news that shocks me deeply.)
  Commentary: Qui is subject of choque. Its antecedent is a thing.

2. Que = “Who, Which, That” as Direct Object of its Clause

Like qui, que can have either a person or a thing as its antecedent. However, it can function only as direct object of its own clause (= of its own verb).

• Je ne connais pas l’homme que vous cherchez. (I do not know the human bean (that) you are looking for.)
  Commentary: Que is direct object of cherchez. Its antecedent is a person.
• C’est un roman que tout le monde lit avec plaisir. (It is a novel that everyone reads with pleasure.)
  Commentary: Que is direct object of lit. Its antecedent is a thing.

3. Qui / Lequel (Laquelle, Lesquels, Lesquels) = [Preposition +] “Who, Which”

When the relative pronoun is object of a preposition (other than de, in which case dont is the relative form of choice), a bifurcation of forms occurs, depending on the nature of the antecedent.

1. Georges est quelqu’un pour qui j’ai beaucoup d’estime. (Georges is someone for whom I have much esteem.)
2. La raison pour laquelle je suis venu ne vous est pas inconnue. (The reason for which ¹ I have come is not unknown to you.)

The so-called variable pronoun lequel (“variable” means it changes its form according to number and gender) will contract when possible with à and de:

When the preposition involved is de, although de qui for a person and duquel, etc., for a person or a thing are possible, dont is the default form for both.

B. The Relative Adverbs: dont, où

The “relative adverbs” replace an antecedent and a preposition preceding it. Only the second of the two, où, has corresponding relative pronoun forms in English (“where/when”).

1. Dont

The noun part of the antecedent can be either a person or a thing.

A person:

• Roxanne est la personne dont je vous parlais. (Roxane is the person / about whom I was speaking to you / I was speaking to you about.)
• Faulkner, un écrivain américain dont nous avons étudié les romans, a passé quelque temps à Hollywood. (Faulkner, an American writer whose novels we have studied, spent some time in Hollywood.)
• Faulkner, un écrivain américain dont les romans ont beaucoup influencé certains romanciers français, est l’auteur du célèbre le Bruit et la fureur (1929). (Faulkner, an American writer whose novels greatly influenced certain French novelists, is the author of the famous The Sound and the Fury.)

In place of dont referring to a person, de qui and duquel (de laquelle, etc.) can be used, but in general dont is preferred because it is short and simple.

A thing:

• L’affaire dont je m’occupe actuellement est très intéressante. (The case with which I am currently occupied is very interesting.)
• Le roman dont vous m’avez donné un exemplaire ne m’a pas du tout plu. (The novel of which you gave me a copy did not please me at all.)

In place of dont referring to a thing, duquel (de laquelle, etc.) can be used, but dont is preferred because it is shorter.

2. Où

The interrogative adverb où means only: “where.”

• « Où allez-vous? Vous allez être indiscrètes. » (“Where are you going? You are going to be indiscreet.”)

The relative adverb où can mean either “where” or “when,” depending on the antecedent. (In this varying functionality, the French où behaves exactly like its Latin ancestor ubi.)

a. Où = “When”

• Le jour où je vis Roxanne pour la première fois… (The day on which I saw Roxanne for the first time…)

b. Où = “Where”

• L’endroit où je vis Roxanne pour la première fois… (The place where I saw Roxanne for the first time…)
• L’hôtel où / dans lequel nous sommes descendus… (The hotel where we ended up…)

C. The Indefinite Relative Forms: ce qui, ce que, ce dont, ce…

The forms ce qui, ce que, etc., correspond to English “what,” when “what” can be replaced by “that which.” Study the examples below for ce qui, which give the three typical situations in which this form appears, and note the English equivalents.

1. “What” as Subject: Ce qui

1. Ce qui me choque, c’est l’idée que je vous trahirais. (What [= That which] shocks me is the idea that I would betray you.)
2. Je ne comprends pas ce qui vous inquiète. (I don’t understand what [= that which] is worrying you.)
3. Il a dit que je ne l’aimais pas, ce qui est vrai. (He said that I didn’t love him, which is true.)

2. “What” as Direct Object: Ce que

• Ce que je ne peux pas accepter, c’est son engouement pour les sports sanglants. (What [= That which] I can’t accept is hizzer fascination with blood sports.)
• Je ne comprends pas ce que vous voulez dire. (I can’t understand what [= that which] you mean.)

Indefinite relative forms also exist involving prepositions: ce dont, ce pour quoi, ce en quoi, ce avec quoi…

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II. English Ellipticality Versus French Explicitness

In English we allow ellipsis (= omission) of the relative pronoun when it is serving as direct object or object of a preposition:

• Direct object:
  • “The woman you saw is named Gracie.”
  • “The book he mentioned is not yet available.”
• Object of a preposition:
  • “The woman he is going out with is named Gracie.”
  • “The book he referred to is not yet available.”

French does not allow such essential words to be skipped.

• La femme que tu a vue s’appelle Gracie.
• Le livre qu‘il a mentionné n’est pas encore disponible.
• La femme avec qui il sort s’appelle Gracie.
• Le livre auquel il a fait allusion n’est pas encore disponible.

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III. The Table

For your viewing pleasure and increased learning convenience, here are all the forms in a table.

function ↓; antecedent →	Person	Thing	Indefinite
Subject	qui	qui	ce qui
Direct object	que	que	ce que
Object of a preposition	qui (lequel)	lequel	ce [prep] quoi
Object of the preposition de	dont (de qui, duquel)	dont (duquel)	ce dont

1. Or, as we might say in English: “the reason why.” Modern French does not allow the formulation la raison pourquoi.[↩]

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