French Relative Pronouns Explained: qui, que, où and dont

French relative pronouns connect clauses: use qui for a subject, que for a direct object, où for a place or time, and dont when the linked expression requires de.

What does intermediate French look like?

Relative pronouns help you join two ideas without repeating a noun. The noun they refer back to is called the antecedent.

For example, instead of saying J’ai un ami. Cet ami habite à Paris (I have a friend. This friend lives in Paris), you can say J’ai un ami qui habite à Paris (I have a friend who lives in Paris).

To choose the pronoun, look at the second idea: is the repeated noun doing the action, receiving it, naming a place or time, or linked by de?

What is intermediate French?

A useful next step is distinguishing qui from que. Both can refer to people or things; their role in the relative clause determines the choice.

• Qui is the subject of the verb: La femme qui parle est ma professeure (The woman who is speaking is my teacher). The woman is doing the speaking.
• Que is the direct object: La femme que je vois est ma professeure (The woman whom I see is my teacher). I am doing the seeing; the woman receives the action.

Que becomes qu’ before a vowel or a silent h: Le livre qu’elle lit means “The book she is reading.” Qui does not shorten this way: L’ami qui arrive means “The friend who is arriving.”

For help recognizing the verb forms in these examples, see French verb conjugation.

What does intermediate French mean?

Où links a noun to a place or time: La ville où j’habite means “The city where I live,” and Le jour où nous sommes partis means “The day we left.” Keep the accent to distinguish où from ou, meaning “or.”

Use dont when the idea you are linking requires de. For example, Je parle de ce livre means “I’m talking about this book.” Combined, Le livre dont je parle means “The book I’m talking about.”

Dont can also express possession: Le livre dont la couverture est rouge means “The book whose cover is red.” Check the expression itself rather than translating “of” word for word; for instance, avoir besoin de takes dont: Le livre dont j’ai besoin means “The book I need.”

Not every preposition calls for one of these four words. For example, l’ami avec qui je parle means “the friend I’m speaking with”: avec stays before qui.

Is French 2 hard?

These pronouns become easier when you reconstruct the second sentence before choosing. Try filling each blank, then check the answers below.

1. C’est le film ___ commence à huit heures. (The film starts at eight.)
2. C’est le film ___ nous regardons. (We are watching the film.)
3. Voici le café ___ nous nous retrouvons. (We meet at the café.)
4. Voici le film ___ elle parle. (She is talking about the film.)

Answers: 1. qui, because the film starts; 2. que, because we watch the film; 3. où, because the café is the place; 4. dont, because the expression is parler de.

Verb tense can change without changing the pronoun’s basic role. For a review of past, present and future forms, see French tenses.

What does French 2 cover?

French 2 can bring relative pronouns together with vocabulary and verb tenses so students can connect ideas in longer descriptions and narratives. Course content varies, so check the syllabus if you need a particular topic.

UPI Study’s French 2 course includes relative pronouns alongside past-tense narration and other grammar. The course details are summarized below.

Which colleges list French 2 on an equivalency chart?

These colleges show French 2 (French 102) on their equivalency charts with UPI Study. Open a college for its full chart.

See the rest of the equivalency on the French 2 course page, or open a college above for its full chart. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Frequently Asked Questions about French Grammar

Final Thoughts on French Grammar

Write four sentences about a familiar person, object, place or event—one each with qui, que, où and dont. Then reconstruct the separate clauses to check the role of each pronoun.