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Que and Qui

Moderators: MoniqueMaRie, dakanga

paulbottle

Que and Qui

Post by paulbottle »

I am sure there will have been much discussion on this subject but I an old codger and can't find it. Sometimes it is ...que....qui and some times vice versa without any pattern I can see. Can someone point me in the direction of some help. Thanks in advance.

EDITED
Hi[mention]paulbottle[/mention]!
Apparently you want to post a question about the French language. I moved it from the Requests subforum. This is for asking about new features in Duome, not for questions about a specific language.

And welcome to the forum, btw!
eI000yo

Last edited by eI000yo on Wed May 04, 2022 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Posted in wrong subforum
User avatar
Dodoa
Austria

Re: Que and Qui

Post by Dodoa »

Do you mean in questions? As in: Qui est-ce que le cheval aime ? or Qu'est-ce qui est noir ? etc.?

In this case the first Que/Qui is the question word and depends on whether you're asking about a Person/Who (Qui) or a Thing/What (Que). The second que/qui depends on wheter you're asking about the subject of the sentence (qui) or the object (que). An easy rule of thumb to decide what you're asking about is to see wheter what follows the que/qui is a verb. If it's a verb you're asking after the subject and use qui, if it's not you're asking after the object and use que.

In case you weren't asking about questions, the same rule also works for relative clauses that use que/qui.
Je vois l'homme qui porte un chapeau.
vs.
Je vois le chapeau que l'homme porte.

I'm not a native speaker though, so this is just what my grammar book tells me.

Native: 🇩🇪 C1: 🇺🇸 A1: 🇫🇷 󠁬

paulbottle

Re: Que and Qui

Post by paulbottle »

Thanks, Paul.

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

What a fun question Paul !

Que and qui can

1. connect two clauses or phases

How do you know if you should use qui or que?
A helpful tip is that qui is followed by a verb² , while que isn't!

exception : if it is a reflex pronoun i.e. : me, te, se, nous, vous
you treat the following as a verb phrase. You use qui.

While if it is direct pronoun i.e. : je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles,
It does count and you use que.

²Verb is an action, state or occurrence.

Grammatically these are called relative pronouns, being words that connect two clauses or phases.

i.e. from the Duolingo skill of :

Opinion

Je pense que tu as raison !

In English, we can say I think this movie is good. In French, after je pense, you usually need to add que!

Je pense que ce film est intéressant.
I think (that) this movie is interesting.
Nous pensons que ce groupe est génial.
We think (that) this band is great.
Ils pensent que ce film est meilleur !
They think (that) this movie is better!

note: the following noun after que.

Arts

J'aime la chouette qui parle le français

Often, we use qui to ask a question, but it can be part of a statement too! Use it after a noun to add more information about it.

J'ai une sœur qui habite en France.
I have a sister who lives in France.
Je prends le livre qui est sur la table.
I'm taking the book that is on the table.
Je vois un homme qui s'assoit seul.
I see a man who is sitting alone.

note the following verb after qui.


  • J'ai mangé un croissant qui était délicieux.
    I ate a croissant that was delicious.
    (verb était after qui)

  • Le croissant que j’ai mangé était délicieux!
    The croissant that I ate was delicious!
    (pronoun j' after que)

  • Le croissant que Sam a fait était délicieux !
    The croissant that Sam made was delicious!

  • Le croissant qu'Alex a fait était délicieux !
    The croissant that Alex made was delicious!

2. used to ask a question

When used to ask a question :
qui ? means “who?” - for people
and
que ? means “what?”. - for everything else

  • Qui parle ?
    Who is speaking?
  • Qui es-tu ?
    Who are you?
  • Que fait-il ?
    What is he making?

Grammatically known as an interrogative pronoun

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

Interrogative Pronouns

The most common interrogative pronouns are qui (for people) and que (for everything else). However, the construction changes based on a number of factors. Qui is the only pronoun that can start a question by itself, but both qui and que can be used with inversion.

  • Qui parle ? — Who is speaking?
  • Qui es-tu ? — Who are you?
  • Que fait-il ? — What is he making?

After prepositions and at the end of informal questions, que becomes quoi.

  • À quoi pensez-vous ? — What are you thinking about?
  • Vous faites quoi ? — What are you doing?

Qui and que can be very confusing because they can also be relative pronouns. Que can also be a subordinating conjunction. You will learn these uses later.

The Relative Pronouns Que and Qui

As mentioned in “Interrogative Pronouns”, qui and que can be very confusing because they can be interrogative or relative pronouns.

In a nutshell:

  • As interrogative pronouns, qui ? means “who?” and que ? means “what?”.
  • As relative pronouns, qui is a subject (people or things) and que is a direct object (people or things) of the following verb.

Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which are subordinate clauses that elaborate upon a previously mentioned noun or pronoun (the antecedent). Use que when the relative pronoun is the object ("whom", “which” or “that” in English) and use qui when it's the subject ("who", “which” or “that” in English).

  • C'est l'homme que je connais. — He's the man whom (or "that") I know.
  • Je connais les livres que vous lisez. — I know the books that you are reading.
  • Ce sont les oiseaux que je préfère. — These are the birds which I prefer.
  • La fille qui lit un menu. — The girl who (or "that") reads a menu.
  • Le chapeau qui est ici semble doux. — The hat which (or “that”) is here looks soft.
  • Je regarde les gens qui dansent. — I’m looking at people dancing (lit. “the people who are dancing”).

If you have trouble figuring out whether to use qui or que, try rephrasing the sentence without the relative pronoun. Use qui if the antecedent is the subject; otherwise, use que. You can also remember that as a relative pronoun, qui is followed by a verb, whereas que is followed by a noun or pronoun.

  • Subject: La fille qui lit un menu. ⇒ La fille lit un menu.
  • Object: C'est l'homme que je connais. ⇒ Je connais l'homme.

In questions, after qui est-ce (lit. “who is it”) or qu’est-ce (lit. “what is it”), the relative pronouns qui and *que” can be used to introduce a relative clause.

  • Qu'est-ce que c'est ? — What is it? (question with être; lit. “what is it that it is?”)
  • Qui est-ce que tu appelles ? — Whom are you calling? (que is the object of appelles; lit. “who is it that you are calling?”)
  • Qui est-ce qui parle ? — Who's speaking? (qui is the subject of parle; lit. “who is it that is speaking?”)
  • Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? — What is going on? (qui is the subject of se passe; lit “what is it that is going on?”)

Demonstrative Pronoun + Relative Pronoun

A relative pronoun and dependent clause can follow the demonstrative pronoun. For instance, you can use que when the relative pronoun is the direct object and use qui when it's the subject.

  • Celui qui est dans ma poche. — The one that is in my pocket.
  • Ceux que je connais. — The ones that I know. / The ones whom I know.

Demonstrative Pronoun + Preposition

The preposition de can appear after the demonstrative pronoun to indicate possession.

  • À qui est cette balle ? – Whose ball is this?
  • C'est celle du chien. — It's the dog's. (Literally: "It is the one of the dog.")

Impersonal Questions

An infinitive can also be used to pose a question. These sentences may not translate literally to English.
...

  • Qui croire ? — Whom should I believe?

Verbs: Subjunctive Present · Rules & Trends, Conjugations

...

...

  • Some relative clauses can be found in subjunctive, when the main clause has such expressions as le seul qui/que, le premier qui/que, le dernier qui/que, or a superlative (le/la/les plus + adjective).

Subjunctive Past · Refresher, Conjugation, Sequence of Events

...

  • Some relative clauses can be found in subjunctive, when the main clause has such expressions as le seul qui/que, le premier qui/que, le dernier qui/que.

  • subordinating conjunction

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

In Duolingo, they explain this in skills of :

Opinion

Je pense que tu as raison !

In English, we can say I think this movie is good. In French, after je pense, you usually need to add que!

Je pense que ce film est intéressant.
I think (that) this movie is interesting.
Nous pensons que ce groupe est génial.
We think (that) this band is great.
Ils pensent que ce film est meilleur !
They think (that) this movie is better!

Arts

J'aime la chouette qui parle le français

Often, we use qui to ask a question, but it can be part of a statement too! Use it after a noun to add more information about it.

J'ai une sœur qui habite en France.
I have a sister who lives in France.
Je prends le livre qui est sur la table.
I'm taking the book that is on the table.
Je vois un homme qui s'assoit seul.
I see a man who is sitting alone.

Junk

Le film que je regarde est intéressant

We've already seen phrases like un acteur qui chante. Similarly, we can also use que in a sentence to say that.

Le sac que tu portes est lourd.
​The bag that you're carrying is heavy.​

How do you know if you should use qui or que? A helpful tip is that qui is followed by a verb, while que isn't!

Sports 2

C'est moi qui ai gagné !

Sometimes you want to emphasize the person doing an action! To do this, you can use c'est... qui
.

  • C'est elle qui joue au basket.
    She is the one who plays basketball.
  • C'est toi qui as attrapé le ballon ?
    Are you the one who caught the ball?

Notice that even if there are several people involved, you still use c'est!

  • C'est nous qui chantons.​
    We are the ones who are singing

Pronouns

Let's talk about Relative Pronouns!

Use (where)
in phrases like I know where they are or the day when they arrived.

  • Je sais où il habite
    I know where he lives
  • C'est l'année où tu t'es cassé la jambe
    This is the year you broke your leg

In English, we say the person who helps me and the person who (or whom) I help, but in French there are two words for who.

  • la personne qui m’aide
    the person who helps me
  • la personne que j’aide
    the person I help

It's the same with ce qui and ce que!

  • Je sais ce qui est important.
    I know what is important.
  • J’ai lu ce que tu as écrit.
    I read what you wrote.
User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

Suggestion

Are there other resources you have found useful ?

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

More from the Duolingo course

User avatar
EranBarLev
Israel

Re: Que and Qui

Post by EranBarLev »

dakanga wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 1:02 am
Je vois un homme qui s'assoit seul.
I see a man who is sitting alone.

note the following verb after qui.

Actually there's a pronoun s' after qui. Other pronouns can also come after "qui", for example:

Je vois un homme qui me regarde.

So this verb rule is problematic. It's better to stick with subject vs. object.

🇮🇱N 🇬🇧C1 🇪🇸B2 🇵🇹B1 🇫🇷B1 🇸🇦A1 🇷🇺A1

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

You are correct, that s' is a pronoun. However it is a special type of pronoun. A reflexive pronoun. : me, te, se, nous, vous, and se

And the rule for qui/que appears to not be affected by the reflexive pronoun. So the simpler to understand rule here I consider still stands

While for the direct pronouns of : je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles - they are accounted for.

So while you are correct that s' is a pronoun, as it is a reflexive pronoun for the rules for qui / que - it does not take affect.

edited: also this is how Duolingo teaches it, though that does not make it correct ;P :

How do you know if you should use qui or que?
A helpful tip is that qui is followed by a verb² , while que isn't!

So thank you for pointing this out.

And I can support your idea to stick with subject vs object instead - however for many of us that is very hard to understand.

I consider it is okay that people find different rules that are easier for them to understand and use. It is okay if we explain things in different ways.

Would you like to explain about subject vs object my friend ?
I have read and listened to some resources - and for all of them - they just scramble my head and I can reliably apply them to assist in determining which to use.

Perhaps you may be better at explaining it, or recommend some resources you find useful.
For there will we others that will find the explanation of subject vs object better for their learning.


edited - I will also clearly add this exception to the top explanation. Again, thanks for pointing this out. Your review and input is greatly appreciated by MANY !! Including me.

User avatar
EranBarLev
Israel

Re: Que and Qui

Post by EranBarLev »

dakanga wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 7:36 am

You are correct, that s' is a pronoun. However it is a special type of pronoun. A reflexive pronoun. : me, te, se, nous, vous, and se

In the additional example I gave it's not reflexive but an object pronoun:

Je vois un homme qui me regarde.

You could argue that object pronouns, including reflexive, should be preceded buy "qui", while subject pronouns should be preceded by "que", but then again it comes up to subject vs. object.

dakanga wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 7:36 am

Would you like to explain about subject vs object my friend ?
I have read and listened to some resources - and for all of them - they just scramble my head and I can reliably apply them to assist in determining which to use.

If the relative pronoun refers to the subject of the clause - use "qui".
If the relative pronoun refers to the object of the clause - use "que".
In my example above, "qui" refers to "un homme", which is the subject of the clause: "Un homme me regarde." Therefore you should use "qui".
I hope your head is still well! :D

🇮🇱N 🇬🇧C1 🇪🇸B2 🇵🇹B1 🇫🇷B1 🇸🇦A1 🇷🇺A1

User avatar
dakanga

Re: Que and Qui

Post by dakanga »

Oh my friend !

Hopefully perhaps my head will be a bit better tomorrow.
Sorry at times I am spiky.

Thanks for all you do.


edited - more than that.
Your voice, and your very valued reliable advice is greatly appreciated.
Again, thank you.

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