Qui or que: subject or object
Look at what comes right after the pronoun. If a verb follows, the shared noun is doing the action: qui. If a new subject follows (a name, je, il…), the shared noun is receiving the action: que. Both work for people and things. Que becomes qu’ before a vowel; qui never shortens.
Dont: replacing de
Dont (doh(n)) replaces de + the shared noun. Use it after verbs and expressions built with de, such as parler de (to talk about), avoir besoin de (to need) and être fier de (to be proud of), and to say “whose”. Build the second sentence first, find the de, then swap it for dont.
| Expression | Second sentence | Joined with dont |
|---|---|---|
| parler de | On parle de ce film. | |
| avoir besoin de | J’ai besoin de cet outil. | |
| être fier de | Il est fier de son fils. | |
| avoir peur de | J’ai peur de ce chien. | |
| whose | Le père de cette amie est médecin. |
Où: place, and time
Où means “where” for places, as in English. It also means “when” after a time word, which English speakers do not expect: le jour où (the day when), l’année où (the year when), au moment où (at the moment when). After a time noun, où is the word French uses for “when”.
After a preposition: qui for people, lequel for things
After prepositions such as avec (with), pour (for) and sur (on), use qui for a person. For a thing, use lequel, which agrees with the noun in gender and number. With à, lequel merges just like the article: auquel, auxquels.
Ce qui, ce que, ce dont: “what” in the middle of a sentence
When there is no noun to point back to, French adds ce (“the thing”) in front. This is how French says “what” in statements: “I know what you want” is “I know the-thing that you want”. The same subject/object test applies.
Ce qui, ce que: “what” in the middle of a sentence
When “what” means “the thing that”, French uses ce qui (subject) or ce que (object). Que alone is never used this way.