Relative pronouns are used to introduce subordinate (or relative) clauses. They represent the noun-phrase introduced in the preceding clause (antecedent).
La fille qui parle avec
vous est ma soeur.
(The girl who is talking to you is my sister.)
La fille (antecedent) qui (relative pronoun) parle avec vous est ma soeur.
A relative pronoun may serve as subject, direct object, or object of a preposition. With the exception of quoi, all pronouns can refer to things or beings. They fall into two categories: single (one word), and compound (two word).
Single relative pronouns do not vary according to the gender or number of the antecedent.
qui (who, whom, which, that):
Avez-vous un bateau qui puisse traverser la
Manche?
(Do you have a boat that/which can cross the English Channel?)
Ce qui (what, that which):
Nous ne
savons pas ce qui s'est passé.
(We do not know what happened.)
que (that, which, whom):
Le travail que je fais me
plaît.
(I like the work [that] I do.)
Ce que, ce qu':
This form is often used in neutral constructions when the gender or number of the thing(s) referred to is not clearly defined:
Ce que j'ai vu m'a beaucoup plu.
(I liked [all that] what I saw.)
quoi (with which, on which, or any other preposition + which):
De
quoi parlez-vous?
(What are you talking about?)
Sur quoi dois-je poser mon
verre?
(On what can I place my glass?)
Quoi refers to things only and must be preceded by a preposition.
dont (of which, of whom, whose, whom, which):
Notre voisin, dont le fils est docteur, est
charmant.
(Our neighbor, whose son is a doctor, is charming.)
La
ville dont vous parlez n'existe pas.
(The city of which you are talking does not exist.)
où (where, in which, on which):
Nous
allons visiter le château où ils habitent.
(We are going to tour the castle in which they live.)
Compound relative pronouns combine the pronoun quel and the relevant form of the definite article. They vary in gender and in number with the thing(s) or being(s) they refer to. They are:
| Singular (which one?) | Plural (which ones?) | |
| Masculine | lequel | lesquels |
| Feminine | laquelle | lesquelles |
They are normally used in constructions involving a preposition: à, pour, sans, etc.
The above pronouns combine with à and de to form: auquel, auxquels, auxquelles, duquel, desquels, desquelles.
L'homme auquel je pense est
parti.
(The man I am thinking of has gone.)
A laquelle de ces
deux filles parlez-vous?
(To which [one] of these girls are you talking?)
See Also: