French Relative Pronouns: All You Need to Know About Pronoms Relatifs
Get to know the French relative pronouns or pronoms relatifs and learn how to use them. This French grammar lesson is ideal for all levels.
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A Review of Relative Pronouns in EnglishFrench Relative Pronouns1. qui and que2. lequel3. dont4. oùQuick Recap on French Relative PronounsHere are some FAQs about French Relative PronounsIn this lesson, we’ll talk about French relative pronouns or pronoms relatifs.
A Review of Relative Pronouns in English
Are you still familiar with relative pronouns in English? If you can no longer recall all those grammar lessons in school, don’t worry, this topic is fairly easy. Plus I’m pretty sure you use relative pronouns in your daily speech.
In English, common relative pronouns include who, whom, which, that, and whose. The relative adverbs where and when refer to place and time. These relative words serve several purposes:
- To point out clearly or properly identify the person or thing being referred to (example: The girl who passed by a while ago was my best friend in grade school.)
- To supply more information about the person or thing being talked about (example: The building, which was built in the 1800s, is said to be haunted by ghosts.)
To talk about it in grammar-y technical terms, relative pronouns are also used:
- To connect the dependent clause or relative clause to the main clause.
- To stand for a noun or pronoun and serve a grammatical role within the relative clause, such as subject, direct object, or complement of a preposition.
French Relative Pronouns
When it comes to French, relative pronouns work the same way. These are the words qui, que, lequel, auquel, duquel, dont and où.
1. qui and que
Qui and que can both refer to people or things. Qui is used as the subject of the relative clause; que is used as its direct object. After a preposition such as à, de, or pour, qui normally refers to a person.
Qui (subject) could mean who, which, or that.
Que (direct object) could mean who, whom, which, or that.
A few examples:
Mon frère, qui a vingt ans, est à l’université. (My brother, who’s twenty, is at university.)
*Est-ce qu’il y a un bus qui va au centre-ville? (Is there a bus that goes to the town centre?)
Les amis que je vois le plus sont Léa et Mehdi. (The friends that I see most are Lea and Mehdi.)
Voilà la maison que nous voulons acheter. (That’s the house which we want to buy.)
la personne à qui il parle (the person he is speaking to)
les enfants pour qui j’ai acheté des bonbons (the children I bought sweets for)
*Kindly note that que is shortened to qu’ if it precedes a word that starts with a vowel or most words that begin with a letter h.
Quick reminder
Here’s a major difference between English and French relative pronouns: English who and that can refer to people, while which and that can refer to things. In French, qui and que have separate grammatical roles: subject and direct object.
2. lequel
Lequel often corresponds to “which.” It is commonly used after a preposition, such as à, de, pour, sur, or avec. It can refer to things or people; for people, qui is usually preferred after a preposition. After parmi, use a form of lequel. In addition, it has to agree with the noun’s gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
| Masculine singular | lequel |
| Feminine singular | laquelle |
| Masculine plural | lesquels |
| Feminine plural | lesquelles |
All four mean “which”
Some examples:
le livre pour lequel elle est connue (the book she is famous for)
la table sur laquelle j’ai mis mon sac (the table I put my bag on)
Aside from having to agree with the noun’s gender and count, you also need to consider the combinations of words which, in turn, creates an altogether new word.
For example:
- à + the definite article le becomes au.
- de + the definite article le becomes du.
- à + the definite article les becomes aux.
- de + the definite article les becomes des.
Similarly, lequel changes into different words when combined with the preposition à and de.
| à + lequel | auquel |
| à + laquelle | à laquelle (remains the same) |
| à + lesquels | auxquels |
| à + lesquelles | auxquelles |
| de + lequel | duquel |
| de + laquelle | de laquelle (remains the same) |
| de + lesquels | desquels |
| de + lesquelles | desquelles |
3. dont
Another French relative pronoun is dont. When translated in English, it means whose, of whom, of which. It may be used to refer to persons or things. The good news is, it does not change its form, nor does it have to agree with anything!
Let’s see some examples:
Plural noun: les films dont tu parles (the films you are talking about)
Singular noun: la femme dont la voiture est en panne (the woman whose car has broken down)
4. où
This French relative pronoun is used for places and times. Its English counterpart could either be where, when or even which and that, depending on how it is used.
Où also means “where” in a question (see ASKING QUESTIONS IN FRENCH). As a relative pronoun, it links a clause to a place or time already mentioned. In a question, it asks for that information; the two grammatical functions are different.
In short, it covers both place and time in its relative pronoun function and takes the job of “when” as well, aside from “where”. (Note: the interrogative pronoun “quand” is not as multifunctional as où and cannot be used as a relative pronoun.)
Some examples:
Paris est la ville où on peut manger les meilleurs escargots. (Paris is the city where we can eat the best snails.)
C’est l’année où ils ont gagné la coupe du monde. (That’s the year they won the world cup.)
In addition, où can also be used after prepositions.
La ville d’où elle vient… The city (where) she’s from…
Quick Recap on French Relative Pronouns
- English relative words include who, whom, whose, which, that, where, and when. Common French relative pronouns include qui, que, lequel and its contracted forms, dont, and où.
- Qui is used as a subject and, for people, after a preposition. Que is used as a direct object. Both can refer to persons or things.
- Lequel can refer to things or people and agrees in gender and number with its antecedent. It is commonly used after a preposition.
- Dont replaces a complement introduced by de, including expressions of possession. It can refer to people or things and does not change form.
- Où indicates the place and time and can mean where, when, which or that, depending on how it is used.
Learn More about French Grammar:
French Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns
A Simple No-Fail Guide to French Contractions
Your turn!
Can you try making your own sentences using the French relative pronouns you learned in this lesson?
Here are some FAQs about French Relative Pronouns
What are relative pronouns in French?
Dont (whose, of whom, of which), lequel (which), où (where), que (that), and qui (who) are common French relative pronouns. Other forms include quoi and the gender and number variants of lequel.
When do you use the French relative pronouns qui and que?
Qui and que are used to refer to persons or things.
Which French relative pronouns change form?
Qui, que, dont, and où do not change for gender or number. Lequel does: lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles. Choose the form that agrees with its antecedent.
La chaise sur laquelle je suis assis.
The chair I am sitting on.
Les chaises sur lesquelles nous sommes assis.
The chairs we are sitting on.
When do you use subjunctive in French after relative pronouns?
The subjunctive is often used in a relative clause when the person or thing described is sought, hypothetical, or denied to exist. An indefinite antecedent alone does not require it: J’ai un ami qui parle français uses the indicative because the friend exists.
For example:
Il n’y a aucun plat qui me fasse plaisir.
There is no dish that makes me happy.
How do you know when to use relative pronouns in French?
You will use relative pronouns when you connect a main clause and a relative clause.
For example:
Mon cousin, qui a trente ans, est à Paris.
(My cousin, who’s thirty, is in Paris.)
