Grammaire 2: pronoms relatifs qui, que et où

Qu’est-ce qu’un pronom relatif?

Speaking and writing French is not really about identifying and combining words. It’s about telling stories and talking to each other about life.

We have already learned how to describe people and actions in the past and present, how to react to what is being said, how to ask questions and more. Now we will look at the role that relative pronouns play in connecting our sentences.

Relative pronouns (les pronoms relatifs) are useful to combine 2 sentences into a longer one (thus making you sound much more sophisticated!)  In English, they are the equivalent to the words ‘that’, ‘which’, and ‘where’:

Le Musée d’Orsay is a museum. + I used to visit this museum often.

   ➔ Le Musée d’Orsay is a museum that I used to visit often.

Good Earth is a café. + I meet my friends there.

   ➔ Good Earth is a café where I meet my friends.

Jean is a guy. + Jean won the game.

   ➔ Jean is the guy who won the game.

 

 

In this section, we will look at three useful relative pronouns in French:

qui, que and où

 

Note: these pronouns are different from the question words qui ? que ? or où ? because their context is different! Notice the difference in the use of who in these English examples:

• who as interrogative pronoun:

 Who ate my cake?

• who as relative pronoun:

He is the man who ate my cake

Qui

Qui is used for both people, places and things and functions as a subject. It usually follows a noun and precedes a verb:

J’avais un ami. + Il habitait au Burundi. ( I had a friend. + He lived in Burundi.)

   ➔ J’avais un ami qui habitait au Burundi. (I had a friend who lived in Burundi.)

In this example, the pronoun qui = un ami. It basically takes the object of the first clause (un ami) and turns it into the subject of the verb habitait in the second clause.

Que (qu’)

Que is also used for both people and things when they are the object of a verb. It allows you to attach more information to the object of a previous clause:

Comment s’appelle la fille ? + Nous avons rencontré la fille hier. (What is the girl’s name? + We met the girl yesterday.)

   ➔ Comment s’appelle la fille que nous avons rencontrée hier ? (What is the name of the girl (that, who) we met with yesterday?)

Notice how we do not always use the relative pronouns that and who(m) in English (The girl we met vs. The girls that, whom we met). In French, you must always use the relative pronoun.

Où

Où refers to a place where something happens (un complément de lieu) or when something happens (un complément de temps):

Ça c’est la brasserie où il a rencontré sa petite-amie. (That’s the brasserie where he met his girlfriend.)

Je suis arrivé au moment où tout le monde partait. (I arrived at the moment when everyone was leaving.)

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Here is a recap of when & how to use qui, que & où:

(a) When the noun is the subject, use qui:

L’homme danse ➔ [l’homme = sujet] ➔ C’est l’homme qui danse.

La maison est sur le boulevard ➔ [la maison = sujet] ➔ C’est la maison qui est sur le boulevard.

(b) When the noun is the object, use que:

Tu as acheté la maison ➔ [la maison = objet] ➔ C’est la maison que tu as achetée.

J’ai vu l’homme ➔ [l’homme = objet] ➔ C’est l’homme que j’ai vu.

(c) When referring to a place or a time, use où:

J’ai grandi dans cette maison ➔ [I grew up where? in this house = a place where it happened] ➔ C’est la maison où j’ai grandi.

J’étais malade le jour de l’examen ➔ [I was sick when? on the day of the exam = a time when it happened] ➔ C’est le jour où j’étais malade.