{"id":118092,"date":"2023-04-21T07:41:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T11:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-relative-pronouns\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T13:56:29","slug":"french-relative-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-relative-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Guide to French Relative Pronouns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you already managed to get the gist of formal French<\/a>, mastered pronouncing the tricky\u00a0u<\/em> and ou<\/em> sounds<\/a> and got a system for memorizing new words<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Well done! Now it’s time to start using French pronouns in sentences,<\/a> especially relative pronouns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 5 main relative pronouns in French are q<\/strong>ui<\/strong>, <\/em>que, lequel, dont <\/em><\/strong>and o\u00f9.\u00a0<\/b><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow this guide to learn when and how to use French relative pronouns and what resources you can use to practice your new skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why to Use French Relative Pronouns<\/h2>\n

Relative pronouns connect two ideas, or clauses, without a conjunction like “and” or “but.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let’s look at an example:<\/p>\n

J’aime le livre qui a la couverture rouge.<\/em> (I like the book that has the red cover.)<\/p>\n

In this case, there are two ideas.<\/p>\n

The first is J’aime le livre<\/em><\/strong> (I like the book).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second is a la couverture rouge<\/em><\/strong> (has the red cover).<\/p>\n

This phrase has a verb\u2014a<\/em><\/strong> from the verb avoir<\/em><\/strong> (to have) \u2014 and an object \u2014 la couverture rouge<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>but it also has an invisible subject: le livre<\/em><\/strong> (the book), which is understood to have a red cover.<\/p>\n

So, how do we connect these two ideas without a conjunction?<\/p>\n

You guessed it! With a relative pronoun!<\/p>\n

Relative pronouns can replace subjects, direct objects, indirect objects<\/a> and prepositions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The translations to English are not exact for each pronoun, so instead of trying to link relative pronouns to English words, this blog post will explain where and why each is used.<\/p>\n

Most Commonly Used Relative Pronouns<\/h2>\n

Qui<\/strong> <\/em>and que<\/em><\/strong> are two of the most common relative pronouns, and they roughly translate to the English word “that.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

The relative pronoun que<\/em> replaces a direct object\u00a0whereas q<\/em>ui<\/em> replaces the subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let’s discuss each of them in more detail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Que<\/em><\/h3>\n

Take a look at these two sentences:<\/p>\n

Tu as le\u00a0livre<\/strong>. J’aime ce livre<\/strong>.<\/em> (You have the book. I like that book.)<\/p>\n

In order to connect the two sentences, we must use a relative pronoun. By using one, we’ll replace the redundant usage of\u00a0livre<\/em><\/strong> in the second\u00a0clause.<\/p>\n

In other words, we’ll use the relative pronoun\u00a0que<\/em> to replace the direct object (an object of the verb without a preposition):<\/p>\n

Tu as le livre\u00a0que<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>j’aime.\u00a0<\/em> (You have the book that I like.)<\/p>\n

Qui<\/em><\/h3>\n

Unlike\u00a0que<\/em>,\u00a0qui\u00a0<\/em> is used to replace a subject.<\/p>\n

Check out this example:<\/p>\n

Elle ach\u00e8te le\u00a0livre. Ce livre<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>a 900\u00a0pages.\u00a0<\/em> (She buys the book. That book has 900 pages.)<\/p>\n

In this example, we’ll still use the relative pronoun\u00a0to replace the redundant use of the noun\u00a0livre\u00a0<\/em>in the second sentence.<\/p>\n

In this case, however, the noun\u00a0livre<\/em> in the dependent clause is not a direct object \u2014 it’s a subject. Because of this, we use the relative pronoun qui<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Elle ach\u00e8te le livre qui<\/strong> a 900 pages.\u00a0<\/em> (She buys the book that has 900 pages.)<\/p>\n

The relative pronoun qui<\/em> can also replace an indirect object after a preposition\u2014with the exception of the pronoun\u00a0de<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(of)\u2014in most cases.<\/p>\n

However, it can only replace indirect objects that are people.<\/p>\n

Check out this example:<\/p>\n

Monique<\/strong> est une femme. Je travaille avec Monique<\/strong>.<\/em> (Monique is a woman. I work with Monique.)<\/p>\n

In the second sentence, the noun Monique<\/em> <\/strong> is the indirect object of the verb travailler<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i> (work) because it’s connected to the verb with the preposition avec<\/em><\/strong> (with).<\/p>\n

To avoid repetition of the word\u00a0Monique<\/em> and to connect the two\u00a0sentences, we move the preposition\u00a0avec\u00a0<\/em>to the spot between the two phrases and add the relative pronoun\u00a0qui:<\/em><\/p>\n

Monique est une femme\u00a0avec qui\u00a0<\/strong>je travaille.<\/em> (Monique is a woman who I work with.)<\/p>\n

We’ll discuss the relative pronouns that can replace indirect objects in the next section.<\/p>\n

Relative Pronouns Replacing Indirect Objects<\/h2>\n

Up until now, the majority of this post has talked about replacing subjects and direct objects. Well, what about indirect objects (objects that come after a preposition)?<\/p>\n

Let’s just say you have some rules to follow.<\/p>\n

Lequel<\/em><\/h3>\n

Lequel<\/em><\/strong> and its variants replace an indirect object after a preposition much in the same way qui<\/em> does (again,\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>is a bit of an exception\u2014we’ll get there).<\/p>\n

The main difference here is that\u00a0lequel<\/em>\u00a0is more commonly used with things than people. Secondly, it\u00a0has variants: It changes its form depending on the gender<\/a> and number of the indirect object.<\/p>\n

Check out these examples:<\/p>\n

Je vois le bureau\u00a0sur\u00a0lequel\u00a0<\/strong>j’ai mis mon stylo.<\/em> (I see the desk on which I put my pen.)<\/p>\n

The indirect object\u00a0bureau<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is masculine singular<\/strong>, so we use the relative pronoun\u00a0lequel<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Je vois la cuill\u00e8re avec laquelle<\/strong> je mange la soupe.<\/em> (I see the spoon with which I eat the soup.)<\/p>\n

The indirect object cuill\u00e8re<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is feminine singular<\/strong>, so we use the relative pronoun\u00a0laquelle<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Je vois les bureaux\u00a0sur lesquels\u00a0<\/strong>j’ai mis les stylos.<\/em> (I see the desks on which I put the pens.)<\/p>\n

The indirect object bureaux<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is masculine plural<\/strong>, so we use the relative pronoun\u00a0lesquels<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Je vois les cuill\u00e8res avec lesquelles<\/strong> nous mangeons la soupe.<\/em> (I see the spoons with which we eat the soup.)<\/p>\n

The indirect object cuill\u00e8re<\/em>s<\/em><\/strong> is feminine plural<\/strong><\/a>, so we use the relative pronoun\u00a0lesquelles<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ready for more rules?<\/p>\n

Not only do these relative pronouns change depending on the gender and number of the indirect object, but they also merge with the prepositions \u00e0 <\/i><\/strong>(at)\u00a0and de<\/em><\/strong> (of).<\/p>\n

Check it out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
\u00e0 + lequel = <\/td>auquel (to which)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00e0 + lesquels =<\/td>auxquels <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00e0 + lesquelles = <\/td>auxquelles <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
de + lequel = <\/td>duquel (of\/from which)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
de + lesquels = <\/td>desquels <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
de + lesquelles = <\/td>desquelles <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Two notes:<\/p>\n