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Introduction

Relative pronouns are used to connect two clauses while avoiding repetition. They replace a noun or pronoun already mentioned, called the antecedent, and introduce a relative clause that provides more details about this antecedent.

Example without relative pronoun (with repetition):

• J'ai un ami. Cet ami parle cinq langues. (I have a friend. This friend speaks five languages.)

Example with relative pronoun (without repetition):

• J'ai un ami qui parle cinq langues. (I have a friend who speaks five languages.)

The simple relative pronouns in French are: qui, que (qu'), dont, où.
Compound relative pronouns are: lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles (and their contracted forms).

1. "qui": subject of the relative clause

"Qui" is a subject relative pronoun. It replaces a person or thing that is the subject of the verb in the relative clause. It can be used for both people and things.

Usage:

• "Qui" is always followed by a conjugated verb
• It is never elided (we don't say "qu'" instead of "qui")
• It can represent a person or an object

Examples with people:

• C'est l'homme qui habite en face. (It is the man who lives opposite.)
• J'ai une amie qui parle très bien français. (I have a friend who speaks French very well.)
• Les enfants qui jouent dans le jardin sont mes cousins. (The children who are playing in the garden are my cousins.)
• C'est la professeure qui nous a enseigné la grammaire. (It is the teacher who taught us grammar.)

Examples with things:

• Le livre qui est sur la table est très intéressant. (The book that is on the table is very interesting.)
• J'ai acheté une voiture qui consomme peu d'essence. (I bought a car that uses little gas.)
• Le train qui part à 8 heures est direct. (The train that leaves at 8 o'clock is direct.)
• C'est un film qui m'a beaucoup ému. (It's a movie that moved me a lot.)

2. "que" (qu'): direct object of the relative clause

"Que" (or "qu'" before a vowel or silent "h") is a direct object relative pronoun (COD). It represents the person or thing that is the object of the verb's action in the relative clause.

Usage:

• "Que" is always followed by a subject and then a verb
• It elides to "qu'" before a vowel or silent "h"
• It can represent a person or an object

Examples with people:

• C'est l'ami que je t'ai présenté hier. (It's the friend that I introduced to you yesterday.)
• La personne que tu cherches est là-bas. (The person that you are looking for is over there.)
• Le médecin qu'elle a consulté est excellent. (The doctor that she consulted is excellent.)
• Les enfants que nous avons vus jouaient dans le parc. (The children that we saw were playing in the park.)

Examples with things:

• Le film que j'ai vu hier était magnifique. (The movie that I saw yesterday was magnificent.)
• La robe qu'elle a achetée est très jolie. (The dress that she bought is very pretty.)
• Le livre que tu m'as prêté est passionnant. (The book that you lent me is fascinating.)
• C'est le plat que je préfère. (It's the dish that I prefer.)

Note on past participle agreement:

When the relative pronoun "que" is the direct object and precedes the verb in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with the antecedent:

• La lettre que j'ai écrite. (letter = feminine singular)
• Les fleurs que tu as cueillies. (flowers = feminine plural)
• Les livres que nous avons lus. (books = masculine plural)

3. "dont": complement introduced by "de"

"Dont" is a relative pronoun that replaces a complement introduced by the preposition "de". It can express belonging, origin, manner, or be the complement of a verb constructed with "de".

Usage:

• Replaces "de + noun" (complement of a verb, noun, or adjective)
• Used for both people and things
• Often expresses possession or belonging

Examples with verbs constructed with "de":

• C'est le livre dont je t'ai parlé. (parler de quelque chose - the book that I told you about.)
• Voilà l'outil dont j'ai besoin. (avoir besoin de quelque chose - the tool that I need.)
• C'est un sujet dont il se souvient bien. (se souvenir de quelque chose - a subject that he remembers well.)
• C'est la maladie dont il souffre depuis un an. (souffrir de quelque chose - the illness that he has been suffering from for a year.)

Examples expressing possession:

• J'ai un ami dont le père est médecin. (the father of my friend - I have a friend whose father is a doctor.)
• C'est une maison dont les fenêtres sont grandes. (the windows of the house - it's a house whose windows are large.)
• Il a un chien dont la race est rare. (the breed of the dog - he has a dog whose breed is rare.)

Examples with adjectives constructed with "de":

• C'est un résultat dont je suis fier. (être fier de quelque chose - a result that I am proud of.)
• C'est une situation dont il est satisfait. (être satisfait de quelque chose - a situation that he is satisfied with.)
• Voilà un travail dont tu peux être content. (être content de quelque chose - work that you can be happy with.)

4. "où": complement of place or time

"Où" is a relative pronoun that indicates a place or a moment. It replaces a complement of place or time introduced by a preposition (à, dans, sur, en, etc.).

Usage:

• Replaces a place: the city where, the country where, the house where...
• Replaces a moment: the day when, the year when, the moment when...
• Do not confuse with "ou" (without accent) which means "or"

Examples of place:

• C'est la ville où je suis né. (It's the city where I was born.)
• Le restaurant où nous avons dîné était excellent. (The restaurant where we had dinner was excellent.)
• Voici la maison où j'ai grandi. (Here is the house where I grew up.)
• C'est le pays où il rêve de vivre. (It's the country where he dreams of living.)
• La bibliothèque où je travaille est très calme. (The library where I work is very quiet.)

Examples of time:

• Je me souviens du jour où nous nous sommes rencontrés. (I remember the day when we met.)
• C'était l'année où tout a changé. (It was the year when everything changed.)
• Au moment où il est arrivé, nous partions. (At the moment when he arrived, we were leaving.)
• C'est l'époque où les enfants étaient encore petits. (It's the time when the children were still small.)

5. Comparative Table of Simple Relative Pronouns

6. Compound Relative Pronouns

Compound relative pronouns (lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) are used after a preposition other than "de" (avec, pour, sur, dans, par, etc.) and agree in gender and number with their antecedent.

Table of Forms:

Examples with a preposition:

• Le stylo avec lequel j'écris est neuf. (The pen with which I am writing is new.)
• La table sur laquelle le livre est posé est en bois. (The table on which the book is placed is wooden.)
• Les raisons pour lesquelles il est parti restent floues. (The reasons for which he left remain unclear.)
• Le collègue avec lequel je travaille est très compétent. (The colleague with whom I work is very competent.)
• C'est le projet auquel je participe. (It's the project in which I am participating.)
• Les enfants auxquels il enseigne sont motivés. (The children to whom he teaches are motivated.)

Note:

For people, it's often preferred to use "qui" after a preposition rather than "lequel":

• L'ami avec qui je voyage. (preferred over "avec lequel")
• La personne pour qui je travaille. (preferred over "pour laquelle")
• Le collègue à qui j'ai parlé. (preferred over "auquel")

7. Difference between "qui" and "que"

Confusion between "qui" and "que" is very common. Here's how to distinguish them easily:

Tip:

• After "qui" → you find directly a verb: "qui court", "qui parle", "qui est"
• After "que" → you find first a subject then a verb: "que tu vois", "que j'ai vu", "que nous aimons"

8. Common Traps and Mistakes

Trap #1: "dont" cannot be preceded by a preposition

• ❌ "C'est l'ami de dont je parle." → incorrect
• ✔ "C'est l'ami dont je parle." → correct

Trap #2: Do not confuse "où" (relative pronoun) and "ou" (conjunction)

• "La ville où je vis est Paris." → relative pronoun (place)
• "Tu veux du thé ou du café ?" → conjunction (choice)

Trap #3: "que" elides, "qui" never does

• ✔ "L'ami qu'il a rencontré." (que + vowel → elision)
• ✔ "L'ami qui est venu." (qui + vowel → no elision)
• ❌ "L'ami qu'est venu." → incorrect

Trap #4: "dont" is not used after a preposition

If the relative verb is constructed with a preposition other than "de", use a compound relative pronoun:

• ❌ "Le stylo dont j'écris." → incorrect (écrire avec → preposition "avec")
• ✔ "Le stylo avec lequel j'écris." → correct
• ✔ "Le livre dont je parle." → correct (parler de → preposition "de")

Trap #5: The antecedent of "où" can be a time

• "C'est le jour où il est né." (où = complement of time)
• "Je me souviens de l'époque où nous étions jeunes."

Interactive Exercise

Summary

Key points to remember:

• qui = subject → always followed directly by a verb, never elided
• que = COD → followed by a subject then a verb, elides into "qu'" before a vowel
• dont = replaces "de + noun" → never precede it with a preposition
• où = place or time → do not confuse with "ou" (without accent = choice)
• lequel / laquelle... = after a preposition other than "de", agrees with the antecedent
• For people, "qui" is preferred after a preposition rather than "lequel"
• With "que" in passé composé → the past participle agrees with the antecedent