It whose in french?

Just so you know, French pronouns work essentially the same as English pronouns; words that are used to refer to people, places, objects, and phrases.

Like English or Malay pronouns, French pronouns (les pronoms) have several different categories, such as personal pronouns, relative pronouns, object pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns. In today’s blog, we’ll look at some of these pronouns along with their examples and ways of using them in daily speech.

In French, personal pronouns often refer to ‘Subject Pronouns’ (Pronoms Sujets), or in this case, ‘Personal Subject Pronouns.’

Subject pronouns refer to the person or entity performing the action (verb) in a sentence. The subject pronoun used in French is as the following:

As you can see, the subject pronoun for I has two versions, je, and j’. You can normally use the first-person pronoun je to refer to yourself.

Tu and vous both mean the second-person pronoun you, but they differ in terms of formality and the number of interlocutors. Tu is used with the person you are close to and comfortable with, such as your friends, colleagues, and family. But then, like nous, vous, is used in a rather formal setting. It’s often used to refer to one’s superior, any authority, the elderly, or a stranger. Also, the French pronoun vous is used when you want to address more than one person (plural).

In French, you use elle and il to represent the third-person pronouns she and he.

The pronoun ‘it’ in English is special and specific, but that is not the case in French. As French is a gendered language, every object, item, or animal is referred to using the pronouns elle and il as well, depending on its gender. So the pronoun for the book (le livre) becomes il, and the apple (la pomme) becomes elle.So, altogether,

Tu aimes ces chaussures ?  Non, elles sont affreuses (Do you like those shoes? No, they‘re horrible)

In French, the first-person plural pronoun we are known as nous, and you can use it exactly like how you use the pronoun ‘we’. In general, the French people use this pronoun formally, in a professional, standard-setting.

Nous habitons à Paris = We live in Paris

Quand pouvons-nous commencer?= When can we begin?

However, the pronoun on is quite special in French – it’s also used in reference to someone, they, or people in general.

On m’a volé mon porte-monnaie = Someone has stolen my purse

Object pronouns are the pronouns you use to refer to an object. In French, there are two types of this category; direct and indirect.

This type of pronoun is called Compléments D’objet Direct (COD) in French. You use it to replace the person, animal, or object that receives the action (verb) performed in a sentence. So, instead of repeating someone’s name, such as “Alice is at the shop, I see Alice,” one can use an object pronoun.

So, you can use the object pronoun la to refer to Alice.

Also, in French, the object pronoun is placed before the verb.

In French, the indirect category is known as Compléments D’objet Indirect (COI). An indirect object is a person or animate noun that receives the action performed by the subject indirectly. Let’s look at the indirect objects of these sentences:

From the examples, the indirect object can be found through the question “for whom or to whom?”

Important tip! Make sure you don’t get confused between direct and indirect objects! The direct object in the above examples are flowers and it; it’s the objects associated with the verb or action performed by the doer or subject. Remember, as previously mentioned, that the indirect object is the person receiving the act performed by the doer.

In the French language, relative pronouns are called les pronoms relatifs. The function of relative pronouns is to replace nouns or pronouns so that you don’t have to repetitively state the subjects and objects in your speech. You may have well understood the English relative pronouns, which are who, which, that, whom, and where. Yup, we often use these pronouns in our sentences. Well, French relative pronouns work more or less the same. The French relative pronouns are:

Each of these pronouns can indicate a person, thing, animal, or concept. These two pronouns are invariable; the gender and number of the nouns que and qui intend to replace won’t matter in this case. So, what’s the difference between the two? Qui is used to replace the subject and corresponds to the English, while que is for the direct object.

Dont in French is the equivalent of whose, whom, of which, and that (which we usually drop or omit in English). If you want to refer to someone’s belongings or possessions, use the relative pronoun dont. Also, in French, one more function of dont you need to know is that this relative pronoun replaces the French preposition de + person/thing.

The demonstrative nouns in French called Pronoms Démonstratifs are used to point or refer to specific objects. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.

The singular demonstrative pronouns celui and celle both carry the meaning of this and that. The same goes for its plural form – the plural demonstrative pronouns ceux and celles both signify these and those.

Relative pronouns are used to join two sentences, such as:

J’ai trouvé un appartement. Cet appartement a trois pièces. (I found an apartment. This apartment has three rooms.)

When the sentences are joined, the subject of the second sentence can be replaced by a relative pronoun:

J’ai trouvé un appartement qui a trois pièces. (I found an apartment which has three rooms.)

There are several different relative pronouns. The choice of pronoun depends on two things:

Qui is used when the noun replaced is in the position of the grammatical subject. Note that qui — unlike que — does not contract before a vowel sound.

Voilà l’homme qui a volé mon portefeuille! (There’s the man who stole my wallet!)J’ai lu un roman qui m’a beaucoup amuse! (I read a novel that entertained me a great deal.)

When the antecedent is unclear or absent (or when the noun appears after the relative pronoun), the indefinite relative pronoun ce qui is used.

Ce qui m’intéresse dans ce film, c’est la musique. (What interests me in this film is the music.)Je ne sais pas ce qui s’est passé. (I don’t know what happened.)

Que is used when the noun replaced is in the position of the grammatical direct object. Note that que will contract to qu’ before a vowel sound:

Il a commandé une boisson qu’il n’a pas bue. (He ordered a beverage which he didn’t drink.)Elle parle du voyage que nous allons faire. (She is talking about the trip we’re going to take.)

When the antecedent is unclear or absent (or when the noun appears after the relative pronoun), the indefinite relative pronoun ce que is used:

Tu peux faire ce que tu veux. (You can do what you want.)Ce qu’ils font me semble utile. (What they are doing seems useful.)

Dont is generally used when the noun replaced is an object of the preposition de. It is commonly used with verbs followed by de (parler de, se méfier de, avoir besoin de, être content de, etc.), as well as to show possession (similar to whose in English):

Voici le livre dont je t’ai parlé. (Here’s the book I told you about.)Le touriste dont le billet était périmé s’est plaint. (The tourist whose ticket had expired made a complaint.)

When the antecedent is unclear or absent (or when the noun appears after the relative pronoun), the indefinite relative pronoun ce dont is used:

Voilà ce dont j’ai besoin! (There’s what I need!)Ce dont tu rêves est impossible à réaliser. (What you are dreaming of is impossible to do.)

Note that compound prepositions (à côté de, près de, etc.), are not followed by dont, but by qui or lequel. See next paragraph.

Generally lequel will be used to replace the object of prepositions other than de (including compound prepositions, such as à côté de, près de, etc.). When the pronoun refers to people, qui may be used. Remember that lequel will change to agree in number and gender (lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) with the noun to which it refers, and it can contract with à andde like the definite article.

Voici le patron avec lequel j’ai fait cette chemise. (Here’s the pattern with which I made this shirt.)La dame pour qui je travaille est très sévère. (The woman for whom I work is quite strict.)Voilà l’arbre à côté duquel Newton était assis. (Here’s the tree next to which Newton was sitting.)

When the antecedent is unclear or absent (or when the noun appears after the relative pronoun), the indefinite relative pronoun quoi is used:

Dis-moi ce à quoi tu penses. (Tell me what you’re thinking about.)Ils sont allés dîner, après quoi ils sont rentrés. (They went out for dinner, after which they went home.)

Où is used to replace nouns referring to time:

Je me rappelle le jour où nous avons fait connaissance. (I remember the day when we met.)Il est arrivé au moment où nous parlions de lui. (He arrived at the moment we were speaking of him.)

The French relative pronouns are: qui (who, whom, which, that), que (who, which, that), lequel (that, which, whom), où (where) and dont (whom, whose, that, of which). This page will help you to master the French relative pronouns with clear and simple explanations.

A relative pronoun is a word that is used to link the second half a sentence to a previously mentioned person or thing. For example, “The man who works a lot or. “”the bike that I use”.

In these sentences, “who” and “that” are relative pronouns. The man and the bike are “antecedents”, things being talked about.

The first part of these sentences are called the “main clause” and the second part of these sentences are called the “relative” or “dependant” clauses.

The relative pronoun que translates to: Whom, which and that. Que is an object of the dependant clause.

The relative pronoun qui translates to: who, whom, that, which and what. Qui is a subject for the dependant clause.

When trying to decided whether to use qui or que remember this simple rule: “qui + verb”, “que + personal pronoun or person”.

The relative pronoun lequel is used for verbs preceded by preposition including avec (with), sur (on), pour (for), sans (without), contre (against) and chez (at the home of).

Lequel has four forms (lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles) and must agree in gender and number with the antecedent (what’s being talked about).

Combined with the prepositions lequel can mean “with which”, “for which”, “without which”, etc.

Lequel can refer to both people and things. When referring to people, qui can also be used:

L’homme pour lequel or pour qui je travail (The man for whom I work). However, qui is more commonly used than lequel in spoken French.

Examples with things only:

Examples with people:

With verbs followed by à and de, contractions occur with lequel. Agreement in gender and number must occur.

The relative pronoun où means both where and when.

In the following example sentence where referring to a place, où replaces a more formal dans laquelle.

When referring back to times, dates, days, years, etc. when past events occurred, où is used to mean “when”.

The relative pronoun dont refers back to people and things and used use for verbs or verbal expressions following by the preposition de.

Indefinite relative pronouns are used when the antecedant (what’s being talked about) is unknown. The structure is “ce + relative pronoun“, to mean “what”.

Ce qui

Ce que

Ce dont

Ce à quoi

• Je/j' = I.
• Tu= You.
• Il/elle= He/She/It.
• Nous/On= We/One.
• Vous = You formal, you all.
• Ils/elles = They.

Qui and que can both be used to refer to persons or things. The main difference is, qui is used for the subject (or indirect object for persons) while que is for the direct object. Qui is also being used after a preposition (à, de or pour)

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? (ls 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.)