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forms and uses
A relative pronoun introduces a clause that explains or describes a previously mentioned noun, which is called the antecedent.
Relative pronouns are used to link two related ideas into a single sentence, thereby avoiding repetition.
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| Tex écrit un roman. Le roman s'appelle Guerre et amour. |
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Tex is writing a novel. The novel is called War and Love. |
| Tex écrit un roman qui s'appelle Guerre et amour. |
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Tex is writing a novel which is called War and Love. |
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In the above example, the relative pronoun qui introduces the subordinate clause, that is,
the clause that adds additional information about the novel.
In French there are two main relative pronouns, qui and que.
The choice between qui and que in French depends solely on the grammatical role,
subject or direct object, that the relative pronoun plays in the subordinate clause.
• qui
Qui functions as the subject of the subordinate clause.
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| Tex interviewe Paw-Paw qui a combattu pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale. |
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Tex interviews Paw-Paw who fought during World War II. |
| Paw-Paw: Oui, j'étais avec des Américains qui ont libéré Paris. |
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Paw-Paw: Yes, I was with Americans who liberated Paris. |
| On a célébré notre victoire dans le quartier latin qui débordait de jolies Parisiennes. |
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We celebrated our victory in the Latin Quarter which was overflowing with pretty Parisian girls. |
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• que
Que functions as the direct object of the subordinate clause.
Remember that que becomes qu' before a word beginning with a vowel.
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| Paw-Paw: Une jolie Parisienne que j'ai connue est devenue ta grand-mère, Tex! |
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Paw-Paw: A pretty Parisian whom I met became your grandmother, Tex! |
| Tex: Ma grand-mère! Une héroïne de la Résistance française? Tiens, le livre que j'écris c'est l'histoire de deux héros de la Résistance. Ce n'est pas une pure coïncidence! |
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Tex: My grandmother! A heroine of the French Resistance? Say, the book that I'm writing is the story of two heroes from the Resistance. It is not entirely a coincidence! |
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agreement
Although qui and que are invariable, they assume the gender and number of the antecedent. Que functions as a direct object preceding the verb. Therefore, when the verb of the subordinate clause is in the passé composé, or any other compound tense, the past participle agrees in number and gender with que. The past participle also agrees in number and gender with qui if the verb forms its passé composé with 'être'.
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| Tex: Marie-Tammy et Jean-Tex sont les deux héros que j'ai vus dans un rêve. |
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Tex: Marie-Tammy and Jean-Tex are the two heroes whom I saw in a dream. |
| Ce sont deux espions qui se sont rencontrés en mission. |
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They are two spies who met on a mission. |
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