When do we use "ce qui", "ce que", "ce dont" ?

In French, there are three different ways to express "what" in a sentence; one can use ce qui, ce que, or ce dont. To understand when to use which one it is helpful to look at three examples. 1) The sentence "I don’t understand what’s happening" translated into French is "Je ne comprends pas ce qui se passe." Here we use ce qui because "what" is the subject of the verb that follows. 2) The sentence "He doesn't understand what I am doing" translated into French is "Il ne comprend pas ce que je fais." Here we use ce que because "what" is the object of the verb that follows. Ce que can also become ce qu' when followed by a vowel (e.g. ce qu'il, ce qu'elle, ce qu'on).3) The sentence "I don't understand what he is talking about" translated into French is "Je ne comprends pas ce dont il parle." Here we use ce dont because the verb parler is followed by de (e.g. parler de la pluie et du beau temps, parler des joueurs de foot). To sum it up, we use ce qui when "what" is the subject of the verb that follows; ce que/ce qu' when "what" is the object of the verb that follows; ce dont when "what" is followed by a verb that uses de, du, or des.

TD
Answered by Tim D. French tutor

2748 Views

See similar French A Level tutors

Related French A Level answers

All answers ▸

How do I do well in my speaking exam?


Reformulez chacune des phrases ci-dessous, en commençant votre réponse avec les mots donnés entre parenthèses: La technologie n’est pas difficile à installer. (Il … )


What is the subjunctive tense?


Argumentez l'affirmation suivante: "Nous devrions tous parler la langue de notre région"


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences