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B1IntermediatePronouns · Point 34 / 40

qui, que, où, dont

These little words join two ideas into one sentence.

PronounRoleMeaning
quisujet du verbe qui suitreplaces the subject, never followed by another subject
quecomplément, un autre sujet vient aprèsreplaces the direct object
oùun lieu ou un momentreplaces a place or time complement
dontremplace « de + nom »replaces a complement introduced by “de”

Tip: if the word right after is a subject (“je”, “vous”, “on”), it is “que”; if it is a verb, it is “qui”.

In context

Examples from our dialogues

Lines taken from our dialogues. Listen to them, then open the full dialogue to hear them in a real situation.

Watch out

Common mistakes

Mistakes you will often hear, and the right way to say it.

  • Le formulaire qui vous avez rempli.Le formulaire que vous avez rempli.

    After the pronoun there is a subject (“vous”), so it must be “que”. “Qui” takes no subject after it — it is the subject itself.

  • Le document que j'ai besoin.Le document dont j'ai besoin.

    “Avoir besoin de” contains “de”, so the relative pronoun is “dont”. Same for “parler de”, “se souvenir de”, “tenir compte de”.

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Related readings

Short texts where this point comes up. Read them to see it inside a story.