French Grammar in Context

In spoken language the following less formal constructions can be used.

People Things

Subject Quiest-cequiarrive? Qu’est-cequiarrive?

Who is coming? What is happening?

Object Quiest-cequevous avez vu? Qu’est-cequevous avez vu?

Who(m) did you see? What did you see?

Note that the forms beginning with Quirefer to people and the forms beginning with Que

refer to things. Note also that the relative pronoun, which comes after est-ce, marks the

distinction between grammatical subject (qui) and object (quewhich elides to qu’before a

word beginning with a vowel).

Note also the common expression:

Qu’est-ce que c’est?= What’s that?

NoteThere is no inversion with these forms. Contrast Qu’a-t-il fait?and Qu’est-ce qu’il a fait?

e The interrogative pronoun lequel( = which one) is used to start an interrogative sentence

when a precise answer is required. Its various forms are: lequel(masc. sing.), laquelle(fem.

sing.), lesquels(masc. pl.) and lesquelles(fem. pl.).

Lequelalways agrees with the noun it refers to.

e.g. Laquelle de ces photos préférez-vous? Lesquels de ces poèmes avez-vous lus?

Lequelin its various forms can be combined with àor de:

à + lequel > auquel à + lesquels > auxquels

à + laquelleno change à + lesquelles > auxquelles

e.g. Auquel vous êtes-vous adressé?

de + lequel > duquel de + lesquels > desquels

de + laquelleno change de + lesquelles > desquelles

e.g. Desquelles avez-vous peur?

f There are a number of ways of asking informal questions in conversational French, such as the

common forms Qui c’est qui, C’est qui qui, C’est combien/comment/quand/où?

e.g. Qui c’est qui m’a appelé? C’est qui qui m’a appelé? C’est où qu’on va?

See for further information: Coffman Crocker, pp. 232–41

Ferrar, pp. 232–9, 259–63

Hawkins and Towell, pp. 350–66

Judge and Healey, pp. 419–25

L’Huillier, pp. 636–57

Price, pp. 193–201, 304–7, 461–9

Turk and Vandaele, pp. 283–8

52 French Grammar in Context