Relative pronouns are the connective tissue of complex sentences. They link a dependent clause back to a noun that you can think of as the “head” noun, which the clause is describing or defining. In English, relative pronouns are words like “who,” “that,” “which,” and “whose.” French has its own set of four: qui, que, dont, and où.
Choosing the right relative pronoun is determined by the grammatical role that the head noun plays inside the relative clause. Fortunately, the rules are mostly logical and predictable.
The Core Principle
First, let’s take a big picture view (as we try to do in all grammar lessons). It will help you see the logic that governs all of the relative pronouns.
A relative clause always has an implied grammatical role for the noun it’s attached to. The question to ask is: what role does that noun play inside the relative clause?
- Is it the subject? → Use qui.
- Is it the direct object? → Use que.
- Is it linked by de (as an object of de, or showing possession)? → Use dont.
- Does it indicate a place or time? → Use où.
Now we’ll look at each pronoun and how you would use it in a sentence.
Qui (Subject Pronoun)
Qui is used when the head noun functions as the subject of the relative clause, meaning it’s the one doing the action. It can refer to people or things, so it can map onto the English “who” or the English “that” depending on context.
Il y avait deux hommes qui sortaient une armoire du camion. (“There were two men who were getting a wardrobe out of the truck.”)
La clef qui ouvre cette porte est très ancienne. (“The key that opens this door is very old.”)
Ceux qui m’écoutent ce soir sauront que je n’ai rien à cacher. (“Those who are listening to me tonight will know I have nothing to hide.”)
A useful test: if you can replace the relative pronoun with a subject pronoun (il, elle, ils, elles) and the sentence still makes sense, qui is the right choice.
Que (Direct Object Pronoun)
Que (or qu’ before a vowel or silent h) is used when the head noun functions as the direct object of the relative clause, which is the thing receiving the action. Like qui, it can refer to people or things.
La clef qu‘il a utilisée pour ouvrir la porte est un vieux double. (“The key he used to open the door is an old spare.”)
J’ai vérifié les adresses qu‘on nous avait communiquées. (“I checked the addresses we had been given.”)
Le film que nous allons voir ce soir a eu d’excellentes critiques. (“The film we’re going to see tonight has had excellent reviews.”)
One important grammar point: when que follows a compound past tense (like the passé composé), the past participle must agree in gender and number with the head noun, because a preceding direct object triggers agreement.
La tarte qu’elle a sortie du four. (“The tart she took out of the oven.”)
Les rapports qu’ils ont publiés. (“The reports they published.”)
Dont (Linked by de)
Dont handles cases where the head noun is the implied object of the preposition de inside the relative clause. This covers three main situations:
1) Verbs and adjectives that take de
Many French verbs and adjectives are followed by de: avoir besoin de, parler de, se souvenir de, être fier de, etc. When the noun these apply to becomes the head of a relative clause, dont replaces the de + noun.
C’est un effort dont je suis parfaitement capable. (“That’s an effort I’m perfectly capable of.” From être capable de l’effort)
La maladie dont il est mort était très rare. (“The illness he died of was very rare.” From mourir de la maladie)
Voici le rapport dont nous avons discuté hier. (“Here’s the report we discussed yesterday.” From discuter du rapport)
2) Possession meaning “whose”
Dont is how French expresses “whose” in a relative clause.
Une collègue dont le frère travaille à Lyon. (“A colleague whose brother works in Lyon.”)
Une maison dont les volets étaient fermés. (“A house whose shutters were closed.”)
When the de phrase is the complement of an object inside the clause, the word order works differently from English. The object comes after the verb, not after dont:
Une collègue dont j’ai rencontré le frère pendant mes vacances. (“A colleague whose brother I met on holiday.” Literally: “a colleague of whom I met the brother”)
3) Dont meaning “including” or “of which”
Dont also serves as a formal equivalent of “including” or “among which.”
Il y a trente moulins dans la région, dont vingt-huit désaffectés. (“There are thirty mills in the region, including twenty-eight out of commission.”)
Trois personnes sont arrivées, dont Pierre. (“Three people arrived, including Pierre.”)
When dont cannot be used
If the de is part of a complex preposition such as à côté de, en face de, au bout de, autour de, then dont is not used. Instead, use de qui for people and the relative pronouns for de prepositions (duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles) for things:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | duquel | desquels |
| Feminine | de laquelle | desquelles |
La personne à côté de qui j’étais assise. (“The person I was sitting next to.”)
La maison en face de laquelle il habite. (“The house across from which he lives.”)
Où (Place and Time)
Où is used when the head noun indicates a place or a definite point in time. It replaces prepositional phrases like dans lequel, sur lequel, or à laquelle.
Où with places
La ville où ils habitent est en Dordogne. (“The town where they live is in Dordogne.”)
Voici la maison où j’ai grandi. (“Here is the house where I grew up.”)
Où with definite time expressions
Le quinze mars, c’est le jour où il est mort. (“March fifteenth is the day when he died.”)
À l’époque où ils vivaient à Paris, tout était différent. (“In the era when they lived in Paris, everything was different.”)
Note: for indefinite time expressions, French uses que rather than où:
un jour que je sortais… (“one day when I was going out…”).
A Quick Reference Summary
| Pronoun | Function in clause | Refers to |
|---|---|---|
| qui | Subject | People or things |
| que / qu’ | Direct object | People or things |
| dont | Object of de; possession (“whose”) | People or things |
| où | Place or definite time | Places; time expressions |
Beyond these four: Prepositions + Relative Pronouns
When the head noun is the object of a preposition other than de, you can’t use the four pronouns above. Instead, use the preposition followed by qui (for people) or a form of lequel (for things).
Prepositions that use à or de use special forms listed below (and we already mentioned the duquel, etc. forms above for situations where dont can’t be be used), while the other prepositions (pour, for instance), will simply use pour + the appropriate lequel, etc. form.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| base form | lequel | laquelle | lesquels / lesquelles |
| with à | auquel | à laquelle | auxquels / auxquelles |
| with de | duquel | de laquelle | desquels / desquelles |
Le touriste à qui j’ai parlé vient du Québec. (“The tourist I spoke to is from Quebec.” parler à → à qui for a person)
Voici le journal auquel je m’abonne. (“Here’s the newspaper I subscribe to.” s’abonner à → auquel for a thing)
La chaise sur laquelle tu es assis a plus de cent ans. (“The chair you’re sitting on is more than a hundred years old.”)
C’est l’organisation caritative pour laquelle il travaille. (“That’s the charity he works for.”)
What to Practice Next
The best way to internalize relative pronouns is to practice combining simple sentences into complex ones. Take two sentences that share a noun and try joining them with the right pronoun. The key question is always the same: what role does that noun play inside the relative clause?
Since relative pronouns connect everything from subject clauses to possession to place references, they interact with many other areas of French grammar. Our post on the French subjunctive is relevant here, since the subjunctive is sometimes required after relative clauses with a superlative or a negative head noun (for example, c’est la meilleure décision que nous puissions prendre). And for how demonstrative pronouns head relative clauses (like celui qui… and ceux que…), see our post on French demonstrative pronouns.
If you want to work on producing relative clauses in actual speech, which is where the patterns really stick, Mondly‘s conversation-based approach is well suited to this kind of grammar practice. Building complex sentences in real time, rather than filling in blanks on a worksheet, is what makes these structures feel natural.
