How French works
A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that gives information about (usually) a preceding noun . It is linked to the main clause by means of a relative pronoun (e.g. in English who, that or which, or in French qui, que or dont). The noun which the relative clause describes is called the antecedent . Take, for example, the following sentence:
The man who lives next door is very friendly
Here, who is the relative pronoun, who lives next door is the relative clause and the man is its antecedent.
Although the rules governing the use of relative pronouns in English and French differ in certain major respects, the fundamentals are essentially the same. A relative pronoun is used to join two pieces of information containing a common element. One of these pieces of information can be considered to be the primary piece of information, and is expressed in the main clause . The second is an additional piece of information about the common element in the main clause, and is expressed in the relative clause . For example, take two pieces of information with the common element Sara, expressed as simple sentences:
1 Main information: Sara is a teacher
2 Additional information: Sara lives in Manchester
Let us suppose that the main piece of information you wish to express is that contained in Sentence 1 Sara is a teacher, and that you also wish to express the idea in Sentence 2 Sara lives in Manchester. You then need to decide what grammatical role the common element Sara is playing in the second sentence (i.e. the one that is to be turned into a relative clause ) and choose the relative pronoun that corresponds to this role. As the Sara in Sentence 2 is the subject of its sentence the pronoun will be who, which in English is the relevant subject relative pronoun.
Next you insert the pronoun who directly after the Sara in Sentence 1 (with or withour commas, see section 3 below) followed by Sentence 2 missing out the common element Sara (which of course has been replaced by the relative pronoun). This gives the sentence:
Sara, who lives in Manchester, is a teacher
The second occurrence of the common element can have two other grammatical roles, that of direct object or complement of a preposition. In both cases the procedure is similar. Take for example Sentence 3 Peter knows Sara, in which Sara is the direct object of its sentence. In order to form a relative clause within Sentence 1, you need to choose the relevant direct object relative pronoun in English, which is whom (or who in less formal language) and then follow the same procedure, giving the sentence:
Sara, who(m) Peter knows, is a teacher
Or take for example Sentence 4 Peter is talking to Sara, in which Sara is the complement of the preposition to. To form a relative clause within Sentence 1, you need to choose the relevant relative pronoun for preposition complements in English, which is also whom. The procedure is then the same, except that the relative pronoun is preceded by the preposition in question, giving the sentence:
Sara, to whom Peter is talking, is a teacher
The type of relative clause shown in the above example serves simply to give additional information about the antecedent rather than to restrict its meaning. It would be possible to remove it from its sentence and still have a meaningful sentence. This is called a non-restrictive or non-defining relative clause, and it is usually separated from the rest of the sentence by commas or intonation.
In many cases, however, relative clauses contain information that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For example in the sentence The Head of Department post went to the teacher who was from Manchester, the relative clause who was from Manchester serves to narrow down the meaning of the word teacher and cannot be left out. This type of relative clause is called a restrictive or defining relative clause and it is not usually separated from the rest of the sentence by commas or intonation .
One of the great difficulties of translating English relative clauses into French lies in the fact that verbal expressions in the two languages often differ as to whether they take a direct object or indirect object , what preposition they take and so on. The same goes for prepositions following adjectives . For example, the English verb to need takes a direct object, whilst its equivalent in French, avoir besoin de, takes a complement of a preposition. The relative pronoun required in the two languages is consequently different:
the book that I need [that = direct object pronoun]
le livre dont j’ai besoin [dont = relative pronoun replacing nouns introduced by de, equivalent of English of which]
For the purposes of this unit, therefore, it will be assumed that the starting point is not an English relative clause but two simple sentences in French containing a common word or phrase, one containing primary information, the other supplementary information. In this way, the choice of relative pronoun depends on the grammatical role played by the word or phrase it is replacing in the sentence containing the supplementary information.
If the role of the word / phrase being replaced by the relative pronoun is that of subject , then qui is used:
le client qui vous reconnaît [i.e. le client vous reconnaît]
the client who recognizes you [i.e. the client recognizes you]
le travail qui vous gêne [i.e. le travail vous gêne]
the work which bothers you [i.e. the work bothers you]
In French the subject relative pronoun qui is used for both people and things. This contrasts with English, which has one for people - who - and two for things - which and that. Note that qui never contracts to qu'.
It is important to avoid automatically associating qui with who (this is unlike the question word Qui? which always means Who?). For example the sentence Was that your sister (who) I saw in town yesterday? is translated C'est ta soeur que j'ai vue en ville hier? and not * C'est ta soeur qui j'ai vue en ville hier?.
A simple rule of thumb: if the who can be left out in English, it cannot be translated by qui.
If the role of the word / phrase being replaced is that of direct object , then que is used (or qu' in front of a vowel):
le client que vous reconnaissez [i.e. vous reconnaissez le client]
the client who(m) you recognize [i.e. you recognize the client]
le travail que vous détestez [i.e. vous détestez le travail]
the work which you hate [i.e. you hate the work]
As with qui, que is used for both people and things. This again contrasts with English, which has one for people - whom - and two for things - which and that.
Whilst in English the relative pronoun can be omitted when it functions as the direct object of a relative clause , it is never omitted in French:
Les lettres que je recevais [and never *Les lettres je recevais]
The letters (which or that) I received
In sentences involving que the French often put the subject after the verb:
Les décisions qu'a prises le directeur
The decisions which the Head made
Les questions que lui ont posées ses étudiants
The questions that his / her students asked him / her
This can be a major source of confusion for learners of French. Where que or qu' is used there must be a subject coming afterwards. If it is not before the verb, then it must be after it.
If the word / phrase being replaced is introduced by a preposition other than de, then the rules are as follows:
[Preposition] + qui is used for people:
La femme à qui (or à laquelle) tu parlais - i.e. tu parlais à la femme
The woman to whom you were talking (formal) The woman you were talking to (everyday)
Note that after the prepositions parmi and entre, lequel or derivatives is preferred to qui:
Les membres du cabinet, parmi lesquels on compte plusieurs femmes, …
The members of the cabinet, amongst whom there are several women, …
[Preposition] + lequel / laquelle etc. is used for things:
La situation difficile dans laquelle je me trouve - i.e. je me trouve dans une situation difficile
The state in which I find myself (formal)
The state I find myself in (everyday)
Note that whilst in English there are two options for the position of the preposition (at the beginning or end of the relative clause), in French the preposition must always precede the relative pronoun .
Note also that à + lequel contracts to auquel:
Le guichet auquel il fallait m'adresser ...
The window I had to enquire at ...
Quoi is used after prepositions when the relative pronoun refers to a fact or idea rather than to a person or thing:
Je lui ai dit que je n’aimais pas Mozart, à quoi il a répondu que ...
I told him that I didn’t like Mozart, to which he replied that ...