A relative clause is a type of
subordinate clause
that
gives information about 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).
Take, for example, the following sentence:
The man who lives next door is very friendly
In this sentence, who is the relative pronoun
and who lives next door is the relative clause.
2Qui
2.1 General
Qui acts as the
subject
of a relative clause and is used for both people
and things. English has two equivalents: one for people - who
- and two for things - which and that.
Y a-t-il une seule personne qui puisse nous aider?
Is there a single person who can help us?
Les voleurs qui ont cambriolé le musée n’ont toujours pas été retrouvés.
The thieves who broke into the museum still haven’t been found.
C’est une agence qui a organisé le voyage?
Was it an agency that organized the trip?
La dame qui nous a parlé est notre voisine.
The lady who spoke to us is our neighbour.
Ce sont des amis qui nous ont recommandé ce restaurant.
It was some friends who recommended this restaurant to us.
2.2 No contraction
Qui never contracts to qu'.
This means that you cannot say *Le vase
qu'est sur la table.
3Que
3.1 General
Que acts as the
direct object
of a relative clause. As with qui, que
is used for both people and things. English also has
two equivalents, one for people - who(m) - and
two for things - which and that:
Paul, que je n'ai pas vu depuis
deux ans, vient nous voir ce week-end
Paul, who(m) I haven't seen for
two years, is coming to see us this weekend
Les cadeaux qu’ ont reçus les orphelins pour Noël ont été donnés par une oeuvre caritative.
The presents that the orphans received for Christmas were donated by a charity.
La solution qu’ a choisie le directeur était bonne.
The solution the headteacher chose was the right one.
Les mesures qu’ a prises le gouvernement n'étaient guère populaires.
The measures taken by the government weren’t very popular.
L’anecdote qu’ il nous a racontée nous a fait tous rire.
The anecdote he told us made us all laugh.
Les lois qu’on vient de voter au parlement favorisent l’exportation.
The laws which have just been passed in Parliament promote exports.
3.3 Omission
While which or that can be omitted in English, que is
never omitted in French:
Heureusement le vase qu'il
a cassé n'avait pas de valeur
[and not *le vase il a cassé]
Luckily the vase he broke wasn't valuable
3.4 Que as preceding direct object
Where que is used with a
compound tense
, the
participle
will agree with the
noun
to which que
is referring. This is because the que is a
preceding direct object
(for more information, see Unit 11):
La femme que nous avons rencontrée
est notre voisine
The woman we met is our neighbour
Les questions que le journaliste
a posées étaient difficiles
