Relative pronouns

Introduction This subject goes hand-in-hand with the study of prepositional verbs: Combined, this is the aspect of language is what elevates an average speaker of French to one that will impress.

The introduction in the learning cards for the 'prepositional verb' practice sets is essential reading before you read the rest of the information below, this is to avoid duplicating text. Do not try to understand what follows without reading that first.

In school, you will learn the difficult and complex rules for relative pronouns, and you are then expected to try to apply those grammar rules 'on the fly.' But this is not how the brain works, and is 100% not how native children learn a language. Instead of trying to learn all the rules, it is much better to build familiarity with a few hundred example sentences containing them in as many different contexts as possible. Over time, the brain then 'aggregates' the information, re-uses the examples when it can and constructs a best-guess attempt in a new situation. As an adult or teen learner - it is suggested you learn the rules, but be aware for fluency it is much better to rote-learn a large list of examples, which is what this list set is provided for.


Some of the rules, for what they're worth

French verbs that don't pair with prepositions generally use "que" as the relative pronoun:

Manger: Le sandwich que je mange : The sandwich (that) I am eating
Lire: Le journal que je lis : The newspaper ( that) I am reading

(that) is in brackets for the English, because this is often dropped in everyday speech:

The sandwich I am eating.

(Note that this form sounds very odd to French learners of English.)

French verbs that are paired with prepositions do not use the word que but instead use many different translations of the English word which:

Simple verbs that are paired with 'de'

You use dont when the verb (or adjective) is followed immediately and only by de. This is by far the most common usage in French.
Common Verbs: Parler de, avoir besoin de, avoir envie de, se souvenir de, être fier de.
Example: Parler de (To talk about) : C'est l'homme dont je parle : It is the man of which I speak

Because it is just "de," "dont" swallows the preposition and the pronoun.

To translate "what" for the simple "de" verbs, you use "ce dont" or "celui dont" / "celle dont" :
J'ai besoin d'un crayon. Un crayon, c'est exactement ce dont j'avais besoin.
I need aw pencil. A pencil, it's exactly what I needed.

Note, in addition to "what", these words technically translate:
dont ---> "of which"
Ce dont ---> "The thing of which"
Celui dont ---> "The one of which"



The distinction:

Use ce dont when you are referring to an unspecified "thing," a general concept, or an entire preceding clause. There is no specific noun it is replacing:
Example: Je sais ce dont tu as besoin : I know what you need, literally, I know what (the thing of which) you have need.


Use celui dont (or its variants celle dont, ceux dont, celles dont) when you are referring back to a specific noun mentioned earlier to avoid repeating it. It acts as a "demonstrative pronoun:"

J'ai deux dictionnaires. Prends celui dont tu as besoin : I have two dictionaries. Take the one (the one of which) you have need.


When to use dont instead of de laquelle, duquel etc?

The choice really depends entirely on whether the preposition de is standing alone with the verb, or if it is part of a complex prepositional phrase (like beside, at the end of, or in the middle of).

So basically you use Duquel / De laquelle for "Compound Prepositions:"
You must use the duquel family (lequel + de) when the "de" is attached to a "spatial" or "complex" preposition. If you can see a noun or a direction inside the preposition, you usually need duquel.

Common Phrases: à côté de (beside), en face de (opposite), au milieu de (in the middle of), près de (near).

Example: C'est la table à côté de laquelle je m'assois : It's the table at the side of which I am sitting
( Which sounds very highbrow in English; you would really just say It's the table that I'm sat beside. )


The "Person" Exception
When talking about people in these complex phrases, you have a third option: You can use "de qui" instead of duquel/de laquelle. It sounds a bit more natural in spoken French. Examples:

L'ami à côté duquel je suis assis. (Formal)

L'ami à côté de qui je suis assis. (More natural)

However note that you will often see laquelle instead of qui (e.g., La personne avec qui je voyage). However, using laquelle/lequel is never wrong - and in formal or precise writing, it is often preferred because it makes the gender of the person explicitly clear.


The "place" Exception
When talking about places, you can use "d'ou" which means "from where:"

That's the tree that the cat fell out of : C'est l'arbre d'où le chat est tombé


A Visual Rule of Thumb:
- If the preposition is just one word (de), use dont.
- If the preposition is multiple words (à côté de, au sujet de), use duquel.



Verbs taking 'à'
- use à quoi, auquel, à laquelle, auquels and auxquelles , depending on the gender and person of the object. These all basically mean "to which," which doesn't always work in English:

Jouer à ( to play something ) : That's the game that he played: C'est le jeu auquel il a joué.


The rule for "ce à " :

Just as with "Ce dont" , you use "Ce à quoi" when the "thing" isn't specific (e.g., "What I expected" vs "The book I expected") :

ce à quoi je m'attendais : "what I expected"

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Note the contractions of "Duquel" and "Auquel"
When a compound preposition ends in de (like à côté), it must contract with lequel:
de:
de + lequel = duquel
de + lesquels = desquels

à:
(e.g. grâce à), it must contract with lequel:

à + lequel = auquel

à + lesquels = auxquels

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This is a set list, so as with all lists in the system, it is level-independent.