Ce que / Ce qui instead of Que or Qui alone.

Kate K.B2Kwiziq community member

Ce que / Ce qui instead of Que or Qui alone.

Hello. I think I understand when to use ce qui instead of ce que and vice versa, but I can't find the lesson that explains when to use ce que / ce qui instead of que or qui alone. Thanks for any help!
Asked 8 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer
Bonjour Kate !

That's a very interesting question indeed!
Let's point out first that we're talking about the relative pronouns here, which are used to introduce a new information in a sentence (as opposed to question words like "what?").
Once you know this, the separation is quite simple: "qui/que" can mean "who/which/that ..." whereas "ce qui/ce que" mean "what ...".

e.g. La fille que je regarde. (The girl whom[m]/that I'm watching.)

e.g. Je fais ce que je veux. (I do what I want.)

Precision: in cases where "ce qui / ce que" would also be translated by "which" in English, you need to ask yourself: What does "que/qui/ce que/ce qui" is referring to?

If it refers to a noun (expressed before), then you will use "que/qui".
If it refers to the whole part of the sentence, the whole idea, then it will be "ce que/ce qui".

e.g. Les gens que je rencontre ... (The people which I meet...)
Here "que" refers to "people"

e.g. J'aime les bananes, ce que tu trouves fascinant. (I love bananas, which you find fascinating.)
Here "ce que" refers to the whole fact that I love bananas, not just to the bananas.

I hope that’s helpful!
LauraNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Bonjour Kate, We don't currently have a lesson that specifically addresses when to use French relative pronouns (que / qui) vs when to use indefinite relative pronouns (ce que / ce qui). The difference is straightforward: you need relative pronouns when there is an antecedent - something specific that the pronoun refers back to: J'ai mangé du pain. Le pain que j'ai mangé était bon. You need indefinite relative pronouns when there is no antecedent, when the thing is unknown or unspecified: Ce que j'ai mangé était bon. I hope this helps! :-)
Kate K.B2Kwiziq community member
Thanks so much for the reply. Yes that seems clear. Will now try to apply it!
Nic C.C1Kwiziq community member

I have been hunting high and low and this is the first decent answer I have found to this question.  Thank you Kate for asking the question and Laura & Aurélie for giving this very helpful answer.  Bravo!

monte c.A1Kwiziq community member

This is the first time I've found a good explaination for que vs ce que etc.  I think some excercises would be good, considering how many people get confused by this!

btw, this is by far the best French learning webite. Bravo!

Jennifer P.A2Kwiziq community member

This is not clear to me at all. For example, why does the following sentence use 'ce que' instead of 'que' alone? "Asseyons-nous ici jusqu'à ce que le soleil se couche"

  .

Ce que / Ce qui instead of Que or Qui alone.

Hello. I think I understand when to use ce qui instead of ce que and vice versa, but I can't find the lesson that explains when to use ce que / ce qui instead of que or qui alone. Thanks for any help!

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...