In the sentence "What do you miss the most?" the word "what" is the object of the verb. So it would be easy to think that the correct translation is "Qu'est-ce que te manque le plus?" However, in French the construction differs from English. The French construction is essentially "What is missing to you the most"? Hence "what" has become the subject of the verb and accordingly the correct translation is "Qu'est-ce qui te manque le plus?"
Can someone confirm that this analysis is correct please?
Hi Rob,
Yes, your analysis is correct.
In
Qu-est-ce qui te manque le plus ?= What is missed by you the most ?
what is the subject = qu'est-ce qui
In
Quest-ce que tu veux ?= What do you want?
What is the object = qu'est-ce que
Bonne Continuation!
Yes, you got it right. Spelled out literally (and omitting the liason on the first Que for clarity):
Que est-ce qui manque à Paul. -- What is that which lacks Paul.
Que: interrogative pronoun for the subject of the main clause ("what")
qui: relative pronoun for the subject of the relative clause ("that")
à Paul: indirect object (manque à qqn)
In the sentence "What do you miss the most?" the word "what" is the object of the verb. So it would be easy to think that the correct translation is "Qu'est-ce que te manque le plus?" However, in French the construction differs from English. The French construction is essentially "What is missing to you the most"? Hence "what" has become the subject of the verb and accordingly the correct translation is "Qu'est-ce qui te manque le plus?"
Can someone confirm that this analysis is correct please?
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level