« Qu'est-ce qui » vs. « Qu'est-ce qu' » when followed by vowel

Question

Bonjour ! One of the A2 level exercises asks which would be the correct beginning for the phrase « [X] a changé entre nous ? » and I'm having a hard time figuring out why the only acceptable answer here is the one with the full « qui ». I thought in front of the vowels we were supposed to make an elision in order to ease the pronunciation. Could you please help? Merci !

Jim Jones · Accepted Answer

Hi Noka,Good point, but as I understand it there is no elision after qui otherwise it would lead to confusion between que and qui before a vowel.There is further information here:- qui Je ne sais pas qui il cherche. (qu’il = que + il)Reference: Lawless frenchHope this helps.Jim

Chris Wirt · Answer

Jim's right: except for some very few exceptions, the -i ending is never omitted before a vowel; only -e.