Qu'est-ce qui t'a pris autant de temps ?
What took you so long?
I don't understand why we here use the "qui". I would use "que" here as there is no verb following it. Can someone explain please?
Qui vs Que
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David C.Kwiziq community member
Qui vs Que
This question relates to:French lesson "Qu'est-ce qui + [conjugated verb] = What [does]... (French Questions)"
Asked 5 years ago
Hi Sam,
If you are talking about the 'rule of thumb' that 'qui' is normally followed by a verb, beware as it can be followed by an object pronoun ( here, 'te') but never by a subject pronoun (je, tu, il,...etc.)
Hope this helps!
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Qui in this example is the subject of the clause. If you used que, You would deprive the sentence of its subject.
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