An interrogative pronoun stands for the person or thing a question asks about. English uses forms such as who, what, and which one.
French uses several interrogative pronouns. The pronoun used depends on whether the question concerns a person or thing and on the pronoun's role in the sentence.
Interrogative pronoun forms
French questions draw on a limited set of interrogative pronoun forms. Some forms stay the same regardless of gender and number, while others agree with the noun they refer to.
The basic interrogative pronouns are:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| qui | who, whom |
| que | what |
| quoi | what |
| lequel | which one |
| laquelle | which one |
| lesquels | which ones |
| lesquelles | which ones |
Their role and position in a question determine which form is required:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qui arrive ? | Who is arriving? |
| Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ? | What are you looking for? |
| Tu veux quoi ? | What do you want? |
| Lequel préfères-tu ? | Which one do you prefer? |
Questions about people with qui
Qui asks about a person. It can serve as either the subject or object of a question.
When qui is the subject, it appears directly before the verb:
qui + verb
This pattern appears in questions such as:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qui arrive ? | Who is arriving? |
| Qui travaille ici ? | Who works here? |
| Qui veut venir ? | Who wants to come? |
The longer subject form uses qui est-ce qui:
qui est-ce qui + verb
The meaning remains the same:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qui est-ce qui arrive ? | Who is arriving? |
| Qui est-ce qui parle ? | Who is speaking? |
| Qui est-ce qui connaît la réponse ? | Who knows the answer? |
When the unknown person is the object of the verb, qui est-ce que comes before the subject and verb:
qui est-ce que + subject + verb
This pattern appears in questions such as:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qui est-ce que tu attends ? | Who are you waiting for? |
| Qui est-ce qu'elle appelle ? | Who is she calling? |
| Qui est-ce que vous connaissez ? | Who do you know? |
Informal spoken French can place qui after the verb:
subject + verb + qui
The object remains at the end of the question:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Tu attends qui ? | Who are you waiting for? |
| Elle appelle qui ? | Who is she calling? |
Questions about things with que and quoi
Que and quoi both ask about things or ideas, but they appear in different positions within a sentence.
Que functions as a direct object and normally appears before the verb. In everyday questions, qu'est-ce que is especially common:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? | What are you doing? |
| Qu'est-ce qu'elle veut ? | What does she want? |
| Qu'est-ce que vous cherchez ? | What are you looking for? |
Que can also appear directly at the beginning of a question, especially in more formal structures:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Que voulez-vous ? | What do you want? |
| Que cherchez-vous ? | What are you looking for? |
| Que signifie ce mot ? | What does this word mean? |
Que becomes qu' before a vowel sound.
Quoi can stand on its own or appear after the verb in informal questions:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quoi ? | What? |
| Tu fais quoi ? | What are you doing? |
| Elle cherche quoi ? | What is she looking for? |
| Vous voulez quoi ? | What do you want? |
When an unknown thing is the subject of the verb, French commonly uses qu'est-ce qui:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? | What's happening? |
| Qu'est-ce qui tombe ? | What is falling? |
| Qu'est-ce qui change ? | What is changing? |
From learning to practice
Questions in shops, restaurants, travel situations, and everyday conversations provide frequent chances to hear interrogative pronouns. Listen for short forms such as qui and quoi, and notice whether the missing answer is a person, thing, or choice.