Pronoms relatifs ce qui / ce que

What...but not a question! Think about how, in English, we use the word “what” when not asking a question. Take a moment to jot down a complete sentence, that uses “what,” outside of the context of a question.

English Examples… I’m appalled by what happened in Paris on 13 November, 2015. What drives me crazy about Joe is the fact that he does not wear deodorant. A red bicycle – that’s what I want for Christmas. Love is what makes the world go round!

Hmmm…which one to use? This “what,” not in the form of a question, is called a relative pronoun. In French, this weird “what” is rendered using the phrases ce qui ce que ce dont For the moment, we are going to concentrate only on ce qui/ce que, and deciding which one to use.

Hmmm…which one to use? Deciding on ce qui or ce que depends upon knowing the parts of the sentence. Does the pronoun (the “what”) refer to the subject or the object? If it is the subject, use ce qui. If it is the object, use ce que.

What does that mean? First of all, can you label the subject and object of a the following sentence? The man is writing a letter. The subject is the noun(s) or pronoun(s) in the sentence that is “acting,” or performing the verb. The object is the noun(s) or pronoun(s) being acted upon, or the verb is being performed upon

What does that mean? The man is writing a letter. “The man” is the subject of this sentence, because he is acting, or performing the verb of writing. “A letter” is the object because the verb of writing is being performed upon it.

Subject/Object Just for good measure, label the subject and object of each of the following sentences. The train has a hundred passengers. My grandmother and grandfather love to play chess. Americans eat too many hamburgers. Sarah, Greg and Maureen know Tom, Lillian and Felix. I do not want a pony. “Yes,” said Mike.

Subject/Object The train has a hundred passengers. My grandmother and grandfather love to play chess. Americans eat too many hamburgers. Sarah, Greg and Maureen know Tom, Lillian and Felix. I do not want a pony. “Yes,” said Mike. **Subject in pink / Object in blue

What does this have to do with relative pronouns?? Ask yourself: does the pronoun (the “what”) refer to the subject or the object? If it is the subject, use ce qui. If it is the object, use ce que. “Baseline” sentence: The train has a hundred passengers Sentences with relative pronouns: What has a hundred passengers is the train. What the train has is a hundred passengers.

Rendering it in French If it is the subject, use ce qui. If it is the object, use ce que. “Baseline” sentence: The train has a hundred passengers. Le train a cent passagers. What has a hundred passengers is the train. Ce qui a cent passagers, c’est le train. What the train has is a hundred passengers. Ce que le train a, c’est cent passagers.

Let’s try others… As you try to translate these examples, it will probably help if you rephrase them into “baseline” sentences – very basic subject-verb-object sentences – in order to know whether the “what” refers to the subject or the object. From there, decide ce qui or ce que. **Sometimes, not all of the information is there, so you have to fill in the blanks with your imagination before you can form a baseline sentence. (You’ll see what I mean in the next few slides.)

Let’s try others What makes Christmas special is family. I’m your wife; I love what you love! Homework is what takes up most of my time. We are sad because of what happened. Don’t judge what I eat!

Getting to French What makes Christmas special is family. (The “what” refers to family.) Baseline: Family makes Christmas special. (Family is the subject, as it is “performing” the verb makes.) Ce qui fait le Noël spécial, c'est la famille.

Getting to French I’m your wife; I love what you love! **It would probably help if you decide, You love swimming, for example. (The “what” refers to swimming.) Baseline: I love swimming. (Swimming is the object, as it is being acted upon, it is being loved.) Je suis ton épouse; j'aime ce que tu aimes.

Getting to French Homework is what takes up most of my time. (The “what” refers to homework.) Baseline: Homework takes up most of my time. (Homework is the subject, as it is “performing” the verb takes.) Le devoir est ce qui prend la plupart de mon temps.

Getting to French We are sad because of what happened. **It would probably help if you decide that “violence happened,” for example. (The “what” refers to violence.) Baseline: Violence happened. (Violence is the subject, as it is “performing” the verb happened. Note that there are two verbs in this sentence.) Nous sommes tristes à cause de ce qui est arrivé.

Getting to French Don’t judge what I eat! **It would probably help if you decide, I eat potato chips, for example. (The “what” refers to potato chips.) Baseline: I eat potato chips. (Potato chips is the object, as it is being acted upon, it is being eaten.) Ne jugez pas ce que je mange.

A shortcut? Do you know the difference between a noun/pronoun and a verb? Sometimes you can figure out whether to use ce qui or ce que based on what comes after the “what.” If a verb comes next, use ce qui. If a noun or a pronoun comes next, use ce que.

Does it work? What makes Christmas special is family. I’m your wife; I love what you love! Homework is what takes up most of my time. We are sad because of what happened. Don’t judge what I eat!

Maintenant c'est votre tour What my brother hates is math class. I don’t know what broke in the kitchen. Fish is what the cat eats. Spanish is what they speak when they are together. They say that love is what makes the world turn. The iPod is what plays music the best. The Holocaust is what we’re studying in history class. College is what costs the most! Her lunch and her sunglasses are what she has in her backpack! What we’re watching is a film about birds.

Maintenant c’est votre tour: baseline sentences My brother hates math class. Something broke in the kitchen. The cat eats fish. They speak Spanish. Love makes the world turn. The iPod plays music the best. We’re studying the Holocaust in history class. College costs the most. She has her lunch and sunglasses in her backpack. We’re watching a film about birds.

Maintenant c’est votre tour 1. What my brother hates is math class. Ce que mon frère déteste est la classe des maths. I don’t know what broke in the kitchen. Je ne sais pas ce qui a cassé dans la cuisine. 3. Fish is what the cat eats. Le poisson est ce que le chat mange. 4. Spanish is what they speak when they are together. L’espagnol est ce qu’ils parlent quand ils sont ensemble 5. They say that love is what makes the world turn. On dit que l’amour est ce qui fait tourner le monde.

Maintenant c’est votre tour 6. The iPod is what plays music the best. Le iPod est ce qui joue mieux de la musique. 7. The Holocaust is what we’re studying in history class. L’Holocauste est ce que nous étudions en classe d’histoire. 8. College is what costs the most! L'université est ce qui coûte le plus. 9. Her lunch and her sunglasses are what she has in her backpack! Son déjeuner et ses lunettes de soleil sont ce qu'elle a dans son sac-à-dos. 10. What we’re watching is a film about birds. Ce que nous regardons est un film des oiseaux.

Homework/Classwork Pizza is what I prefer. Your scarf is what makes you warm. A big dinner is what’s waiting for me at home. Too many people is what we don’t want. Rock music is what they listen to when they’re angry. What gives me courage is my family. If sport is not what you love, then why do you play baseball? She’s a cat – sleeping is what she does. What really cleans the kitchen is “Comet.” Do what you have to do.