Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.

What is the capital of Tunisia?

Please type your username.

Please type your E-Mail.

Please choose the appropriate section so the question can be searched easily.

Please choose suitable Keywords Ex: question, poll.

Type the description thoroughly and in details.

What is the capital of Tunisia?

Why is “qui” used here, when it looks like it is replacing a direct object?

Both examples you present are not equivalent. Compare:

Case 1

Vous invitez qui vous voulez.
You invite who(ever) you wish.


Vous mangez ce que vous voulez.
You eat what(ever) you wish.

Case 2

Vous invitez (celui) qui vous plait.
You invite (the one) who pleases you.


Vous mangez ce qui vous plait.
You eat what pleases you.

Case 3

Vous venez avec l’ami que vous avez invité.
You come with the friend (that/whom) you invited.


Vous mangez la pomme que vous avez prise.
You eat the apple (that/which) you have taken.

Case 4

Je viens avec l’ami qui m’a répondu.
I come with the friend who answered me.


Je regrette cette pomme qui m’a donné mal au ventre.
I regret eating that apple which made my stomach hurt.

A bit of explanation

There are several type of dependent/subordinate clauses in French. Here, both cases are relative (dependent/subordinate) clauses (proposition subordonnée relative) but with a nuance.

  • In case 1, the dependent clause does not have any antecedent. In this case, you would use qui for people (or maybe pets) and que for anything else. Just think of who (qui) vs. what(que).
  • In case 2, the dependent clause still does not have any antecedent, but the relative pronoun is now the subject of the relative clause. In this case, we use qui each time. You can notice the ce or celui. Ce is indefinite for objects, celui (or celle in feminine, or ceux/celles at plural) can be used for objects as a definite form but are definite and indefinite for people.
  • In case 3, the dependent clause begins with a pronoun which is not the subject of the clause. Here, we can see we use que for living and non-living subjects.
  • In case 4, the dependent clause begins with a pronoun which is the subject of the clause. This time, we use qui for living and non-living subjects.

I am always unsure about when to use who or whom, so please warn me/edit if I made a mistake.

Vous pouvez inviter qui vous voulez.
You could have also used que in this case, but here, it is a person who has to be replaced by a PRONOM RELATIF SIMPLE. So, instead of que which is used in case of things, we use qui because there is a person.

For clarification, I would like you to refer to the following example. It might help you in better comprehension of PRONOM RELATIF SIMPLE:

La seule personne a qui je peux donner la confiance est mon frere cadet.

La seule chose qui me plait est une promenade au bord de la mer.

Here,in the first sentence, we use QUI because we are replacing a person by the pronoun. However, in the second sentence, we use QUE because a thing (a long walk by the seashore) is being replaced here.

 

Leave a comment

What is the capital of Tunisia?