Interrogative Pronouns & Determiners in French
What are interrogative pronouns and determiners?
A pronoun replaces a noun (or a noun phrase) in a sentence, while a determiner accompanies the noun to add information. Once classified as adjectives, determiners are now considered a category of their own. There are different types of pronouns and determiners. Here, we will focus on the interrogative forms.
Interrogative pronouns and determiners (pronoms et déterminants interrogatifs) are used to ask a question about a person or a thing.
Interrogative pronouns include qui, que, quoi and lequel (as well as its forms laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles). They replace the person or thing the question refers to in an interrogative sentence.
The interrogative determiner quel is always placed before a noun and agrees with it.
- Example:
- Quels livres as-tu lus ?Which books have you read?
- the determiner quels accompanies the noun livres
- Lequel as-tu préféré ?Which one did you prefer?
- the pronoun lequel replaces the noun livre
To learn more about interrogative pronouns and determiners, read on for easy examples, clear explanations and free exercises to help you practise. If you want to learn about other French question words, go to our page on questions.
Contents
Qui est donc cette femme ?
Que fait-elle ? À quoi pense-t-elle ?
Lequel de ces livres préfère-t-elle ?
Quelle langue parle-t-elle ?
Quel est le nom de son chat ?
How to use the interrogative pronouns qui, que and quoi
The interrogative pronouns qui, que, quoi are invariable in French. This means that they stay the same regardless of the gender and number of the noun they refer to. They can refer to people (qui) or things (que/quoi). Their usage depends on their function in the question.
- Example:
- Qui est cette femme ?Who is this woman?
- Que fait-elle ?What is she doing?
- À quoi pense-t-elle ?What is she thinking about?
| Function | People | Things |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | qui? | que?/quoi? |
| Direct object | qui? | que?/quoi? |
| Indirect object | à qui/de qui? | à quoi/de quoi? |
| Adverbial construction | par/pour/avec qui? | par/pour/avec quoi? |
How to use the interrogative pronoun lequel
The interrogative pronoun lequel corresponds to the English which: It offers a choice between members of a group of people or things that have already been mentioned. Lequel is variable and must agree with the number and gender of the noun that it replaces.
- Example:
- Lequel de ces livres préfère-t-elle ?Which of these books does she prefer?
- – Nous avons lu de nombreux livres.
– Lequel as-tu préféré ?– We read a lot of books.
– Which one did you prefer?
The interrogative pronoun lequel can also be used after a preposition. When lequel comes after à or de, the interrogative pronoun and the preposition are combined into one word.
| Preposition | Masculine | Feminine | Masc. plural | Fem. plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| à | auquel | à laquelle | auxquels | auxquelles |
| de | duquel | de laquelle | desquels | desquelles |
How to use the interrogative determiner quel
Quel is an interrogative determiner (déterminant interrogatif) meaning that it always comes directly before a noun. It modifies the noun and agrees with its number and gender.
- Example:
- Quel livre préfère-t-elle ?Which book does she prefer?
- Quelle langue parle-t-elle ?Which language does she speak?
- Quels livres préfère-t-elle ?Which books does she prefer?
- Quelles langues parle-t-elle ?Which languages does she speak?
