Interrogative pronouns and determiners in French
Just here for the exercises? Click here.What are interrogative pronouns?
Interrogative pronouns (les pronoms interrogatifs) are qui, que, quoi and lequel. We use them in questions and sentences to replace the name of the person or thing about which we’re asking a question. The interrogative determiner (le déterminant interrogatif) quel always comes before a noun.
To learn about other French question words, go to our page on questions; to learn more about interrogative pronouns, read on for easy examples, clear explanations and free exercises to help you practise.
Example
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 qui, que and quoi in French
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? |
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 quel in French
Quel is an interrogative determiner (déterminant interrogatif or adjectif interrogatif), meaning that it always comes directly before a noun. Quel functions as an adjective; 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?
