1. Relative pronouns; present participles
Français 2
Chapitre 9
Grammaire 1

2. Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are words that connect two clauses of a sentence to create a more complex sentence rather than having two simpler sentences with repetitive words.
There are several relative pronouns in English: that, which, who, whom and whose.
In French you will use the relative pronouns qui, que or dont. All three French relative pronouns have the same meanings: that, which, who, whom and whose.
You must recognize the parts of speech to choose the correct French relative pronoun.

3. Relative pronouns qui and que
The relative pronoun qui (that, which, who) is used to describe something that was already mentioned (the antecedent).
Qui is the subject of the relative clause and is usually followed by a verb.
The relative pronoun que (that, which, whom) is used to describe something that was already mentioned (the antecedent).
Que/Qu’ is the object of the relative clause and is usually followed by a subject.

4. Relative pronouns qui and que
qui = subject
que = object
Tu connais le film avec Tom Cruise?
Le film joue à Loews.
Le film is mentioned in both sentences. You can combine these two sentences by taking out le film, the subject in the second sentence, and then replacing it with the relative pronoun qui.
Tu connais le film avec Tom Cruise qui joue à Loews?
Tu as déjà vu le film?
J’adore le film!
Le film is mentioned in both sentences again. You can combine these two sentences by taking out le film, the direct object in the second sentence, and replacing it with the relative pronoun que.
Tu as déjà vu le film que j’adore?

5. Relative pronoun dont
The relative pronoun dont is used in French to mean that or whom, it is always used in place of the preposition de and a noun.
Memorize these four verbal expressions that contain the preposition de:
parler de to talk about
avoir besoin de to need
avoir envie de to feel like
avoir peur de to be afraid of
For now, these are the only phrases you will need to use with dont, however the list goes on and on!

6. Relative pronoun dont
Dont also means whose. It is used to show possession. When dont shows possession you must not have a possessive adjective (mon, ma, mes, etc.) in the same sentence; you must use a definite article (le, la, l’, les) instead.
Voilà la fille. (There’s the girl.)
Je connais sa mère. (I know her mom.)
Voilà la fille dont je connais la mère.
(There’s the girl whose mom I know.)

7. Present Participles parler parlons parlant talking
A present participle is a verb form ending in the letters –ing in English. It doesn’t have a subject, EVER!!
To form a present participle in French you have to conjugate the verb in the present indicative nous form, drop the –ons and add the ending -ant.
infinitive nous form add -ant translation
parler parlons parlant talking
finir finissons finissant finishing
perdre perdons perdant losing

8. Present Participles
There are only 3 irregular present participles in French. They must be memorized!
infinitive irregular stem add -ant translation
être ét- étant being
avoir ay- ayant having
savoir sach- sachant knowing
Remember they are never ever used with a subject!

9. Present Participles There are 3 uses of present participles in French.
1. As an adjective: charming (make agreement)
un homme charmant
une femme charmante
2. To say “while/by/upon ---ing...”
Je mange (tout) en regardant la télé.
adding tout before en emphasizes the action, it is optional.
3. In place of the relative pronoun qui
La fille qui porte le pull rouge est sympa.
La fille portant le pull rouge est sympa.
Present participles are used much more often in English. Do not confuse these with conjugated verbs ending in –ing. You would just use present indicative or imparfait for that translation.

10. C’est and il/elle est
Use c’est (it’s, he’s she’s) and ce sont (they’re) with a noun to identify who or what things are.
C’est une histoire vraie. Ce sont des acteurs.
It’s a true story They’re actors.
C’est is always followed by an article when used with nouns.
C’est un acteur. He’s an actor.
C’est un Français. He’s French.
C’est is also used with an adjective to describe something general.
Faire du ski c’est amusant.
Skiing is fun.

11. C’est and il/elle est
When talking about someone’s profession or nationality you can use c’est or il/elle est.
Use c’est when there’s an article before the noun.
Il est acteur. C’est un acteur.
Il est français. C’est un français.
Identify someone with il/elle est followed by a noun (without an article) or an adjective.
Channing Tatum? Il est acteur. Il est beau.
Katy Perry? Elle est chanteuse. Elle est belle.