How to use the interrogative pronouns ‘qui,’ ‘que,’ ‘quoi,’ and ‘lequel’ in French?

Use the French interrogative pronouns qui, que, quoi, and lequel to ask questions:

Use qui(who) to ask about people.
Use que(what) to ask about things.
Use quoi(what) as another form of que in certain settings.
Use lequel(which one) to refer to people or things that have been mentioned already.

But have you ever heard someone use the phrase “c’est qui qui…”(Who is it who...)? Or have you ever seen the pronouns auxquelles or duquel? If you’re curious, you’ve come to the right place! In this post, we’ll review how to use the interrogative pronoun qui as the subject and object of a sentence, how to use que as the subject and object of a sentence, when que becomes quoi, and how to use lequel, along with its contractions with the prepositions à(to) and de(of).

Are you ready? Allons-y ! (Let's go!)

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘qui’ in French?

Use the French interrogative pronoun qui(who / whom) to ask questions about people. You can use qui as the subject or the object.

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject of a question in French?

Use qui as the subject of a question to express “who.” You can either use qui on its own or with the phrase qui est-ce qui.

Qui est-là ?

Who is here?

Qui est-ce qui fait ce bruit ?

Who is making this noise?

Just like in English, when you ask a question with “who,” the verb (fait / est) is always conjugated in the third person singular (il / elle / on) form.

Tip

Qui est-ce qui can be a bit “heavy,” so you might prefer to stick with qui on its own.

Important

To create a question in French using qui, follow one of these two word orders:

Qui
verb
(in the 3rd person singular)
object
Qui prend la photo ?
Who is taking the photo?
Qui est-ce qui
verb
(in the 3rd person singular)
object
Qui est-ce qui arrosera les plantes ?
Who will water the plants?

No other word order is possible when qui is the subject.

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject in informal speech in French?

In informal speech, you use qui to ask about a subject using one of these strange phrases:

Qui c’est qui …?
C’est qui qui …?

Both of these phrases mean “who is it who?” Although they are not very elegant, they are used a lot. I can even tell you that I heard a certain French president use them quite a few times!

interrogative pronounrelative pronoun

C'est qui qui a mis les verres dans le lave-vaisselle ?

Who put the glasses in the dishwasher?

The following diagram shows different ways to use qui in the question "who called?" depending on formality:

MOST FORMAL

Qui est-ce qui a téléphoné ?

Qui a téléphoné ?

Qui c'est qui a téléphoné ?

C'est qui qui a téléphoné ?

LEAST FORMAL

Tip

Curious about the difference between formal and informal questions? Check out our article on the three types of French questions!

When to use ‘qui’ as the object of a question in French?

We use the interrogative pronoun qui as an object in order to say “whom,” and it is only used when referencing people.

subject

verb

qui

Tu préfères qui ?

Whom do you prefer?

There are several word order combinations possible, depending on the formality of the question. The graphic below illustrates various ways to ask, “Who are you looking for?”:

MOST FORMAL

qui + verb + subject:

Qui cherchez-vous ?

qui + est-ce que+ subject + verb:

Qui est-ce que vous cherchez ?

subject + verb + qui:

Vous cherchez qui ?

LEAST FORMAL

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘que’ in French?

Use the interrogative pronoun que as the subject or object of a sentence in French. We use que to ask questions about things or ideas, like you would use the word “what,” in English.

Tip

Note that que becomes qu' in front of a vowel, unlike qui.

How to use ‘que’ for subjects in French?

Use que to ask about a “what thing” or “what idea” is the subject in some situation. When you use que for the subject in French, you must use it in combination with est-ce qui, like this: qu’est-ce qui. This phrase literally means “what is it that...”

qu’est-ce qui

verb in the 3rd person singular

object

Qu’est-ce qui s’est passé à l’aéroport ?

What has happened at the airport?

Qu’est-ce qui arrivera à Anthony ?

What will happen to Anthony?

Notice that the answer to both of these questions will be the subject of a sentence.

Now, let’s see what to do when que is the object of a sentence.

How to use ‘que’ for objects in French?

Use que as the object of a sentence when you want to ask “what thing” or “what idea” someone is acting upon or if you want to ask what something is. You can use que as an object in a few different ways:

Use Qu’est-ce + que + subject + verb to make it clear that you are asking a question!
Qu’est-ce que tu regardes ?
What are you watching?
Qu’est-ce que c’est ?
What is it?
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ?
What’s the matter?
Que on its own is less common and much more formal.
Que s’est-il passé à l’aéroport ?
What happened at the airport?
Que mangez-vous ?
What are you eating?
Que portent-ils ?
What are they wearing?
In an informal question, que becomes quoi. (See the next section!)

The chart below will show you the difference in formality between the three ways to ask “What are you doing?”

MOST FORMAL

Que fais-tu?

Qu'est-ce que to fais ?

Tu fais quoi ?

LEAST FORMAL

Tip

My students often get confused with the several ways of asking questions in French. My advice is to stick with (Qu’)est-ce que, as it is perfect for all situations.

Now that you know the rule, try this exercise and see if you can choose between qui or que.

When does ‘que’ become ‘quoi’ in French?

The interrogative pronoun que will become quoi in informal French sentences when it is placed after the verb. Look at the two sentences below. What do you notice?

Que veux-tu ?

What do you want?

Tu veux quoi ?

What do you want?

que becomes quoi after a verb.

Keep this rule in mind when forming your questions.

Tu fais quoi ce weekend ?

What are you doing on the weekend?

Tip

Using this word order in spoken French is the most common and also the least formal.

You can also use quoi as an interjection. To practice sounding like a native speaker and to learn more about using quoi as a French interjection, check out our activity sheet! Or, study this list of common French expressions using quoi.

When to use ‘que’ and ‘qui’ with prepositions in French?

Use que and qui with prepositions when the verb of your question takes a preposition, usually à or de. When you use verbs that take a preposition, you will use this preposition in combination with que and qui.

When you use a preposition with que, something magical happens...
✨ It becomes quoi! ✨

que becomes quoi after a preposition.

Verb + preposition	Question with quoi
penser à to think about	À quoi penses-tu ? What are you thinking about?
avoir peur de to be scared of	De quoi tu as peur ? What are you scared of?
appuyer sur to press	J’appuie sur quoi ? What am I pressing on?

Qui with the prepositions à and de means "whom," but it does not change form like que:

Verb + preposition	Question with qui
parler à to talk to	À qui tu parles ? To whom are you talking?
parler de to talk about	De qui tu parles ? About whom are you talking?

Tip

Keep in mind that the order of the words is flexible. For example, above, you could also say, “Tu penses à quoi ?” or “Sur quoi j’appuie ?” or “À qui parles-tu ?”

Here is a list of French verbs with their prepositions that you might find useful.

Important

Always make sure the preposition is placed just before the interrogative pronoun qui or quoi, regardless of the word order you choose to use.

Qui est-ce que tu habites ~~avec~~ ?
→ Avec qui est-ce que tu habites ?

Whom do you live with?

So now you can ask “who,” “whom,” or “what” in French. But do you know how to say “which one”? Let’s learn about lequel!

How do you use the interrogative pronoun ‘lequel’ in French?

Use the interrogative pronoun lequel(which one) to refer to people or things that have been previously mentioned.

- Je vais acheter une casquette.

I’m going to buy a cap.

- Laquelle tu vas choisir ?

Which one are you going to choose?

Why am I using laquelle in this example? Because this interrogative pronoun must agree with the number and gender of the noun it replaces. In other words, check if your noun is singular or plural, and masculine or feminine, and follow this table to choose the right form of lequel:

Gender	Number	Form of lequel
masculine	singular	lequel
masculine	plural	lesquels
feminine	singular	laquelle
feminine	plural	lesquelles

Tip

Sometimes, you will hear the interrogative word quel and its variants. This interrogative typically modifies another noun in the sentence, and it is different from lequel . Read our article on forming questions to learn more about using quel in French questions!

In my previous example, I was replacing une casquette (feminine and singular), so I used the interrogative pronoun laquelle.

Let’s try another example together:

- J’ai perdu mes clés.

I lost my keys.

- ____________?

Which ones?

- Les clés de la maison !

The house keys!

Have you worked out which form to use here? Well done! Les clés is a feminine plural noun, therefore we replace it with lesquelles.

Before we wrap up, let’s review one last tricky part of using lequel. Sometimes, lequel will form a contraction with the prepositions that precede it. Let’s take a look.

How do prepositions change the form of ‘lequel’ in French?

Prepositions change the form of lequel in French by forming contractions with the interrogative pronoun. If you use lequel with the prepositions à or de, it contracts with these prepositions.

Example:

de

lequel

=

duquel

Pay attention to the sentence below in which the noun is mentioned, and check if the verb uses a preposition.

- Je vais parler à mon ami.

I’m going to speak to my friend.

- Auquel ? Maxence ou Gaspard ?

Which one? Maxence or Gaspard?

The verb is parler à, so lequel is combined with à to become auquel. Here are some more example sentences.

The following table shows how to use lequel in combination with the two most frequent prepositions: à and de.

preposition + lequel	singular		plural
preposition + lequel	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
without a preposition	lequel	laquelle	lesquels	lesquelles
à + lequel	aquel	à laquelle	auxquels	auxquelles
de + lequel	duquel	de laquelle	desquels	desquelles

For other prepositions like contre(against), pour(for), etc., simply place the preposition in front of the form of lequel you need to use. For example:

Pour lesquelles ?

For which ones?

Contre laquelle ?

Against which one?

Now, let’s review the main points that we have covered in this post.

Let’s recap

In this post, we’ve covered how to use the interrogative pronouns qui, que, quoi, and lequel.
Recall the following:

Here is how to use qui / que / quoi:
who
qui
qui est-ce qui
whom
qui
qui est-ce que
what
que
qu’est-ce que
qu’est-ce qui
quoi*
* (Use quoi to say “what” after a verb in an informal question or after a preposition.)
When using a verb that takes a preposition, always keep the preposition before the interrogative pronoun (à qui, de quoi….
Here is how to use lequel:
- Lequel refers to people and things that have been previously mentioned.
- Lequel has to agree with the noun it represents.
- Lequel takes different forms when used with the preposition à and de (auxquelles, duquel, etc.).

English	French
who	qui qui est-ce qui
whom	qui qui est-ce que
what	que qu’est-ce que qu’est-ce qui quoi*

Ready to test your knowledge? Here’s an activity for you to practice French interrogative pronouns!

How to use the interrogative pronouns ‘qui,’ ‘que,’ ‘quoi,’ and ‘lequel’ in French?

Table of Contents

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘qui’ in French?

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject of a question in French?

Tip

Important

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject in informal speech in French?

Tip

When to use ‘qui’ as the object of a question in French?

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘que’ in French?

Tip

How to use ‘que’ for subjects in French?

How to use ‘que’ for objects in French?

Tip

When does ‘que’ become ‘quoi’ in French?

Tip

When to use ‘que’ and ‘qui’ with prepositions in French?

Tip

Important

How do you use the interrogative pronoun ‘lequel’ in French?

Tip

How do prepositions change the form of ‘lequel’ in French?

Let’s recap

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How to use the interrogative pronouns ‘qui,’ ‘que,’ ‘quoi,’ and ‘lequel’ in French?

Table of Contents

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘qui’ in French?

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject of a question in French?

Tip

Important

How to use ‘qui’ as the subject in informal speech in French?

Tip

When to use ‘qui’ as the object of a question in French?

How to use the interrogative pronoun ‘que’ in French?

Tip

How to use ‘que’ for subjects in French?

How to use ‘que’ for objects in French?

Tip

When does ‘que’ become ‘quoi’ in French?

Tip

When to use ‘que’ and ‘qui’ with prepositions in French?

Tip

Important

How do you use the interrogative pronoun ‘lequel’ in French?

Tip

How do prepositions change the form of ‘lequel’ in French?

Let’s recap

Downloadable Resources

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Ready to take the next step?

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