Relative pronoun "qui" - subject

Imagine you have two sentences. Sentence one: Je vois un homme (I see a man). Sentence two: L'homme chante (The man is singing). Both sentences talk about the same guy. Repeating l'homme makes you sound like a textbook from 1950. We want to combine them. We replace the repeated subject in the second sentence with qui. Now you have: Je vois un homme qui chante. Much better, right? The word qui is a relative pronoun. Specifically, it acts as the subject of the verb that follows it. It doesn't matter if the person is a man, a woman, or a group of people. Qui never changes its form based on gender or number. It’s like a reliable friend who always wears the same outfit but always looks good. Even native speakers love how simple this is. It keeps the conversation moving without unnecessary pauses. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. It tells the listener, "Hey, don't stop yet, I've got more info about that person!"

1. 1Creating sentences with qui is a simple 1-2-3 process. Follow these steps to glue your thoughts together:
2. 2Identify the antecedent. This is the fancy word for the person or thing you want to describe further.
3. 3Place qui immediately after that word. No gaps allowed!
4. 4Follow qui with a verb. Since qui is the subject, it needs an action to perform.
5. 5Let's try a real-world scenario. You're at a café. You see a croissant. The croissant looks delicious.
6. 6Sentence A: Je veux le croissant.
7. 7Sentence B: Le croissant est sur la table.
8. 8Combined: Je veux le croissant qui est sur la table.
9. 9You just used qui as a subject for the verb est. You've successfully navigated the menu and the grammar.

Use qui whenever the noun you are describing is the actor of the next part of your sentence. If that noun is the one doing the verb, qui is your choice.

• For People: C'est l'ami qui m'aide (It's the friend who helps me).
• For Things: C'est le train qui part (It's the train that is leaving).
• For Pets: C'est le chien qui aboie (It's the dog that is barking).

It's perfect for descriptions. Use it in job interviews: Je suis une personne qui apprend vite (I am a person who learns fast). Use it when asking for directions: Où est le bus qui va au centre-ville? (Where is the bus that goes downtown?). It makes you sound specific and confident. You aren't just looking for *a* bus; you're looking for *the* bus that does something.

This is where many people trip up. Do not use qui if the noun isn't the subject of the next verb. If there is already another subject (like je, tu, or Marie) doing the action, you probably need que.

Example: Le livre que je lis (The book that I am reading). Here, je is the subject, so qui is invited to stay home.

Also, don't use qui as a replacement for the entire sentence. It only replaces a specific noun. Finally, remember that at this level (A1), we aren't using qui after prepositions like avec or pour yet. Stick to using it as a direct subject right before a verb. Keep it simple and you'll stay safe.

1. 1The Vowel Trap: You might feel tempted to change qui to qu' before a vowel. Don't do it! Unlike que, which becomes qu', qui is stubborn. It keeps its "i" no matter what. L'ami qui arrive is correct. L'ami qu'arrive is a grammar crime.
2. 2The Missing Verb: Some people put qui and then forget the verb. Qui is hungry for action. It always needs a verb following it.
3. 3Agreement Amnesia: Remember that the verb after qui must agree with the noun qui is replacing. If you say Les chats qui mangent, the verb mangent must be plural. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes when they are in a rush.
4. 4Confusing Qui and Que: This is the big one. Just look at what comes after the pronoun. If it's a verb, use qui. If it's a noun or a pronoun (like je or le garçon), use que.

The main rival of qui is que. They look similar, but they have very different jobs.

• Qui = Subject. It is followed by a verb.
• Que = Direct Object. It is followed by a new subject + verb.

Think of qui as the lead actor in a play. It's doing the work. Think of que as the scenery. Someone else is doing the work *to* it.

Example with qui: La femme qui parle (The woman who is speaking). The woman is doing the speaking.

Example with que: La femme que je regarde (The woman whom I am watching). I am doing the watching; she is just being watched.

It's a subtle shift, but it changes everything. If you get stuck, just look for the verb. Verb next? Use qui.