How to Use French Interrogative Pronouns Qui and Que

French has three interrogative pronouns: qui,  que, and lequel, which are used to ask questions. They all have differences in meaning and usage. Note that lequel  is a more complicated case and, as such, is addressed separately. Also, while qui and que are also  relative pronouns,  we are only discussing them here in their function as interrogative pronouns. How to Use Qui   Qui  means  who  or  whom, and it is used when asking about people. Qui as Subject When we want to use qui as the  subject  of the question, meaning  who, you can use either  qui  or  qui est-ce qui. In this case, the word order cannot be inverted, and the verb is always third person singular. Qui veut le faire? / Qui est-ce qui veut le faire?  Who wants to do it? (answer: Pierre wants to do it. Qui refers to Pierre, the subject of the sentence.)Qui parle? / Qui est-ce qui parle?  Who is speaking? (answer: Margot is speaking. Qui refers to Margot, the subject of the sentence.) Qui as Object To use qui as the object of the question, in the sense of whom, qui can be followed by either est-ce que or inversion. Qui est-ce que vous aimez  ? / Qui aimez-vous ? Whom do you love? (answer: I love Julien. Qui refers to Julien, the object of the sentence.)Qui est-ce que tu vois  ? / Qui vois-tu  ? Whom do you see? (answer: I see Manon. Qui refers to Manon, the object of the sentence.) Qui After a Preposition À qui est-ce que tu parles  ? / À qui parles-tu  ?  To whom are you speaking?De qui est-ce que tu dà ©pends  ? / De qui dà ©pends-tu  ? Upon whom do you depend? How to Use Que Que means what and is used to refer to ideas or things. Que as Subject When  que  is the subject of the question, you must use  quest-ce followed by qui  (which is the part that refers to the subject) and followed by a verb in the third person singular, with no inversion. Quest-ce qui se passe  ? Whats happening?Quest-ce qui est tombà © sur la terre  ?  What fell on the ground? Que as Object When  que  is the object of the question, it can be followed by est-ce que or inversion. Quest-ce quil veut? / Que veut-il  ?  What does he want?Quest-ce que tu penses de mon idà ©e? / Que penses-tu de mon idà ©e? What do you think of my idea?Quest-ce que cest (que cela)  ? What is that? Que to Quoi After a preposition, the meaning of que (as what) remains but its format changes to quoi. De quoi est-ce que vous parlez? / De quoi parlez-vous? What are you talking about?À quoi est-ce quil travaille? / À quoi travaille-t-il?  Whats he working on? More Examples of the Interrogative  Pronouns Qui and Que Qui donc ta frappà ©? Who hit you? (qui as subject)Qui est-ce qui en veut? Who wants some? (qui as subject)Qui cherchez-vous?  Who are you looking for? (qui as object)Cest à   qui?  Whose is it,  to whom does it belong? (qui as object)À qui le tour?  Whose turn (is it)? (qui as object)De qui parles-tu?  Who  (ou  whom) are you talking about? (qui as object)Qui est-ce que tu connais ici? Who do you know around here? (qui as object)À qui est-ce que je dois de largent?  Who do I owe money to? / To whom do I owe money?  (qui as object)Quy a-t-il? Whats the matter? (que as subject)Que devient-elle? Whats become of her? (que as object)Quest-ce que je vois / jentends? What is this I see / hear? (que as object)Quest-ce qui tarrive?  Whats the matter with you? (que as subject)Quest-ce que la libertà ©? What is freedom? (que as object) Summary of French Interrogative Pronouns Subject of question Object of question After preposition People(who?) quiqui est-ce qui quiqui est-ce que qui Things(what?) quequ'est-ce qui quequ'est-ce que quoi