Ever stumble over French sentences like “l’homme dont je t’ai parlé” or “le jour où nous nous sommes rencontrés”? Today, we’ll make the four essential relative pronouns — qui, que, dont, où — feel natural. You’ll learn when to use each one, see realistic examples, and practice along the way.

What do relative pronouns do?

Relative pronouns connect two ideas by referring back to a person, place, thing, or time mentioned before. They help you avoid repeating words and sound more fluent.

• "La femme qui habite là" = “The woman who lives there”
• "Le film que tu as vu" = “The film that you saw”
• "L’ami dont je me souviens" = “The friend I remember”
• "Le jour où on s’est rencontrés" = “The day when we met”

They introduce a relative clause — a mini sentence that describes or gives more information about a noun.

Qui vs Que: subject or object?

This is the most common confusion, and the rule is simple:

• Use qui when the pronoun is the subject of the verb that follows (the thing that does the action).
• Use que when the pronoun is the direct object of the verb that follows (the thing that receives the action).

Examples:

• "C’est un auteur qui écrit des romans." (The author writes — subject)
• "C’est un auteur que j’admire." (I admire the author — object)

Watch out in the passé composé: with que, the past participle often agrees in gender and number with the antecedent (the noun before que), because the direct object comes before the verb.

La personne que parle est ma prof. → La personne qui parle est ma prof. Use qui when the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb (parle).

Le film passe ce soir a été primé.

Le film tu as regardé hier était long.

La voisine habite au troisième nous prête souvent des livres.

Dont: replaces "de + noun" (including possession)

Dont is your go-to pronoun when the verb or expression takes de. It also expresses “whose.”

Common verbs and expressions with de:

• parler de (to talk about)
• se souvenir de (to remember)
• avoir besoin de (to need)
• être fier/fière de (to be proud of)
• rêver de (to dream of)
• s’occuper de (to take care of)

Examples:

• "Voici le contact dont tu m’as parlé." (You spoke about this contact)
• "C’est un projet dont nous sommes fiers." (We are proud of this project)
• "L’homme dont la voiture est rouge arrive." (Possession → whose car)

La personne dont de je parle est ici. → La personne dont je parle est ici. Never double the preposition: dont already includes de.

La femme tu te souviens habite à Lyon.

J’ai un ami la sœur travaille à Paris.

Les idées il parle sont controversées.

Où: for places and times (“where/when”)

Où introduces a relative clause linked to a place or a time.

• Place: "Le café où on se retrouve le dimanche"
• Time: "Le jour où nous sommes partis"
• Moment: "Au moment où je suis arrivé, il pleuvait"

In more formal French, you may also see "dans lequel/auquel" for places or times, but où is very common in speech.

Culture note: how French really sounds

In conversations, you’ll hear où a lot for times: "C’est le moment où…" In journalism and literature, dont appears frequently, especially with abstract nouns: "un phénomène dont on parle". Using dont correctly makes your French sound precise and natural.

Quick checks and helpful patterns

• If the verb after the pronoun needs a subject, use qui.
• If the pronoun is the direct object of the verb after it, use que (watch agreement).
• If the verb/expression uses de, or you mean “whose,” use dont.
• If you refer to a place or time, use où.

Try these final checks:

Le musée on a visité était fermé le lundi.

Le moment tout a changé, c’était en 2020.

Voici l’ami que je suis fier. → Voici l’ami dont je suis fier. fier de → use dont, not que.

Wrap-up

• qui = subject; que = direct object
• dont = replaces de + noun (and “whose”)
• où = place or time

Keep your ear out for these in podcasts, interviews, and news articles. The more you notice them in context, the more automatic your choice will become. Bon courage — you’ve got this!