RELATIVE PRONOUNS IV

A. "Pour qui," "dans lequel," and "(ce) sur quoi" are relative pronouns. They link a sentence's main clause to its subordinate clause by marking the antecedent -- a noun in the main clause or an entire clause -- as the object of a preposition (pour, dans, sur, etc.) in the subordinate clause.

1. Use Preposition + qui when the antecedent is a person.
Ex. Voilà l'étudiant avec qui j'ai étudié.

2. Use Preposition + lequel when the antecedent is a thing
Ex. Voilà le divan sur lequel j'ai étudié.

NOTE 1: With the preposition "de," use "dont."
NOTE 2: You may replace "dont" with "duquel," etc. to make the antecedent clear.
Ex. Voilà la fille de l'homme de laquelle je vous ai parlée.
NOTE 3: You may not use "dont" with compound prepositions that include "de," such as "à côté de."Ex. le fleuve le long duquel je me suis promené.

3. In order to say "the one (on, under, etc) which," use the demonstrative pronoun as antecedent: celui sur qui, celles sous lesquelles, etc.

Exercises. Tranlate using the correct relative pronoun: Click for vocabulary help
Some verbs and prepositions (penser à, parler de, compter sur)
1. Il a mentionné le village______________ (which he was born in).

2. N'oubliez pas la forêt _____________(near which we walked the dog)

3. C'est l'administrateur _____________(whom we are all counting on)

4. Quelle est l'idée ______________(that you were thinking about)?

5. Montrez-moi le jeune homme____________(with whom you will go to the park)

6. Est-ce nous _____________(for whom he died)?

7. J'ai vu les femmes____________(about which he was speaking).

8. La maison________________(next to which) se trouve l'église.

9. Des voitures? Achetez ____________________(the one behind which) l'enfant joue.

10. Parmi les garages, __________________(which is the one he is hiding in)?

4. Preposition + "quoi" is used when the antecedent is an indefinite thing or idea or an entire clause. "Ce" + prep. + "quoi" must be used at the beginning of a sentence, but is sometimes used within the sentence. After "tout" one must use "ce" + prep. + "quoi."

NOTE 1: The "ce" is necessary, therefore, only when the relative pronoun begins a sentence.
Examples:
J'ai réussi, sans quoi (ce sans quoi) je ne serais pas venu..
Ce sur quoi je comptais, c'était que tu nous aides.
NOTE 2: "Tout" + "ce" + preposition + "quoi" means "everything that" or "all that."

Exercises: Click for vocabulary help
1. Dites-nous ____________(what you are working with).
.

2. Un témoin a vu le crime, (without which) on n'aurait jamais arrêté le criminel.

3. _______________________(What I'm thinking about), c'est le danger qu'il pose.

4 Rappelle-moi ______________________(everything without which) nous ne pourrions pas survivre.

B. Relative Pronouns whose antecedent signifies a place or time are generally replaced by "où." If the preposition of place is "de" or "par," the relative pronoun is replaced by "d'où" or "par où."

Examples:
1. la piscine où (dans laquelle) j'ai nagé.
2. la ville d'où (de laquelle) nous arrivons.
3. la rue par où je suis passé.
4. le mois où il est mort.
5. au moment où, à l'époque où, etc.

NOTE: French cannot use "quand" after expressions of time.

Exercises: Click for vocabulary help
1. Je me demande quel est le pays__________________(that he comes from).

2. On est arrivé______________(at the moment (when)) il partait.

3. Le pays______________(through which) nous avons voyagé, c'est la Grèce.

4. Quel est l'endroit_______________(in which) il s'est arrêté?

Vocabulary:
to walk (a person or a dog): promener qqn./un animal
to (take a) walk: se promener
to be born: naître
to die: mourir
next to: à côté de
to hide (oneself): se cacher
to hide (someone else): cacher
to survive: survivre

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