c'est...qui

Emphasizing the Subject with C'est...qui

Level 4

Use c'est...qui to put a 'spotlight' on the person or thing performing an action. It is the standard way to answer 'Who...?' questions in French.

How It Works

The c'est...qui construction (known as la mise en relief) is essential because French doesn't use vocal stress to emphasize words like English does. Instead, French uses syntax.

1. Structure:
Place c'est before the subject, followed by the relative pronoun qui and the rest of the sentence. If the subject is a pronoun, you must use disjunctive (stressed) pronouns (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles) instead of standard subject pronouns.

  • Marie chante. (Neutral: Marie sings.)
  • C'est Marie qui chante. (Emphatic: It is Marie who is singing.)
  • C'est moi qui chante. (It is I who am singing.)

2. Verb Agreement:
Crucially, the verb following qui must agree with the emphasized subject, not with c'est or qui.

  • C'est moi qui suis... (It is I who am...)
  • C'est nous qui avons... (It is we who have...)

3. Register and Plurals:
In formal writing, ce sont is used for 3rd-person plural subjects (nouns or eux/elles). However, for 1st and 2nd person plural (nous and vous), c'est is mandatory in all registers. In everyday spoken French, c'est is commonly used for all plurals.

  • Formal 3rd Person: Ce sont mes amis qui arrivent.
  • Mandatory for 1st/2nd Person: C'est nous qui partons. (Never Ce sont nous)
  • Spoken: C'est mes amis qui arrivent.

4. Tense Matching:
The construction can change tense to match the context of the sentence.

  • C'était Marie qui avait raison. (It was Marie who was right.)

5. No Elision:
Unlike the pronoun que, the word qui never drops its 'i' before a vowel. It is always qui, never qu'.

Examples (5)

  1. C'est moi qui ai fait le gâteau.

    It was me who made the cake.

    Word by Word: It is me who has made the cake.

    Notice that the verb 'ai' (avoir) agrees with 'moi' (je), not with 'c'est'.

  2. C'est la pluie qui nous a empêchés de sortir.

    It was the rain that kept us from going out.

    Word by Word: It is the rain which us has prevented from to go out.

    'Qui' can be used for inanimate objects like 'la pluie', not just for people.

  3. Ce sont les enfants qui ont décoré le sapin.

    It is the children who decorated the tree.

    Word by Word: It are the children who have decorated the fir tree.

    This uses the formal 'ce sont' because the subject 'les enfants' is plural.

  4. C'est toi qui as raison.

    You are the one who is right.

    Word by Word: It is you who has reason.

    The verb 'as' agrees with the stressed pronoun 'toi' (tu).

  5. C'est lui qui arrive le premier.

    He is the one arriving first.

    Word by Word: It is him who arrives the first.

    Even though 'arrive' starts with a vowel, 'qui' does not elide to 'qu''.

Common Mistakes

  • Incorrect verb agreement after 'qui'.

    C'est nous qui a gagné.
    C'est nous qui avons gagné.

    The verb must agree with the subject being emphasized (nous), not with 'c'est'.

  • Eliding 'qui' before a vowel.

    C'est lui qu'est là.
    C'est lui qui est là.

    The relative pronoun 'qui' never undergoes elision; the 'i' is always maintained.

  • Using 'qui' to emphasize an object.

    C'est le livre qui j'ai lu.
    C'est le livre que j'ai lu.

    Use 'qui' only when the emphasized part is the subject. If it is the object, use 'que'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

c'est...quiLevel 4Emphasizing the Subject with C'est...qui

Learn This First

To learn the 'c'est...qui' cleft construction, you first need to be comfortable with the basic 'c'est' structure used for identification. You also need to understand how the relative pronoun 'qui' functions as a subject marker to connect the emphasized noun or pronoun to the action that follows.

Words in This Pattern

c'estqui