qui (interrogatif)

Who with Qui

Level 1

Qui is the French interrogative pronoun for people (Who/Whom). It is invariable, meaning it never changes its form, and it never elides (drops its 'i') before a vowel.

How It Works

The pronoun qui is used exclusively for human beings or personified entities.

1. As a Subject (Who is doing the action?)
When qui is the subject, the verb that follows is usually in the 3rd person singular. However, with the verb être, the verb can be plural if it is followed by a plural noun.
• Qui parle ? (Who is speaking?)
• Qui sont ces gens ? (Who are these people?)
• Qui est-ce qui parle ? (Who is it that is speaking? - more emphatic)
• Qui est-ce ? (Who is it?)

2. As a Direct Object (Whom are you seeing?)
There are three ways to ask this, depending on the register:
• Formal: Qui voyez-vous ? (Inversion)
• Neutral: Qui est-ce que vous voyez ? (Using est-ce que)
• Informal: Vous voyez qui ? (Statement order)

3. With Prepositions and Possession
In French, prepositions like à, de, avec, or pour must come before qui. You cannot 'strand' a preposition at the end of a sentence like in English. To ask 'whose', use the construction à qui + être.
• À qui est ce livre ? (Whose book is this?)
• Avec qui tu sors ? (With whom are you going out?)

4. The 'No Elision' Rule
A common mistake is trying to shorten qui to qu' before a vowel. This is forbidden. While que becomes qu', qui always keeps its 'i'.
• Correct: Qui habite ici ?
• Incorrect: Qu'habite ici ?

Examples (6)

  1. Qui est-ce ?

    Who is it?

    Word by Word: Who is it?

    This is the standard way to ask 'Who is it?' or 'Who is that?'

  2. Qui veut manger avec moi ?

    Who wants to eat with me?

    Word by Word: Who wants to eat with me?

    Here 'qui' is the subject. Notice the verb 'veut' is in the 3rd person singular.

  3. Qui est-ce que tu invites ?

    Whom are you inviting?

    Word by Word: Who is it that you invite?

    Using 'est-ce que' makes 'qui' the object of the verb 'invites'.

  4. À qui est ce sac ?

    Whose bag is this?

    Word by Word: To whom is this bag?

    The preposition 'à' combined with 'qui' is used to ask about possession.

  5. Pour qui est ce cadeau ?

    Who is this gift for?

    Word by Word: For whom is this gift?

    The preposition 'pour' must stay in front of 'qui'.

  6. Qui a téléphoné ce matin ?

    Who called this morning?

    Word by Word: Who has telephoned this morning?

    Even before the vowel 'a', 'qui' does not elide.

Common Mistakes

  • Eliding 'qui' before a vowel.

    Qu'est venu à la fête ?
    Qui est venu à la fête ?

    Unlike 'que', 'qui' never drops its 'i'. Always write 'qui est' or 'qui a', never 'qu'est' or 'qu'a'.

  • Placing the preposition at the end of the sentence.

    Qui parles-tu à ?
    À qui parles-tu ?

    In French the preposition comes before the question word: 'À qui parles-tu ?'. English-style endings like 'Who are you talking to?' do not work with 'qui'.

  • Confusing 'qui est-ce qui' (subject) with 'qui est-ce que' (object).

    Qui est-ce que veut du café ?
    Qui est-ce qui veut du café ?

    Use 'qui est-ce qui' when 'who' is the subject doing the action. Use 'qui est-ce que' when 'who' is the object receiving the action.

How It Connects

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qui (interrogatif)Level 1Who with Qui

Learn This First

To use 'qui' as an interrogative, you need a basic grasp of French sentence structure (SVO) and how to form simple questions. Knowledge of common verbs like 'être' is also essential for identifying people in questions.

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qui