Learn French Grammar: Ce qui vs. Ce que: Indefinite Relative Pronouns

Grammar

The indefinite relative pronoun

Ce qui and ce que introduce a relative clause with no specific antecedent. They refer to an idea, a fact, or an unnamed thing, and they carry the general meaning of what in English.

Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est l'histoire. — what interests me
Ce que je préfère, c'est le café. — what I prefer
Je ne sais pas ce qui se passe. — I do not know what is happening

The two forms differ by the grammatical role each one plays inside the relative clause. Ce qui is the subject of the clause, and ce que is the direct object.

Ce qui and ce que by grammatical role

Role in the clause	Form	Example	English
subject of the verb	ce qui	Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est l'histoire.	What interests me is history.
subject of a reflexive verb	ce qui	Ce qui se passe est étrange.	What is happening is strange.
direct object of the verb	ce que	Ce que je préfère, c'est le café.	What I prefer is coffee.
direct object in a question	ce que	Je ne sais pas ce que tu veux.	I do not know what you want.
with a de-complement	ce dont	Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est de repos.	What I need is rest.

Ce qui: the subject of the clause

Ce qui is the subject of the relative clause. It performs the action of the verb that follows, and the verb agrees with it in the third-person singular.

Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est l'histoire. — history is what interests me
Ce qui est important, c'est la santé. — health is what matters
Ce qui se passe est étrange. — the thing happening is strange
Dis-moi ce qui te dérange. — tell me what bothers you

The verb following ce qui is always in the third-person singular, since ce is grammatically singular. Ce qui is itself the subject, so no second subject can appear in the clause.

Examples

Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est l'histoire.

Ce qui is the subject of intéresse, and the identification c'est l'histoire names what interests the speaker.

Ce que je préfère, c'est le café.

Ce que is the direct object of préfère, and the subject je appears between the pronoun and the verb.

Ce qui se passe est étrange.

Ce qui is the subject of the reflexive verb se passe. The verb is in the third-person singular.

Je ne sais pas ce qui se passe.

The indirect question uses ce qui because the missing element is the subject of se passe.

Je ne sais pas ce que tu veux.

The indirect question uses ce que because the missing element is the direct object of veux, and the subject tu appears between the pronoun and the verb.

Ce qui vs. Ce que: Indefinite Relative Pronouns (Ce qui et ce que : les relatifs indéfinis)

What you’ll learn

Grammar

The indefinite relative pronoun

Ce qui and ce que by grammatical role

Ce qui: the subject of the clause

Watch out for these

Examples

Exercises

Ce que: the direct object of the clause

Identification sentences with c'est

What you’ll learn

Grammar

The indefinite relative pronoun

Ce qui and ce que by grammatical role

Ce qui: the subject of the clause

Examples

Exercises

Related lessons

Ce que: the direct object of the clause

Identification sentences with c'est