📖LearnModule 6 · Lesson 16 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 4 · Sentences that breathe
qui — the one that does
Module 6 of the free French course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 16 of 30: Two short sentences become one good one with qui: J'ai un ami. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 16.
The words
French
English
Say it
qui
who, that (the doer)
kee
l'ami qui parle
the friend who is talking
lah-mee kee PAHRL
le film qui commence
the film that starts
luh feelm kee koh-MAH(n)S
le film
the film
luh FEELM
commencer
to start
koh-mah(n)-SAY
choisir
to choose
shwah-ZEER
c'est moi qui choisis
I am the one who chooses
seh mwah kee shwah-ZEE
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Two short sentences become one good one with qui: J'ai un ami. Il parle français. becomes J'ai un ami qui parle français. Qui stands for the DOER inside the new sentence.
Et aussi · And also
It works for things too: le film qui commence à huit heures, la chanson qui passe à la radio. Subject inside? Qui.
Attention · Watch out
qui is the DOER inside the relative clause, whatever it is: le film qui commence — a film can be a qui. It never shrinks before a vowel: l'ami qui arrive.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with qui.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 16 in Module 6 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.