There are several ways of formulating an open-ended question in English using interrogative pronouns such as “what,” as in “What are you doing?" In French, there are four equivalents to “what”: the interrogative pronouns que, quoi, qu’est-ce que, and qu’est-ce-qui. Which one should you use? That depends on grammar and the desired level of formality. Let's explore how to use these four different versions of “what.”

The most common way to form a “what” question in French is with the somewhat convoluted phrase qu’est-ce que (literally, "what is it that"), as in Qu’est-ce que c’est ? ("what is it" or "what is that," or literally, "what is it that that is?") Here is an example from our Sophie et Patrice video series:

Mais ces gens crient là-bas. Qu'est-ce que c'est ?

But those people are shouting over there. What is that?

Caption 38, Sophie et Patrice Charles III

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In another Sophie et Patrice video, Sophie adds an extra que to qu'est-ce que c'est to make the idiomatic expression qu’est-ce que c’est que. This is a way to ask about something you're not familiar with or are surprised by. In this case, Sophie is expressing surprise at Patrice's new mustache:

Alors qu'est-ce que c'est que cette moustache ?

So what's with this mustache?

Caption 1, Sophie et Patrice Patrice va jouer Proust

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Going back to qu’est-ce que c’est, here is another example for you:

Alors globalement un four banal, qu'est-ce que c'est ?

So what is a communal oven, basically? [So basically a communal oven, what is it?]

Caption 21, Voyage en France Montmorency - Part 3

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You'll notice that the word order is reversed in the translation. Putting what is it at the end may seem back to front to an English speaker, but it is perfectly natural in French and quite common.

Here is an example where French follows the same sentence structure as in English, with qu’est-ce que (what) at the start of the question:

Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire après? Est-ce que tu vas danser, [chanter]...?

What will you do next? Are you going to dance, sing...?

Caption 25, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 4

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Our speaker could have started his question with que instead, which would mean the same thing. However, grammatically speaking, starting questions with que is trickier as it requires an inversion (when subject and verb switch places). In addition, the tone might have seemed slightly too formal in this very casual conversation with the locals:

Que vas-tu faire après ? 

What will you do next? 

On the other hand, the use of que does not seem out of place in the slightly more formal context of this next example, where a restaurant owner is being interviewed. 

Que vas-tu nous préparer au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

Caption 5, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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Still, the difference in formality is so subtle that both qu’est-ce que and que would have been appropriate for the situation:

Qu'est-ce que tu vas nous préparer au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

On the other hand, if our speaker had used quoi instead, he might have sounded too casual:   

Tu vas nous préparer quoi au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

Indeed, quoi is reserved for more casual settings, such as a conversation among friends or addressing young kids, like the interviewer in the following video. There is no need to switch verb and subject with quoi, but note that quoi always comes after the verb, unlike in English:

Tu fais quoi ici? -Tu fais quoi ici, Nougra, toi?

What are you doing here? -What are you doing here, Nougra?

Caption 77, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 3

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Quoi can also act as a standalone interrogative pronoun. Quoi ? is the equivalent of “What?” in English, often used when expressing surprise. In this video, Sacha is shocked to hear about Sam’s impending marriage:

Quoi ?

What?

Caption 3, Extr@ Ep. 13 - Un mariage dans l’air - Part 5

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Note that you cannot use que as a standalone pronoun. 

Finally, here is a trickier equivalent to “what,” qu’est-ce qui, which is often used to ask what is going on or what happened. As this frequently involves using impersonal verbs that have no real subject, qu’est-ce qui becomes the subject. In other words, unlike qu'est-ce que, which precedes a subject + verb, qu'est-ce qui only precedes a verb. Here is an example with the expression Qu’est-ce qui t’arrive ? (What’s the matter with you?)

Tu as mal à la dent ? Qu'est-ce qui t'arrive ?

Do you have a toothache? What's the matter with you?

Captions 1-2, Sara et Lionel J'ai mal aux dents

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Quoi ? This lesson is over? Not quite. Remember that qu’est-ce que and que are pretty much interchangeable but are grammatically different, and qu’est-ce qui is often used to ask what is going on. As for quoi, it's more suited to casual situations. Feel free to browse through our Yabla videos to know what’s what and familiarize yourself with the various ways of asking questions. Thank you for reading!

In a previous lesson on French art vocabulary, we learned that “le cadre is the frame around a painting or photograph.” In this lesson, we will focus on other meanings of cadre (frame) that are not related to art. In the process, we will also discuss related vocabulary such as encadrement (frame, management) and encadrer (to frame, supervise) that are also not always art-related.

Indeed, un cadre can take on a more figurative meaning. In the example below, it means “an environment”:

On a un cadre qui est vraiment agréable donc les gens viennent.

We have an environment that is really pleasant, so people come.

Caption 59, Le Mans TV Mon Village - Malicorne - Part 1

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Or, un cadre is simply “a space,” an interior space:

On a pris une décoratrice d'intérieur pour nous faire un cadre vraiment zen, épuré

We took on an interior designer to make us a really Zen, clean space

Caption 18, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: à l'Anatable à Dinsheim

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As mentioned in the previous lesson, "un cadre is also the word for 'framework' (as in the expression dans le cadre de, 'within the framework of')":

Donc là on leur met - et bien évidemment dans le cadre de ce suivi - une bague du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de Paris

So there we put on them - and quite obviously within the framework of this follow-up - a ring from the Paris Museum of Natural History

Captions 13-14, Canal 32 Les secrets des cailles des blés

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The expression dans le cadre de can also mean “within the context of”:

et que ça rentre aussi tout à fait dans le cadre du vivre-ensemble

and that it also falls really well within the context of harmonious living

Caption 38, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 4

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You might come across a less common meaning of dans le cadre de: “as part of,” as in part of an event, such as the anniversary of a wine route: 

Oui. C'est un petit peu aussi dans le cadre du soixantième anniversaire de la route des vins.

Yes. It's a little bit also as part of the sixtieth anniversary of the wine route.

Caption 6, Alsace 20 100 recettes pour 100 vins

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In short, un cadre refers to a space, environment, setting, framework, or context. But you may be surprised to learn that it’s also the word for "executive" or "manager." For example, the mother in the following video is une cadre supérieure (a top executive):

Mère de famille, cadre supérieure

Mother of a family, top executive

Caption 7, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 2

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And it seems logical that un poste d’encadrement should refer to "a management position":

Découvrons un premier exemple pour un poste d'encadrement.

Let's discover a first example, for a management position.

Caption 64, QuestionEntretien Pourquoi vous et pas un autre ? - Part 3

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Likewise, the verb encadrer means “to organize” or “supervise.” (Note that in an art context, encadrer means to frame a picture or a photograph.) In the video below, the speaker mentions that the annual Paris-Plage event was bien encadré (well organized) thanks to its constant supervising and monitoring:

C'est toujours, euh... bien encadré.

It's always, uh... well organized.

Caption 24, Lionel L Paris-Plage - Part 2

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Encadrer is synonymous with surveiller (to supervise, monitor, surveil):

Il y a toujours des gens pour encadrer, surveiller.

There are always people to supervise, monitor.

Caption 29, Lionel L Paris-Plage - Part 2

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Encadré in the broader sense of the word means “taken care of.” In the following video, the speaker would like to go on a cruise where everything is encadré:

Tout est encadré.

Everything is taken care of.

Caption 40, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes grands-parents sont infidèles - Part 1

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However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, encadré can imply excessive interference to the point of feeling restricted. In the video below, Youssef Ben Amar, a contender in the legislative race, tries to debunk the myth that politics is about imposing restrictions:

On nous a vendu le mot "politique" comme quelque chose de très encadré

We've been sold the word "politics" as something very restricted

Captions 14-15, Le Mans TV Youssef Ben Amar, un rappeur engagé en politique

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Worse still, encadrer is not just a criticism—it can also describe something or someone you can't stand:

Je ne peux pas me les encadrer.

I can't stomach them.

Caption 85, Le saviez-vous? Comment dire qu'on n'aime pas?

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So, to sum up, encadrer has many meanings, ranging from “to frame," "to supervise", "to organize," "to loathe.” The Yabla team will make sure that you’re bien encadré or bien encadrée (well taken care of) thanks to our numerous videos.

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\Wishing you every success dans le cadre de Yabla! Thank you for reading.

Imagine your friend is trying to decide on a shirt to wear to a party and asks for your opinion. In French, there are two main forms that question could take: 

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Quelle chemise préfères-tu? 
Which shirt do you prefer? 

Laquelle de ces chemises préfères-tu? 
Which of these shirts do you prefer? 

There's a slight but important difference between these two questions. Though quelle and laquelle both mean "which," laquelle more specifically means "which one." Since laquelle is a pronoun, you can simplify the second sentence and just say, Laquelle préfères-tu? (Which one do you prefer?) However, you can't simplify the first one (Quelle préfères-tu?) because quelle is an adjective and therefore always precedes a noun. 

Note that quelle and laquelle agree in number (singular) and gender (feminine) with the noun they refer to, chemise. Their other forms are quel/lequel (masculine singular), quels/lesquels (masculine plural), and quelles/lesquelles (feminine plural). As you can see, the pronoun is formed by combining the definite article le, la, or les with the corresponding form of quel.

Besides introducing a question, lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles can also be used after a preposition. Here they are in action with the prepositions sur (on) and dans (in):
 

Le territoire sur lequel ils sont installés...

The territory on which they have settled...

Caption 41, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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Par exemple, j'ai ma deuxième robe,

For example, I have my second dress,

dans laquelle je chante mon duo.

in which I sing my duet.

Caption 25, Melissa Mars - Mozart, l'opéra rock

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Watch out for the prepositions à (to) and de (of, from) in this construction. Just as à + le becomes au instead of à le, and de + le becomes du instead of de le, à + lequel and de + lequel become auquel (to which) and duquel (from which, of which, about which). In all forms except the feminine singular (à laquelle, de laquelle), à and de combine with the pronoun to form one word: 

Masculine singular: duquel (de + lequel), auquel (à + lequel)
Masculine plural: desquels (de + lesquels), auxquels (à + lesquels)
Feminine plural: desquelles (de + lesquelles), auxquelles (à + lesquelles)

An important note about duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles: these constructions are often replaced by the word dont, the subject of our previous lesson. So instead of a sentence like: 

Voici le livre duquel je t'ai parlé hier. 
Here is the book about which I spoke to you yesterday. 

You would more often hear:

Voici le livre dont je t'ai parlé hier. 
Here is the book I spoke to you about yesterday. 

However, you have to use duquel, de laquelle, etc., whenever the de is part of a prepositional phrase such as près de (near), à côté de (next to), or loin de (far from):
 

Il est bordé des quais de Valmy et de Jemmapes

It is bordered by the Quais de Valmy and Jemmapes,

au bord duquel se trouve le fameux Hôtel du Nord.

along which is found the famous Hôtel du Nord [Northern Hotel].

Captions 33-34, De nouvelles découvertes avec Marion - Le canal Saint-Martin

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Another important note: Though it's common in English to end a clause with a preposition like "about" or "from," you can never do this with de, duquel/de laquelle, etc., or dont. For example, you can say "the book I spoke to you about," but you can never say le livre je t'ai parlé duquel or le livre je t'ai parlé dont. You can only say le livre duquel je t'ai parlé or le livre dont je t'ai parlé (the book about which I spoke to you).  

Thanks for reading! Tweet us @yabla or email us at [email protected] with any questions, feedback, or suggestions for future lesson topics.