In this section:

• Relative pronouns que et qui

• lire – to read

• Narration: passé composé vs. imparfait

Relative pronouns que et qui

forms and uses

A relative pronoun introduces a clause that explains or describes a previously mentioned noun, which is called the antecedent. Relative pronouns are used to link two related ideas into a single sentence, thereby avoiding repetition.

In the above example, the relative pronoun qui introduces the subordinate clause, that is, the clause that adds additional information about the novel. In French there are two main relative pronouns, qui and que. The choice between qui and que in French depends solely on the grammatical role, subject or direct object, that the relative pronoun plays in the subordinate clause.

• qui
Qui functions as the subject of the subordinate clause.

• que
Que functions as the direct object of the subordinate clause. Remember that que becomes qu’ before a word beginning with a vowel.

agreement

Although qui and que are invariable, they assume the gender and number of the antecedent. Que functions as a direct object preceding the verb. Therefore, when the verb of the subordinate clause is in the passé composé, or any other compound tense, the past participle agrees in number and gender with que. The past participle also agrees in number and gender with qui if the verb forms its passé composé with ‘être’.

lire – to read

The irregular verbs lire, dire, and écrire have similar conjugations. Listen carefully to the forms of these verbs in the present tense.

We will start with lire in this part of the module.

Narration: passé composé vs. imparfait

The passé composé is used in French in answer the question ‘What happened?’ On the other hand, you will usually put a verb in the imparfait if it answers the question ‘What was going on when something else happened?’ Generally, the passé composé is used to relate events while the imparfait is used to describe what was going on in the past, states of being in the past, or past habits.

All this takes on special importance in narration of past actions when both tenses often occur in the same story. Narrating a story entails both describing a setting (habitual actions, atmosphere, places, and people) and recounting a plot or a series of events, actions, changes of feelings, or thoughts. In general, all stories have a well-delineated plot line of events, the foreground, and a background of supporting details and descriptions. Some literary texts might subvert this rule, but this is out of a conscious effort to surprise or unsettle their reader.

The following adverbs are commonly associated with each of the past tenses:

Usually, when verbs like être, avoir, pouvoir, vouloir, and savoir are in a past narration, they will be in the imparfait, since they most likely describe a past state of being or condition. However, when these verbs (and others like them) occur in the passé composé, they indicate a change of state or a change of condition. Compare these examples:

The passé composé is also generally used for activities that lasted for a precise length of time, with a definite beginning and end. On the other hand, the imparfait is used for indefinite lengths of time. Look at these examples:

But ultimately it is the entire context that determines which of these two past tenses to use and not a given adverb. For example, in the sentences below, the same adverb, un jour, is used with the imperfect or the passé composé according to the context.

In the following story, note how the narration opens with an extended description of Tex’s early childhood in the imparfait, which serves as explanatory background to the plot-line events in the passé composé.