French grammar · Advanced
De Qui, Dont, and Duquel: Relative Pronouns That Carry De
When a relative clause needs to carry a de — because the verb inside it is parler de, avoir besoin de, se souvenir de — French offers three ways to do it. Dont is the general one and works for people and things alike. De qui is a formal alternative for people. Duquel is obligatory when the de belongs to a longer preposition such as à côté de or au milieu de.
C'est le livre dont je t'ai parlé.
That's the book I told you about.
What it is
A relative pronoun has to inherit whatever preposition the verb inside the clause requires. If that verb takes de, the pronoun has to carry the de with it. Dont is the compact way of doing that; duquel is the expanded one you need when de is buried inside a longer phrase.
Je parle de ce livre. Voici le livre dont je parle. — I'm talking about this book. Here is the book I'm talking about.
How to spot it
Rebuild the clause as a full sentence. If it comes out with a de in it, you need one of these three pronouns.
- Le film dont tout le monde parle. — The film everyone's talking about. (parler de)
- L'outil dont j'ai besoin. — The tool I need. (avoir besoin de)
- La soirée dont je me souviens. — The evening I remember. (se souvenir de)
- L'arbre à côté duquel nous étions. — The tree we were sitting beside. (à côté de)
English usually drops the preposition or strands it at the end. French can do neither, which is why these pronouns exist at all.
De Qui, Dont, and Duquel Quick Reference
Which pronoun for which situation
| Situation | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + de, thing | dont | le sujet dont il parle |
| verb + de, person | dont | l'ami dont je parle |
| verb + de, person, formal | de qui | l'ami de qui je parle |
| possession | dont | la femme dont le fils est médecin |
| compound preposition + thing | duquel / de laquelle | la table au bout de laquelle |
| compound preposition + person | de qui or duquel | l'homme à côté de qui j'étais |
| no antecedent noun | ce dont | ce dont j'ai besoin |
| part of a group | dont | trois livres, dont deux en français |
Common De Qui, Dont, and Duquel Examples in French
The three pronouns in the clauses that require them:
Dont with a Verb That Takes De
- Le film dont je t'ai parlé sort vendredi.
- The film I told you about comes out on Friday.
- Voici la liste dont j'ai besoin.
- Here's the list I need.
- C'est un souvenir dont je me méfie.
- It's a memory I don't quite trust.
- Le poste dont il rêve n'existe pas.
- The job he dreams of doesn't exist.
Parler de, avoir besoin de, se souvenir de, rêver de, avoir envie de and se méfier de all produce dont.
Dont for Possession
- Une maison dont les volets sont bleus.
- A house whose shutters are blue.
- Un écrivain dont j'admire le style.
- A writer whose style I admire.
- La femme dont le fils travaille ici.
- The woman whose son works here.
- Un pays dont j'ai oublié le nom.
- A country whose name I've forgotten.
The word after dont is never a possessive. French says dont le fils, never dont son fils.
De Qui, for People
- La collègue de qui je vous ai parlé.
- The colleague I told you about.
- Voici l'homme de qui elle est amoureuse.
- Here's the man she's in love with.
- La personne à côté de qui j'étais assise.
- The person I was sitting next to.
In the first two, dont would be more usual. De qui only becomes obligatory after a compound preposition.
Duquel, After a Compound Preposition
- Le pont au-dessous duquel passe la rivière.
- The bridge the river passes under.
- La place au milieu de laquelle il y a une fontaine.
- The square with a fountain in the middle of it.
- Les raisons à cause desquelles il est parti.
- The reasons why he left.
- Le mur le long duquel poussent des roses.
- The wall roses grow along.
À côté de, au milieu de, au bout de, près de, à cause de, le long de and auprès de all block dont.
How the Three Divide the Work
One rule explains almost everything: dont replaces a bare de, and anything more complicated needs the long form.
Dont Replaces De Plus a Noun
Whenever the verb inside the relative clause takes de, dont absorbs both the preposition and the noun. It works for people and for things, and it never changes form.
L'entreprise dont il est le directeur a fermé.
The company he is the director of has closed.
de + noun → dont.
The Clause After Dont Keeps Normal Word Order
Subject then verb, with no inversion. English can invert or strand the preposition; French cannot, and dont is always followed immediately by the subject of its clause.
Le pays dont mes parents sont originaires.
The country my parents come from.
dont + subject + verb.
No Possessive Adjective After Dont
Dont already expresses possession, so the noun that follows takes a plain definite article. Repeating the idea with son or leur duplicates information the pronoun has already supplied.
Un ami dont la sœur habite à Nice.
A friend whose sister lives in Nice.
dont le, dont la, dont les — never dont son.
A Compound Preposition Blocks Dont
If the de is part of a longer preposition, dont cannot be used, because dont can only stand for a de that belongs to the verb. You need duquel, de laquelle, desquels or desquelles instead.
La maison en face de laquelle il s'est garé.
The house he parked opposite.
à côté de, au milieu de, près de → duquel.
Duquel Agrees With Its Antecedent
Unlike dont, the long form has four shapes and has to match the gender and number of the noun it refers back to. That agreement is what makes it clear which noun is meant in a long sentence.
Les arbres au pied desquels nous avons pique-niqué.
The trees we picnicked at the foot of.
duquel, de laquelle, desquels, desquelles.
Common Mistakes with De Qui, Dont, and Duquel
Incorrect: La femme dont son fils est médecin. — The woman whose son is a doctor.
Correct: La femme dont le fils est médecin. — The woman whose son is a doctor.
Dont already carries the possession, so the noun after it takes a plain article. Adding son says the same thing twice.
Incorrect: Le café dont je suis assis à côté. — The café I'm sitting next to.
Correct: Le café à côté duquel je suis assis. — The café I'm sitting next to.
À côté de is a compound preposition, which dont cannot represent. It also has to sit in front of the pronoun, since French never strands a preposition at the end.
Incorrect: C'est le livre que j'ai besoin. — That's the book I need.
Correct: C'est le livre dont j'ai besoin. — That's the book I need.
Avoir besoin governs de, so the relative pronoun has to carry that de. Que only replaces a plain direct object.
Incorrect: La raison dont il est parti. — The reason he left.
Correct: La raison pour laquelle il est parti. — The reason he left.
Nothing in the clause takes de; the link is pour. The pronoun therefore has to be pour laquelle, agreeing with the feminine raison.
Ce Dont and Dont for Quantities
Two uses that fall outside the basic pattern and are worth meeting separately.
Ce dont, when there is no noun to refer back to
If the relative clause has no antecedent — because you are referring to a whole idea rather than a named thing — French uses ce dont.
- Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est de calme.
- What I need is quiet.
- Je ne comprends pas ce dont il parle.
- I don't understand what he's talking about.
- Dis-moi ce dont tu as envie.
- Tell me what you feel like.
Compare ce que for a verb with a direct object, and ce qui for a subject: ce que je veux, ce qui me plaît, ce dont j'ai besoin.
Dont meaning including or of which
After a number or a quantity, dont introduces a subset. There is no verb requiring de here; the de is partitive.
- Il a écrit dix romans, dont trois en anglais.
- He wrote ten novels, three of them in English.
- Vingt personnes sont venues, dont ma sœur.
- Twenty people came, including my sister.
- Elle a plusieurs diplômes, dont un doctorat.
- She has several qualifications, including a doctorate.
This use has no verb at all in the clause, which makes it easy to recognise: dont is followed straight by a noun or number.
The way in which
Dont can express manner with a small set of verbs, chiefly in the fixed phrase la façon dont and la manière dont.
- La façon dont il parle m'agace.
- The way he speaks irritates me.
- J'aime la manière dont elle raconte les histoires.
- I like the way she tells stories.
- C'est la façon dont on m'a appris.
- That's the way I was taught.
For a reason rather than a manner, French uses la raison pour laquelle, not dont.
De Qui, Dont, and Duquel FAQs
- When do you use dont in French?
- Whenever the relative clause contains a verb or expression that takes de: parler de, avoir besoin de, se souvenir de, être fier de. Dont absorbs the de and the noun together: le film dont je parle. It also expresses possession, as in la maison dont le toit est rouge.
- What's the difference between dont and duquel?
- Dont replaces a de that belongs to the verb. Duquel is needed when the de is the tail of a longer preposition such as à côté de, au milieu de or à cause de. Duquel also agrees with its antecedent, giving de laquelle, desquels and desquelles.
- Can you use de qui instead of dont?
- For a person, yes, and it sounds more formal: l'ami de qui je vous ai parlé. It becomes the natural choice after a compound preposition, where dont is impossible: la personne à côté de qui j'étais assis.
- Why is it dont le fils and not dont son fils?
- Because dont is already doing the work of whose. The noun after it takes an ordinary definite article, and adding a possessive would express the same relationship twice over.
- What does ce dont mean?
- What, when the thing referred to has no name in the sentence and the verb takes de: ce dont j'ai besoin, what I need. It sits alongside ce qui for subjects and ce que for direct objects.