Why French needs sentence structure
In English you emphasise a word simply by hitting it: MARIE paid the bill, or Marie PAID the bill. Same words, different message, no new grammar.
In French the sentence stress sits firmly at the end of the rhythm group and cannot be dropped on a single word. So sentence structure does the work: whatever you want to highlight is put into a construction of its own. That is called mise en relief. Rule of thumb: wherever you would stress a word in English, French usually reaches for c'est ... qui / que. English has the same device (the cleft sentence: it's Marie who paid), but in French it is the standard way to emphasise anything.
One sentence, four emphases
Marie a payé l'addition hier.
Marie paid the bill yesterday. (neutral)
C'est Marie qui a payé l'addition hier.
MARIE paid the bill yesterday.
C'est l'addition que Marie a payée hier.
Marie paid the BILL yesterday.
C'est hier que Marie a payé l'addition.
Marie paid the bill YESTERDAY.
c'est ... qui and c'est ... que
Which element, which construction
| Highlighted | Construction | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| subject | c'est ... qui | C'est Paul qui a offert ces fleurs. |
| direct object | c'est ... que | Ce sont ces fleurs que Paul a offertes. |
| indirect object | c'est à ... que | C'est à Julie que Paul a offert ces fleurs. |
| time | c'est ... que | C'est hier que Paul a offert ces fleurs. |
| reason | c'est pour ... que | C'est pour la remercier que Paul les a offertes. |
Base sentence: Paul a offert ces fleurs à Julie hier.
The verb after c'est moi qui
After c'est moi qui, c'est toi qui, c'est nous qui the verb agrees with the highlighted pronoun, not with qui. English says it's me who is responsible; French insists on C'est moi qui suis responsable, not C'est moi qui est responsable.
C'est moi qui ai pris la décision.
I made the decision.
C'est nous qui sommes arrivés les premiers.
We were the first to arrive.
Ce sont eux qui ont tout organisé.
They organised everything.
Before eux, elles and a plural noun, write ce sont: Ce sont mes parents qui décident. In speech you will mostly hear C'est mes parents qui décident.
ce qui ... c'est, ce dont ... c'est
The second family turns the sentence inside out: first an announcement (What annoys me...), then, after a comma, the punchline introduced by c'est. English has exactly this pattern (what I need is a break).
Announcement and punchline
Which form when?
| Form | When |
|---|---|
| ce qui | subject of the clause |
| ce que | direct object |
| ce dont | verb with de (avoir besoin de, parler de) |
| ce à quoi | verb with à (penser à, s'attendre à) |
The choice depends on what the verb requires
The four forms in a sentence
Ce qui m'inquiète, c'est le silence.
What worries me is the silence.
Ce que je préfère, c'est marcher en forêt.
What I like best is walking in the forest.
Ce dont nous avons parlé, c'est du budget.
What we talked about is the budget.
Ce à quoi je m'attendais, c'est à une réponse claire.
What I was expecting is a clear answer.
If the verb takes a preposition, it appears twice: once inside ce dont or ce à quoi, and again after c'est. English gets away with one what, which is why this is worth drilling. If a whole clause follows c'est, use c'est que: Ce qui est sûr, c'est qu'il ne viendra pas.
Dislocation - emphasis in spoken French
The third technique is typically spoken: a part of the sentence is pulled out and placed at the beginning or the end. A pronoun stays behind in the sentence to do its job.
Left or right?
To the left (topic first)
The element comes first and announces the topic.
Moi, je préfère le thé.
I personally prefer tea.
Ce film, je l'ai déjà vu.
That film, I've already seen.
To the right (afterthought)
The pronoun comes first and the element is added afterwards. It sounds spontaneous and evaluative.
Il est génial, ce livre.
It's brilliant, this book.
Elle est où, ta sœur ?
Where is she, your sister?
Dislocation is spoken (familier to courant). In an essay or a formal email, use c'est ... qui / que or ce qui ... c'est instead.
