grammar
Le pronom relatif « qui »: Connecting your sentences.
In English, we use different words to connect sentences depending on what we are talking about: "who" for people, and "which" or "that" for things. French makes this much easier. When replacing the subject of a sentence to link two ideas, you use only one word for both people and things: qui.
The Golden Rule of « Qui »
Because qui functions as the subject of the new clause it creates, it must always be followed immediately by a conjugated verb. It seamlessly works across all tenses (present, past, and future).
In the present tense:
« Nous prenons le train qui va à Paris. »
(We are taking the train that goes to Paris.)
For people:
« Elle connaît une femme qui travaille ici. »
(She knows a woman who works here.)
In the future tense:
« Il a commandé un livre qui arrivera lundi. »
(He ordered a book which will arrive on Monday.)
With the passive voice:
« C'est un château qui a été bâti au Moyen Âge. »
(It is a castle that was built in the Middle Ages.)
In the past (imparfait):
« J'ai mangé la pomme qui était dans le frigo. »
(I ate the apple that was in the fridge.)
A common mistake for beginners is confusing qui and que. Remember this structural shortcut: qui is almost always followed by a verb (as seen above), whereas que is followed by a new subject (like je, tu, il).
Example: Le livre qui est sur la table. (The book that is on the table.)