Relative Pronoun "dont" • French Grammar • Chatterbug

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Verbs & Conjugation 41 grammar topics Pronouns 16 grammar topics Adjectives and Adverbs 14 grammar topics Nouns and Articles 5 grammar topics Prepositions 9 grammar topics Useful Words and Phrases 12 grammar topics Asking Questions 7 grammar topics Negation 3 grammar topics French Grammar Explained / Relative pronoun "dont" Share this article with others: Tu te souviens des pronoms relatifs dont je t'ai parlé ?Do you remember the relative pronouns I told you about?Uh... Am I suppose to answer this question?There are four relative pronouns in French:Qui → The relative pronoun subject of the verb.Que → The relative pronoun object of the verb.Où → The relative pronoun complement of time and space.DontThe last one, dont, might be the trickiest one to use. Let's have a look at some examples:Voici mon ami. Je t'ai parlé de mon ami.Here's my friend. I told you about my friend.J'achète une cuillère. J'ai besoin de cette cuillère.I am buying a spoon. I need this spoon.As we know, a sentence where a word (here: ami and cuillère) is repeated does not please French speakers.Oh I know, I know... French people are quite something!There is a simple way to avoid this though: with dont! Voici mon amidont je t'ai parlé.Here's my friend I told you about.J'achète la cuillèredont j'ai besoin.I'm buying the spoon that I need.In these sentences, the verb is still there. The noun that was repeated appears only once. And the preposition of the verb, de, has now been replaced by the relative pronoun dont. ​Watch out for the construction with dont, it can only exist if the verb used in the sentence requires the preposition de afterwards!​Look at some of the most common verbs with the preposition de:- avoir besoin de quelque chose- rêver de quelque chose- avoir peur de quelque chose- se souvenir de quelque chose- parler de quelque chose- s'occuper de quelque chose- avoir envie de quelque choseC'est la robe noire dont je rêve.C'est une robe noire. Je rêve de cette robe noire.This is the dress I dream of.L'araignée est le seul insecte dont j'ai peur.L'araignée est un insecte. J'ai seulement peur de l'araignée.The spider is the only insect I am scared of.Je te présente Spot, le chien dont je m'occupe tous les jours.Je te présente le chien Spot. Je m'occupe de ce chien tous les jours.Let me introduce you to Spot, the dog I take care of every day.When verbs express an origin, the relative pronoun dont cannot be used!​Il y a des croissants en France. Je viens deFrance. Il y a des croissants dont je viens. ⇒ Il y a des croissants d'où je viens. Signup to study more! Previous grammar topic: We - How to use "on" Next grammar topic: Indirect object pronouns ©2024 Chatterbug Inc [email protected] Learn with French Media Learn French Grammar Blog Help