Qui, Que, Ou, Dont: Relative Pronoun Mistakes That Cost TEF/TCF Points
PrepMyFrench Education Team
5 min read
Qui, Que, Ou, Dont: Relative Pronoun Mistakes That Cost TEF/TCF Points
Summary:French relative pronouns are small words with big exam consequences. TEF and TCF candidates often confuse qui, que, ou, and dont in reading, writing, and speaking. This guide explains the exam-safe rules, gives examples, and shows the most common mistakes to fix before test day.
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J'ai lu un article qui parle de l'immigration.
This matters in TEF and TCF because stronger candidates do not only write short sentences. They connect ideas clearly. Relative pronouns help you do that without sounding unnatural.
Qui: The Subject
Use qui when the repeated noun is the subject of the next verb.
Example:
Les candidats qui travaillent a temps plein doivent organiser leur temps.
Ask: who works? Les candidats. So use qui.
More examples:
Une personne qui parle francais a plus d'options.
Les centres qui proposent le TCF Canada publient leurs dates en ligne.
Un professeur qui corrige vos erreurs peut accelerer vos progres.
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Les candidats ___ parlent francais peuvent gagner plus de points.
Le jour ___ les resultats arrivent est stressant.
Le sujet ___ nous discutons est complexe.
Les phrases ___ tu as ecrites sont trop simples.
Answers:
que
qui
ou
dont
que
How to Use Relative Pronouns in Writing
A safe TEF/TCF paragraph might include:
Les candidats qui travaillent a temps plein ont souvent peu de temps pour etudier. C'est pourquoi ils doivent choisir une methode que leurs horaires leur permettent de suivre. Le jour ou ils passent l'examen, la regularite de leur preparation devient essentielle.
This paragraph uses qui, que, and ou naturally. You do not need to use every pronoun in every answer.
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If dont and duquel still confuse you, use our focused drill: Dont vs duquel exam examples. For broader grammar practice, PrepMyFrench can identify the exact pronoun errors that appear in your writing.
