What is the difference between qui and que in French?

qui is the subject of the next verb (l’ami qui m’aide: the friend helps), que is its object (l’ami que j’aide: I help the friend). Look right after the gap: if a subject follows (je, tu, a noun), it’s que.

When do you use dont in French?

Use dont to replace de + a noun: after a verb or adjective built with de (le film dont je parle, un projet dont je suis fier), for whose (une amie dont le fils joue au hockey), and for among them (dix livres, dont un best-seller).

Can you use où for time in French?

Yes: after a noun of time French uses où, never quand: le jour où je suis arrivé, l’année où j’ai immigré, au moment où il a appelé.

When do you use lequel instead of qui?

After a preposition, use lequel (agreeing: laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) for things and qui for people: la table sur laquelle, la femme avec qui. With à and de it contracts: auquel, duquel.

Is Space docking free to play?

Yes. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, and levels 7 to 12 are free with an account, which also saves your stars on every device. Levels 13 to 30 come with Premium, together with every 3D game’s later levels and all the mock tests.

French relative pronouns game: qui, que, dont or où? Dock at the right port

L’amarrage

A French relative pronouns game where every right answer docks your shuttle at a space station. Read a sentence with a gap (C’est le livre ___ je t’ai parlé.), work out what the pronoun replaces and fly to the port that carries qui, que, dont, où or lequel. A campaign of 30 levels in 5 worlds takes you from un ami qui habite à Montréal to le parc près duquel j’habite, and the station starts to turn as you climb.

3 min a round
30 levels
First 6 levels free, no sign-up
Writing
Reading

3D game: plays full screen on phones.

Loading the 3D game…

30 levels, 5 worlds

From the basics to exam speed

Each level is one round of about 3 minutes. Win a star to open the next level, and replay for three stars. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, levels 7–12 with a free account, and Premium opens all 30.

World 1 · levels 1–6
Qui or que
Qui ou que
qui for the subject, que and qu’ for the object, the inverted subject and c’est moi qui.
· Free, no sign-up
World 2 · levels 7–12
Places and time
Où
où for a place and a time (le jour où), and the place nouns that still take que or qui.
· Free account
World 3 · levels 13–18
The dont belt
Dont
dont after a de verb or adjective, dont for whose, dont deux, and when it’s que.
· Premium
World 4 · levels 19–24
What, in a sentence
Ce qui, ce que, ce dont
ce qui, ce que, ce dont in indirect questions, tout ce que and a whole clause.
· Premium
World 5 · levels 25–30
After a preposition
Lequel et à qui
lequel that agrees, auquel, duquel, près de laquelle, and à qui for people.
· Premium

How to play

1Read the sentence: what is missing in the gap after the noun?
2Tap the port with the right pronoun, or swipe from the shuttle towards it.
3Dock fast for a speed bonus. A wrong port bounces you off and shows you the rule.

What it trains

Every relative pronoun in over 170 everyday sentences: qui or que (and qu’, the inverted subject, c’est moi qui), où for places and time (le jour où), dont after de and for whose, ce qui, ce que and ce dont in indirect questions, and lequel, auquel, duquel or à qui after a preposition.

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

Relative pronouns are how you link ideas into one sentence instead of three short ones, and that is exactly what the TCF Canada and TEF Canada writing and speaking examiners reward on the way to NCLC 7 for Express Entry. Le poste dont je vous ai parlé or la ville où j’aimerais m’installer show control of complex sentences; qu’est-ce que inside a sentence, or le jour quand, are the slips that cost points.

Practise writing in the real format: TCF Canada writing practice · TEF Canada writing practice

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

Look at the verb after the gap
No subject before it? The pronoun is the subject: qui. It already has a subject (je, tu, ma mère…)? The pronoun is the object: que, or qu’ before a vowel.
Find the preposition the verb needs
Nothing: que. de: dont (parler de, avoir besoin de). dans, à + a place or a time: où. Any other preposition: lequel for a thing, qui for a person.
No noun before the gap? Add ce
Ce qui me plaît, ce que tu veux, ce dont j’ai besoin, tout ce que je sais. In an indirect question, never qu’est-ce que: dis-moi ce que tu penses.