I have a question on Qui est-ce? or Qu'est-ce que c'est? I have to choose which one to use. I know qui est-ce is who but can it also mean who's is it?

Qui est-ce/Qu'est-ce que c'est? -Une lettre de Jon

Qui est-ce/Qu'est-ce que c'est? -Le portefeuille d'Amy

INTERROGATIVES:

THE SUBJECT OF A VERB:

who? whom? (persons) what? (things
qui qu'est-ce qui
qui est-ce qui
__________________________________________

DIRECT-OBJECT OF A VERAB:

qui que (qu')
qui est-ce que (qu') qu'est-ce que (qu')
__________________________________________

AFTER A PREPOSITION:

qui quoi
__________________________________________

Qui le fera? Who will do it?
Qui est-ce que le fera?

Qu'est-ce qui est tombé? What fell?

Qui cherchez-vous? Whom are you looking
for?
Qui est-ce que vous cherchez?

Que cherchez-vous? What are you looking
for?
Qu'est-ce que vous cherchez?

A qui pensez-vous? Of whom are you
thinking?

A quoi pensez-vous? Of what are you
thinking?

NOTE: 1. As an interrogative pronoun, "qui" may be used for persons in all three cases, as subject of a verb, as direct object of a verb, and after a preposition.

2. The "e" of "que" is dropped before a word beginning with a vowel; the "i" of "qui" is never dropped.

3. After the direct object forms "qui" and "que," the word order is inverted; after the long forms, the word order is regular.

D'accord? I only put the ones you asked about. Let me know when you are ready for "whose?" "which? what? " (adjective) and "which what one(s)?" (pronoun). So just let me know when you are ready for the rest of them!

Mme

@- SraJMcGin:

Permettez moi de corriger une erreur :

On dit "Qui est-ce QUI le fera? " et non pas Qui "est-ce que le fera?"

To decide between using "Qui est-ce?" or "Qu'est-ce que c'est?", you need to consider what specific information you are asking for.

1. "Qui est-ce?" is translated as "Who is it?" or "Who's that?" It is used when you want to know the identity of a person or who someone is. For example:

- "Qui est-ce? - Une lettre de Jon." (Who is it? - A letter from Jon.)
- "Qui est-ce? - Le portefeuille d'Amy." (Who is it? - Amy's wallet.)

In these examples, you are asking for the person who the letter or the wallet belongs to.

2. On the other hand, "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" is translated as "What is it?" It is used when you want to know the nature or description of something, rather than the person it belongs to. For example:

- "Qu'est-ce que c'est? - Une lettre de Jon." (What is it? - A letter from Jon.)
- "Qu'est-ce que c'est? - Le portefeuille d'Amy." (What is it? - Amy's wallet.)

Here, you are asking for the description or nature of the object (letter or wallet) itself.

In summary, "Qui est-ce?" is used when you want to ask about the person who something belongs to, while "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" is used when you want to ask about the description or nature of the object itself.