Verb drill
Ce qui… c’est: eight ways to put the main point last
Build French focus sentences with ce qui… c’est and ce que… c’est. Compare plain and focused wording, then rewrite eight first halves with guided gaps.
- B2
- 8 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Ce qui… c’est and ce que… c’est put the key answer after c’est: Ce qui compte, c’est la précision. Use ce qui for the subject of the first verb and ce que for its direct object. The second half names exactly what the first half prepares us to hear.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Study first: move the key answer to the end
| Ordinary | Focused |
|---|---|
| La précision compte. | Ce qui compte, c’est la précision. |
| Je cherche une explication. | Ce que je cherche, c’est une explication. |
| Son calme me rassure. | Ce qui me rassure, c’est son calme. |
| Nous proposons de recommencer. | Ce que nous proposons, c’est de recommencer. |
In Ce qui me rassure, something reassures me: ce qui is the subject and me is the object. In Ce que je cherche, je is already the subject. The thing I seek is the object, so the opening is ce que. Keep this choice inside the first half; the noun after c’est can be the same in either pattern.
How do you use ce qui… c’est to answer a question?
- Léa
Qu’est-ce qui t’a touché dans ce récit ?
What moved you in that account?
- Paul
Ce qui m’a touché, c’est la confiance entre les générations.
What moved me was the trust between the generations.
- Léa
Et qu’est-ce que tu retiens de cette histoire ?
And what do you take from that story?
- Paul
Ce que je retiens, c’est l’importance de transmettre sa langue.
What I take from it is the importance of passing on your language.
Paul’s first answer focuses on what moved him; the second focuses on what he takes away. Both completions answer the question in their first half. The comma gives a useful pause before c’est. A reason beginning with parce que would answer a different question: why.
Ce que je souhaite, c’est comprendre son point de vue.
What I want is to understand their point of view.
The answer after c’est can be an action. Here souhaiter comprendre leads to the infinitive comprendre.
Rewrite the first half
Use the starting sentence in brackets. Fill the whole opening, beginning with Ce qui or Ce que. Leave the answer after c’est in place. For example, a thing that matters supplies a subject; something you request supplies an object.
1 · Keep the answer; build its opening
- , c’est la confiance. (La confiance manque.)
- , c’est une réponse claire. (Nous demandons une réponse claire.)
- , c’est son honnêteté. (Son honnêteté me plaît.)
- , c’est de changer de méthode. (Tu proposes de changer de méthode.)
- , c’est la patience. (La patience nous aide.)
- , c’est sa générosité. (Je retiens sa générosité.)
- , c’est la liberté de choisir. (La liberté de choisir compte.)
- , c’est une solution durable. (Vous souhaitez une solution durable.)