français · B2 · grammar · 4 minutes
Emphasis and register
Use dislocation and c’est…qui/que to control focus without losing pronoun agreement.
Understand the choice
French focus structures separate what the sentence is about from what is new or contrasted. C’est…qui/que is available across registers; left or right dislocation is especially frequent in speech and requires a resumptive pronoun.
Core rule: Use c’est + focused element + qui when it is the following verb’s subject, or que when it is its object; spoken dislocation resumes a topic with a pronoun.
Notice it in context
C’est cette solution que le comité a finalement retenue.
It is this solution that the committee finally selected.
Cette solution is the focused object, so que follows; retenue agrees with the preceding feminine object.
C’est Léa qui présentera les résultats.
Léa is the one who will present the results.
Léa is subject of présentera, so the focus link is qui.
Ce dossier, je l’ai déjà envoyé.
This file, I have already sent it.
Spoken left dislocation resumes dossier with direct-object l’.
What to remember
- A cleft can contrast one constituent: c’est demain que nous partons.
- Dislocation is natural in conversation but may be too informal for tightly edited prose.
Common trap: Do not omit the resumptive pronoun in ordinary dislocation: ce dossier, je l’ai envoyé.