Question 1

Why do we use qui here instead of que?

Accepted Answer

In French, qui is used when it is the subject of the relative clause, meaning it performs the action. Because the ants are the ones doing the action of being in the garden, qui is followed directly by the verb sont. You use que when the word is the object, like if you said the ants that I see (que je vois).

Question 2

Does qui mean "who" or "that"?

Accepted Answer

It can translate to both! Unlike English, which uses "who" for people and "that" or "which" for things, French uses qui as the subject of a relative clause for absolutely anything. Here, it refers to animals (les fourmis), so it translates to "that", but the grammar rule is exactly the same as if it were a person.

Question 3

Why is it Toutes and not Tous?

Accepted Answer

Toutes is the feminine plural form of "all". Even though it doesn't end in the typical feminine "-e" spelling, the word for ant (une fourmi) is feminine in French. Since we are talking about plural feminine ants, we must use Toutes les to match the gender and number.

Question 4

Why does the sentence use le sucre instead of du sucre?

Accepted Answer

When talking about liking, loving, or disliking things in a general sense, French uses the definite articles (le, la, l', les). Because the verb is aiment (like), we use le to mean "sugar in general". You would only use du sucre (some sugar) with actions involving a portion of it, like eating or buying sugar.

Toutes les fourmis qui sont dans le jardin aiment le sucre.

Breakdown of Toutes les fourmis qui sont dans le jardin aiment le sucre.

Questions & Answers about Toutes les fourmis qui sont dans le jardin aiment le sucre.

Learn Toutes les fourmis qui sont dans le jardin aiment le sucre and more in French