Voici une araignée qui attrape une mouche dans le jardin.

Questions & Answers about Voici une araignée qui attrape une mouche dans le jardin.

Why do we use qui here instead of que?
The word qui is a relative pronoun acting as the subject of the verb attrape (catches). Because the spider is the one doing the catching, we use qui. If the spider were the thing being caught, we would use que.
I thought qui meant "who" for people. Why is it used for a spider?
In French, qui doesn't just mean "who". When used to connect phrases like this, qui can refer to people, animals, or things, as long as it is the subject of the action. Here, it translates to "that" or "which".
How do we know which form of the verb attraper (to catch) to use after qui?
The verb always matches the noun that qui replaces. Since une araignée (a spider) is a singular noun, we use the singular il/elle form of the verb, which is attrape.
Can I say Ici est une araignée instead of Voici une araignée?
No, when you are pointing something out or drawing attention to it, you must use Voici (Here is / Here are) or Voilà (There is / There are). You cannot translate "Here is" word-for-word using Ici est.

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