Learn French: Le collier en diamant qu'il va offrir est magnifique. - The diamond necklace that he is going to give is magnificent.

Le collier en diamant qu'il va offrir est magnifique.

The diamond necklace that he is going to give is magnificent.

Breakdown of Le collier en diamant qu'il va offrir est magnifique.

Questions & Answers about Le collier en diamant qu'il va offrir est magnifique.

Why is it qu'il instead of qui il?

The word qu' is the shortened form of que. We use que here because it acts as the direct object of the verb (he is going to give what? the necklace). Since the next word (il) starts with a vowel, que drops its -e and becomes qu'. Remember that the subject pronoun qui never drops its -i!

How can I easily tell if I need to use que or qui?

Look at what comes right after it! Que (or qu') is used when the following part of the sentence already has a subject. Here, the subject is il (he is going to give). If the word that is the one doing the action (for example: the necklace that is on the table), you would use qui.

Why use offrir instead of donner for "to give"?

In French, offrir is specifically used for giving gifts or paying for someone's treat. Donner is the general word for "to give," but if you are talking about presents (like a diamond necklace), offrir is the most natural choice.

Why is it en diamant and not de diamant?

When describing the material something is made of, French most commonly uses the preposition en. You will see de used sometimes as well, but en is the standard and safest way to say something is made of a certain material, like un collier en or (a gold necklace) or une table en bois (a wooden table).