Breakdown of Connaissez-vous la fille dont le frère est égoïste ?
être
to be
la fille
the girl
vous
you (plural/formal)
le frère
the brother
Questions & Answers about Connaissez-vous la fille dont le frère est égoïste ?
Why do we say "dont le frère" instead of just "dont frère"?
In English, we say "whose brother", dropping the word "the". But in French, dont behaves more like "of whom". So, la fille dont le frère literally translates to "the girl of whom the brother". When using dont for possession, you must always keep the definite article (le, la, l', or les) in front of the noun that is owned.
How exactly does "dont" replace "whose" in this sentence?
The relative pronoun dont replaces phrases that naturally start with the preposition de (of). If you were to say "the brother of the girl" as a standalone fact, you would say le frère de la fille. Because dont absorbs that de, it creates a smooth bridge between the two nouns, acting exactly like "whose" in English.
Could I use "savez-vous" instead of "connaissez-vous" here?
Is "égoïste" the standard word for "selfish"?