Breakdown of Cet hologramme est ce à quoi personne ne s'attend.
être
to be
ne
not (used before the verb)
ce
this (before a noun)
personne
nobody / no one
ce à quoi
what ... to / what ... about
s'attendre à
to expect
l'hologramme
the hologram (m)
Questions & Answers about Cet hologramme est ce à quoi personne ne s'attend.
Why do we use ce à quoi here instead of just ce que for "what"?
The verb s'attendre (to expect) must be followed by the preposition à (s'attendre à quelque chose). When you want to say "what" (meaning "the thing that") and the following verb requires a preposition, you use ce + preposition + quoi. Because of the à, that formula gives us ce à quoi.
Why is it cet hologramme and not ce hologramme?
Why is there a ne before the verb if there is no pas in the sentence?
The word personne (nobody) is a negative word itself. When personne is the subject of the sentence, it goes at the beginning, but you still need the negative particle ne right before the verb to complete the negation: personne ne s'attend (nobody expects). Adding pas here would be incorrect, like a double negative.
Doesn't the verb attendre mean "to wait"? Why does it mean "expects" here?
You are right that the regular verb attendre means "to wait for". However, this sentence uses the reflexive version of the verb, s'attendre à. Adding the reflexive pronoun (s') and the preposition à completely changes the meaning of the verb to "to expect".
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