Breakdown of Ce à quoi tu t'attends, c'est l'hologramme de la créature.
tu
you (informal singular)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
c'est
it is, that is
ce à quoi
what ... to / what ... about
s'attendre à
to expect
l'hologramme
the hologram (m)
la créature
the creature
Questions & Answers about Ce à quoi tu t'attends, c'est l'hologramme de la créature.
Why do we use ce à quoi here instead of just ce que for 'what'?
In French, the verb for 'to expect' is s'attendre à. Because this verb requires the preposition à, you cannot just use ce que. When 'what' is the object of a preposition, French uses the structure ce + preposition + quoi. Therefore, 'what you are expecting' becomes ce à quoi tu t'attends (literally: 'that to which you expect').
Why is the verb reflexive (tu t'attends) instead of just tu attends?
The non-reflexive verb attendre means 'to wait' or 'to wait for'. To say 'to expect' (meaning to anticipate an event or situation), you must use the reflexive form s'attendre à. If you said tu attends, it would mean you are physically waiting for the hologram to arrive.
Why is there a c'est after the comma? Why not just say '...tu t'attends est l'hologramme'?
When a sentence starts with a ce clause (like ce que, ce qui, or ce à quoi) acting as the main subject, French almost always uses a comma followed by c'est to introduce the second half of the sentence. It acts as a structural bridge and adds emphasis, translating roughly to: 'What you are expecting, it is the hologram.'
If the verb used de instead of à, would I say ce de quoi?
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