Question 1

Why do we use ce dont here instead of ce que for "what"?

Accepted Answer

The phrase for "to need" is avoir besoin de. Because it uses the preposition de, you have to use the relative pronoun dont (which replaces phrases starting with de) instead of que. When you want to say "what" (meaning "the thing that"), you combine ce and dont to get ce dont.

Question 2

Could I leave out the ce and just say La grenouille est dont le serpent a besoin?

Accepted Answer

No, you need ce to act as a placeholder pronoun. dont means "of which," so without ce, your sentence would literally mean "The frog is of which the snake has need." The ce provides "the thing" for dont to attach to: "The frog is the thing of which the snake has need."

Question 3

Does ce dont always translate to "what"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when it acts as the object of a verb that takes de, it translates to "what" (or "that which"). For example, if you wanted to say "what I am talking about," you would use ce dont je parle because the verb is parler de.

Question 4

Is besoin the verb in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

No, besoin is actually a noun meaning "need." The verb here is a, which is the conjugated form of avoir (to have). Literally, the French expression means "to have need of" (avoir besoin de), rather than using a single verb for "to need."

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