Question 1

Why is there a c' in c'est? Couldn't we just say Ce qu'il faut changer est le frein?

Accepted Answer

While you might be understood without it, French heavily prefers this two-part structure for emphasis: Ce que... c'est.... The first part (Ce que) sets up the topic, and the second part (c'est) introduces the specific thing you are highlighting. Leaving out the c' sounds very unnatural in everyday French.

Question 2

Why use Ce qu'il instead of just Qu'il?

Accepted Answer

When the English word 'what' is not a question word but instead means 'that which' or 'the thing that', you must use ce que (or ce qui if it is the subject). Here, the brake is the object being changed, so we use ce que, which contracts to ce qu' before the vowel in il.

Question 3

The English translation says 'What you must change'. Why does the French use il faut instead of tu or vous?

Accepted Answer

The verb phrase il faut is impersonal, meaning it translates literally to 'it is necessary' and does not take a specific person as a subject. It acts as a general statement, which is often the most natural way to express a broad instruction like 'what you must do' in French.

Question 4

If I wanted to say 'What you must change is any one of them', how would I use this lesson's grammar point here?

Accepted Answer

You would replace le frein with the appropriate indefinite pronoun of specific choice. Assuming you are referring back to a masculine noun, you would say: Ce qu'il faut changer, c'est n'importe lequel.

Ce qu'il faut changer, c'est le frein.

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