Breakdown of Ce que la fusée scintille dans le ciel !
dans
in, inside
le ciel
the sky
ce que
how (exclamative)
la fusée
the rocket
Questions & Answers about Ce que la fusée scintille dans le ciel !
What is the difference between using Ce que here instead of Comme or Que?
In exclamations, Ce que, Comme, and Que all mean "How" or "How much" and are mostly interchangeable. However, Ce que is slightly more colloquial and common in everyday spoken French, while Comme and Que are a bit more standard or literary.
Doesn't ce que usually mean "what", as in Je sais ce que tu veux?
Yes, in a standard sentence, ce que acts as a relative pronoun meaning "what" (the thing that). But when placed at the very beginning of an exclamative sentence, it acts as an exclamative adverb meaning "How" or "How much".
Why isn't the subject and verb inverted here, like Ce que scintille la fusée?
In exclamative clauses using Ce que, Comme, or Que, you must keep the standard declarative word order (Subject + Verb). Inversion is used for questions, not for these types of exclamations.
Can I place an adjective directly after Ce que, like we do in English with "How bright"?