Log inSign up

C'est lui qui se vante d'avoir acheté les gobelets.

C'est lui qui se vante d'avoir acheté les gobelets.
He is the one who boasts about having bought the cups.
From Lesson 441:Emphasizing the subject (c'est... qui)·French

Questions & Answers about C'est lui qui se vante d'avoir acheté les gobelets.

Why is the verb conjugated as se vante here?
In a sentence starting with C'est [pronoun] qui... (a cleft sentence), the verb following qui must agree with that pronoun. Here, lui is a 3rd person singular pronoun (he), so we use the 3rd person singular form se vante. If it were about "me", it would be C'est moi qui me vante.
Where does the d' before avoir come from?
It comes from the verb se vanter. To say you boast about doing something, French uses the construction se vanter de. The de becomes d' before the vowel in avoir.
Why do we use avoir acheté instead of a regular past tense like a acheté?
This is the past infinitive. When a verb follows a preposition like de, it must be in the infinitive form. Since the buying already happened, we use the past version of the infinitive, formed with the infinitive avoir plus the past participle acheté. It translates perfectly to the English "having bought".
What is the difference between gobelets and tasses?
Un gobelet specifically refers to a cup without a handle, most commonly a disposable plastic or paper cup you would buy for a party or picnic. Une tasse is a proper mug or teacup with a handle, usually made of ceramic.

Learn C'est lui qui se vante d'avoir acheté les gobelets and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →