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J'aime ce que Marie chante.

J'aime ce que Marie chante.
I love what Marie sings.
FromLesson 13inHardcore French

Breakdown of J'aime ce que Marie chante.

je
I
Marie
Marie
chanter
to sing
aimer
to love
ce que
what

Questions & Answers about J'aime ce que Marie chante.

What does ce que mean in the sentence J'aime ce que Marie chante?
The phrase ce que is a relative pronoun that translates to "what" or "that which." In this sentence, it introduces a subordinate clause that specifies the object of the speaker’s affection—namely, what Marie sings.
Why is the subject written as J'aime instead of Je aime?
When a vowel begins the following word, French contracts Je to J' to ease pronunciation. Thus, instead of saying Je aime, the language uses J'aime for a smoother and more natural flow.
What is the grammatical role of Marie chante in this sentence?
The clause Marie chante is a subordinate clause that describes the thing being loved. Within this clause, Marie is the subject and chante (sings) is the verb. It functions as the content expressed by ce que, indicating precisely what is loved.
Is it possible to rearrange the sentence while preserving its meaning?
Yes, you could rephrase the sentence for stylistic purposes. For example, Ce que Marie chante, j'aime is grammatically acceptable but might place different emphasis on the parts of the sentence. The original order, J'aime ce que Marie chante, is straightforward and commonly used in French.
Would it be correct to use ce qui instead of ce que in this sentence?
No, it would not. Ce qui is used when the relative pronoun is the subject of the subordinate clause, whereas in this sentence ce que serves as the direct object of the verb chante. Since Marie is the subject of chante and what she sings is the object of the main clause, ce que is the correct choice.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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