Breakdown of Ce à quoi Marie pense, c’est au prochain examen de français.
être
to be
Marie
Marie
le français
the French language
de
of
Questions & Answers about Ce à quoi Marie pense, c’est au prochain examen de français.
What exactly does ce à quoi mean here, literally and functionally?
Literally, ce à quoi means that to which.
- ce = that / the thing
- à = to
- quoi = which (used for things after a preposition)
So ce à quoi Marie pense = la chose à laquelle Marie pense = the thing to which Marie is thinking / what Marie is thinking about.
Functionally, ce à quoi is a neuter relative construction used when:
- you are talking about a thing (not a person), and
- the verb in the relative clause needs à (here penser à).
Why is it ce à quoi and not ce que?