Dont (Part 1)
February 17, 2012 § Leave a comment
In French, like in English, you can’t end a sentence with a preposition. When you have the preposition “de” At the end of a phrase in French and a “que” (relative pronoun), you can combine the two.
1. She has the dress that I want – Elle a la robe QUE j’ai envie DE. You can drop the “DE” and change the “QUE” to “DONT”. Elle a la robe DONT j’ai envie.
I’m buying the books that I need. J’achète les livres QUE j’ai besoin DE. Drop the DE and change the QUE to DONT. J’achète les livres DONT j’ai besoin. I’m buying the books of which I have need.
Some verbs to which this applies …
avoir besoin de
avoir envie de
avoir peur de
faire la connaissance de
s’occuper de
se souvenir de
se servir de
être content, fier, satisfait, dégoûté, fâché, etc. de
parler de
Examples
a. Il a fait un voyage. + Il parle souvent de ce voyage. = Il a fait un voyage dont il parle souvent. He took a trip about which he often speaks. about which = dont
b. Avez-vous vu l’article dont il a parlé? Have you seen the article about which he spoke? about which = dont
2. Dont can also mean whose or of whom .
Juliette, dont le vélo est cassé, a emprunté mon vélo. Juliette, whose bike is broken, borrowed my bike.
Le garçon dont je connais le père, a fini son travail. The boy whose father I know, finished his work.
Ali a une amie dont la famille habite sur le lac. Ali has a friend whose family lives on the lake.
French Notes 
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