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Is the use of qui in this French quote from "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" correct?

This quote is from Caderousse, when he was an innkeeper.

"Je ne savais pas qui j'avais l'honneur de recevoir."

It seems to me that it should be "que" instead of "qui"

If "qui" is correct, please explain why.

Thank you.

1 Answer

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  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    Well, "qui" refers to a person. The sentence means "I did not know who I had the honour of receiving" (i.e. meeting, greeting, etc).

    If you used "que", you'd be saying "I did not know WHAT I had the honour of receiving", so it would be a non-animate object or maybe an animal.

    "Qui" for people, "que" for non-people.

    At least that's what my (admittedly rusty) French is telling me.

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