qui + est = qu'est ?

Hi, a small question about lesson 4.9 Level 2: Exercise was: Tu te connais bien ? Tu choisis ce qui est bon pour toi

I wonder why "qui est" isn't "qu'est".  Would "que est" be "qu'est"?

Thanks!

Good question. I found the translation used in this example to be inexact ["You are choosing what's good for you."]. « Qui » isn't being used in an interrogative sense here, the phrase actually translates more accurately as "You are choosing that which is good for you".

The relative pronoun « ce qui » is the subject of the verb (est), so it's not contracted.

If the sentence uses the relative pronoun « ce que », it's because the "that which" is the object of the verb, so yes, it can be contracted if the word that follows it starts with a vowel.

But keep in mind that the structure of the sentence would also be different because it is not performing the "action" of the verb, so est wouldn't likely immediately follow it.

Ex: Tu choisis ce qu'Anne a déjà choisi. ["You are choosing that which Anne had already chosen."]

 

ah Torusan, great answer, more complicated than I saw, thanks!