Why is this correct? (Qu'est-ce que c'est vs. quel est...)

Question

I asked about this previously and I am still confused.

I did a quiz before and it asked how you would ask "what is this" or something to that effect. And it didn't accept "quelle est..." as the correct answer.

The answer I had received is that quelle needs to be followed by a noun. However, previously, my French teachers would say questions like "Quelle est la date?", so I was very confused. Is that phrase incorrect?

Furthermore, I was doing another quiz and got this question:

Quel est le nom ___ restaurant ?

And I was confused why you could ask "what is the name of the restaurant" and use "quel est" and not "qu'est-ce que c'est" or "c'est quoi".

Basically, I'm not understanding if/when you can use "quel est.." or "quelle est..".

Thank you!

Accepted Answer

If you were told that it had to be followed by a noun, that was incorrect. However there will always be a noun associated with it.

It will sometimes be translated into English as "what", but the underlying meaning is "which". For example, "Quelle est la date?" is a bit like saying "which date is it?". Or "Quel est ton film préféré?" means "which film is your favourite?"

The answer to the question will be a date or the name of a film, it won't be a definition.

Answer

Hi Sanchita,I see your problem as understanding the difference between Interrogative pronouns and interrogative adjectives.1) Interrogative pronouns  --  referring to people "qui est-ce qui arrive ?"  --> Who is coming.                                            -- referring to things "qu'est-ce qui arrive " --> What is happening.2) Interrogative adjectives  -- "Je me demande à quel quai il va arriver ?"  --> I wonder which (what) platform it will arrive at?                                              -- "Avec quelle main l'as-tu fait ?"  --> Which hand did you do it with?So I recommend that you revisit both types of interrogative pronoun/adjective lessons and find the key to your confusion.Bonne continuation.Jim

Answer

Have you tried reading this lesson?https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/questions-quel-quels-quelle-quelles-which-what

Answer

I think what is throwing me off is that it needed to be followed by a noun immediately after when I could see several examples where it is not being followed by a noun.

I reviewed the lesson you linked but honestly, I'm still having trouble determining when "c'est quoi" or "qu'est-ce que c'est" is appropriate and when "quelle/quel est.." is.

Am I understanding this correctly? You ask "c'est quoi" or "qu'est-ce que c'est" when you want something explicitly defined, like you don't know what the object is. Whereas "quelle/quel est" is if you know what it is, but you are asking about it in context?

I hope that is correct. It was helpful to provide the links but I would sincerely appreciate an explanation as I'm not understanding the concept itself.

Thanks

Answer

I meant the answer to my general question on the forum, not the question itself :P

However, your answer helped me a lot! Thank you so much. I think I was making a mistake in trying to directly translate from English too much.

Thank you again!!