The article deals with the various (non anaphoric) uses of ce qui / ce que in French. The basic idea is that ce qui / ce que is used whenever a theoretically appropriate indefinite pronoun or adverb (from the qu- paradigm) cannot be used. This occurs in three major types of context: (i) ce que Jean a fait... [‹what John did›], used as an indefinite or interrogative subordinate clause. Contrary to its English counterpart (what), the French indefinite ‹non Human› pronoun quoi has very restricted uses; (ii) ce qu’il reste [‹what is left›], in which the ‹non Human› feature combines with an extra feature of ‹Quantity/Quality›, as is particularly noticeable in ce que... comme constructions (Qu’est-ce que vous avez comme dessert ? [litt. ‹What is that which you have as desert?›]); (iii) mostly exclamative: (C’est fou) ce qu’il peut faire chaud [‹(It is amazing) how hot it is›], in which ce que has turned into an intensity marker.