How It Works
These relative pronouns are used after a preposition (à, de, avec, dans, pour, sur, etc.) and agree in gender and number with the antecedent to which they refer.
- Le bureau sur lequel se trouve le livre est ancien. (The desk on which the book is located is old.)
- La maison dans laquelle nous vivons est spacieuse. (The house in which we live is spacious.)
- Les questions auxquelles il a répondu étaient difficiles. (The questions to which he responded were difficult.)
- Les parcs à travers lesquels nous avons marché sont magnifiques. (The parks through which we walked are beautiful.)
Contracted Forms
In some cases, these relative pronouns are contracted when they follow the prepositions "à" and "de", forming "auquel", "auxquels", "auxquelles", "duquel", "desquels", and "desquelles". This contraction is necessary to maintain the fluidity of the language.
- L'ami auquel je fais le plus confiance s'appelle Stéphane. (auquel = à + lequel). (The friend to whom I trust the most is named Stéphane.)
- Les cours auxquels elle assiste sont intéressants. (auxquels = à + lesquels). (The classes to which she attends are interesting.)
- Le film duquel nous parlons est célèbre. (duquel = de + lequel). (The movie about which we are talking is famous.)
- Les livres desquels elle s'inspire sont classiques. (desquels = de + lesquels). (The books from which she draws inspiration are classics.)
Choosing the Correct Relative Pronoun
To correctly choose between "lequel", "laquelle", "lesquels", and "lesquelles", it is important to determine the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the antecedent, as well as the preposition that precedes the relative pronoun.