What do you need lequel for?
When the relative pronoun depends on a preposition (avec, pour, sans, sur, dans, parmi), you need the compound form lequel for things. The preposition stands right before the pronoun, and because lequel contains the article le, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
What it sounds like
C'est l'entreprise pour laquelle je travaille.
That's the company I work for.
Voici le stylo avec lequel j'ai signé le contrat.
Here's the pen I signed the contract with.
Ce sont les raisons pour lesquelles j'ai démissionné.
Those are the reasons why I resigned.
The four basic forms
What counts is the antecedent, not the subject of the relative clause. lequel and laquelle are the singular forms, lesquels and lesquelles the plural forms.
lequel at a glance
| Antecedent | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | lequel | le projet sur lequel je travaille |
| feminine singular | laquelle | la table sur laquelle j'écris |
| masculine plural | lesquels | les outils avec lesquels je bricole |
| feminine plural | lesquelles | les étagères sur lesquelles je range mes livres |
Agreement with the antecedent
Contraction with à and de
After à and de the article inside lequel contracts, just like à le → au and de le → du. Only the feminine singular forms stay separate. auquel comes up above all after verbs with à: penser à, s'intéresser à, participer à, s'attendre à.
All contracted forms
| Antecedent | Base form | with à | with de |
|---|---|---|---|
| mask. Sg. | lequel | auquel | duquel |
| fem. Sg. | laquelle | à laquelle | de laquelle |
| mask. Pl. | lesquels | auxquels | desquels |
| fem. Pl. | lesquelles | auxquelles | desquelles |
à / de + lequel
Contracted forms in a sentence
Le problème auquel je pense est plus grave.
The problem I'm thinking of is more serious.
La question à laquelle je réfléchis est difficile.
The question I'm thinking about is difficult.
L'immeuble en face duquel nous habitons est ancien.
The building we live opposite is old.
People - usually qui instead of lequel
For people, a simple preposition is usually followed by qui: l'ami avec qui je voyage. lequel is possible there but sounds written. For things, qui is impossible after a preposition: le sujet sur lequel il travaille, not le sujet sur qui il travaille.
La collègue avec qui je déjeune est italienne.
The colleague I'm having lunch with is Italian.
L'ami à qui j'ai écrit habite à Lyon.
The friend I wrote to lives in Lyon.
dont or duquel?
Both replace a complement with de. dont is used when only a plain de is involved: le film dont tout le monde parle. duquel is used when the de is part of a longer preposition (à côté de, près de, au cours de, à cause de, au bout de). There dont is impossible.
Le parc à côté duquel j'habite est immense.
The park I live next to is huge.
La réunion au cours de laquelle il a démissionné était tendue.
The meeting during which he resigned was tense.
How this differs from English
English can leave the preposition at the end (the pen I signed it with) or even drop the relative pronoun altogether (the friend I wrote to). French can do neither: the preposition and the pronoun always come first, and the pronoun is never left out: l'ami à qui j'ai écrit, never l'ami j'ai écrit. The only extra job compared with the formal English the pen with which I signed is the gender and number of lequel.
Register and feel for the language
lequel sounds more formal than qui. In contracts, reports and newspaper articles auquel, duquel and au sein duquel are perfectly normal; in speech you mostly hear avec qui, à qui, pour qui for people.
Typical phrases
Je ne connais pas la raison pour laquelle il est parti.
I don't know the reason why he left.
Les conditions dans lesquelles ils vivent sont difficiles.
The conditions they live in are difficult.
