Voici l'ami avec lequel j'ai voyagé.Here's the friend I traveled with.
Qui and que cover a clause's subject and direct object, with no preposition involved. Où and dont handle place/time and a de-complement. But a clause can need almost any other preposition — avec, pour, sans, chez, à côté de... lequel and its forms are the pronoun family built for exactly that job.
Quick shortcut: preposition + lequel / laquelle / lesquels / lesquelles, agreeing with the antecedent. À and de contract with the masculine and plural forms (auquel, duquel, auxquels, desquels...) but never with laquelle.
The four forms agree with the antecedent
Lequel doesn't have one fixed form — it agrees with the noun it stands for in gender and number, the same way an adjective would:
| Antecedent | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | lequel |
| feminine singular | laquelle |
| masculine plural | lesquels |
| feminine plural | lesquelles |
- Le stylo avec lequel j'écris est cassé. (The pen I'm writing with is broken.) — stylo is masculine singular.
- La raison pour laquelle elle est partie reste floue. (The reason she left remains unclear.) — raison is feminine singular.
- Les amis chez lesquels nous logeons sont adorables. (The friends we're staying with are lovely.) — amis is masculine plural.
Preposition + lequel covers what dont can't
Dont replaces a de-complement (possession, a verb's de-complement, an adjective's de-complement...), but it can't replace de when de is part of a longer, compound preposition like à côté de, au sujet de, or à cause de. That's exactly where duquel/de laquelle take over:
- Le sujet dont nous avons parlé... (The subject we talked about...) — a plain, one-word de, so dont is right here.
- Le sujet au sujet duquel ils ont écrit un article... (The subject on which they wrote an article...) — au sujet de is a compound preposition, so dont can't cover it; duquel is the fix.
- C'est l'immeuble à côté duquel se trouve la gare. (That's the building next to which the station is.)
The same pattern works with any compound preposition, not just au sujet de — à cause de, au milieu de, en face de, and so on all take lequel, never dont.
Contraction with à and de
À and de contract with lequel, lesquels, and lesquelles — but laquelle is the odd one out and stays uncontracted, the same way la never contracts with à or de elsewhere in French.
| Form | + à | + de |
|---|---|---|
| lequel | auquel | duquel |
| laquelle | à laquelle | de laquelle |
| lesquels | auxquels | desquels |
| lesquelles | auxquelles | desquelles |
- Le projet auquel je pense demande du temps. (The project I'm thinking of needs time.) — from penser à.
- La question à laquelle je pense reste sans réponse. — laquelle itself never contracts, even though the sentence still needs à.
- Les problèmes auxquels on doit faire face... (The problems we have to deal with...)
Lequel vs. qui for a person
For a person, after a simple preposition (avec, pour, sans, chez, pour...), qui is usually the more natural choice — lequel stays grammatical but reads a touch more formal:
- L'ami avec qui j'ai voyagé... is the everyday version of l'ami avec lequel j'ai voyagé... — both are correct.
Compound prepositions don't force lequel either: à côté de qui and au sujet de qui stay correct and natural for a person. Lequel forms are still common there — often a touch more formal or structured — but not the only natural choice.
One preposition removes the choice entirely: after parmi (among), French always uses a lequel form, never qui, even for people.
- ❌ Les amis parmi qui je compte... → ✅ Les amis parmi lesquels je compte... (The friends among whom I count...)
Common mistakes
- ❌ Les amis parmi qui je compte... → ✅ Les amis parmi lesquels je compte... (parmi takes lequel, never qui, even for people)
- ❌ La raison pour lequel elle est partie... → ✅ La raison pour laquelle elle est partie... (raison is feminine — the pronoun has to agree)
- ❌ Le sujet au sujet de lequel on a parlé... → ✅ Le sujet au sujet duquel on a parlé... (de + lequel contracts to duquel)
Quick check
Show answers
- Voici l'outil ___ je travaille. (avec + masculine) → avec lequel
- C'est la personne ___ je pense souvent. (à + person, everyday register) → à qui
- Les questions ___ nous devons répondre restent nombreuses. (à + feminine plural) → auxquelles
- Les collègues ___ je dois choisir sont nombreux. (parmi + people) → parmi lesquels
- Voici le sujet ___ ils ont écrit un article. (au sujet de + masculine) → au sujet duquel
Learn faster with GrammarMama
This article covers one topic — here's how GrammarMama helps you turn it into lasting progress:
-
Know your level — A quick placement test finds your CEFR level, so every exercise fits you. Find your level →
-
Follow a clear path — Practise every topic in the right order, from A1 all the way to C2. See the full path →
-
Set your own goal — Tell us what you're learning for, and exercises follow your interests. Set a goal →
-
Track your mistakes — See the patterns behind what trips you up, and fix them for good. Review your mistakes →
-
Build your vocabulary — Words from your exercises are saved and reviewed with spaced repetition. Open your vocabulary →
-
Practise speaking — Answer exercises out loud instead of typing, whenever you like. Try speech practice →
-
Train your pronunciation — Get instant, word-by-word feedback on how you sound. Train your pronunciation →
-
Practise a little every day — Short daily exercises, matched to your level, keep the language fresh. Start practising →
Key takeaways
- Lequel (laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) agrees with its antecedent and follows any preposition a clause needs — avec, pour, sans, chez, and compound ones like à côté de.
- It fills the gap dont leaves behind: whenever de is part of a longer preposition, reach for duquel/de laquelle, not dont.
- À and de contract with lequel, lesquels, and lesquelles (auquel, duquel, auxquels, desquels...) — laquelle alone never contracts.
- For a person after a simple preposition, qui is usually the everyday choice over lequel — except after parmi, which always takes lequel, never qui.