When do you use lequel in French?

After a preposition, when the antecedent is a thing: le stylo avec lequel j'écris, la raison pour laquelle je pars. It is the only relative pronoun available for dans, sur, sans, pour, par and their relatives, and it agrees with the noun it refers to.

What are the four forms of lequel?

Lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles, matching the gender and number of the antecedent. With à they become auquel, à laquelle, auxquels and auxquelles; with de they become duquel, de laquelle, desquels and desquelles.

What is the difference between dont and duquel?

Dont covers a plain de: le film dont je parle. Duquel is needed when de belongs to a longer preposition such as au cours de, à côté de or au milieu de: la salle au fond de laquelle il était assis. Using duquel for a simple de sounds wrong.

Can I use lequel for people?

You can, but qui is far more idiomatic: l'ami avec qui je travaille. Lequel with people appears in formal and legal writing, or where the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous. After parmi and entre, lequel is the only possibility even for people.

How do I say the reason why in French?

La raison pour laquelle: c'est la raison pour laquelle j'ai refusé. Raison is feminine singular, so the form is laquelle, and pourquoi cannot be used after a noun.

French grammar · Advanced

Lequel, Laquelle, Lesquels, Lesquelles: The Relative Pronoun After a Preposition

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Lequel is the relative pronoun you need after a preposition when the antecedent is a thing. It is the only relative pronoun that agrees, giving lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles, and it contracts with à and de to produce auquel, duquel and their plurals.

C'est la raison pour laquelle je suis venu.

That's the reason I came.

What it is

Qui, que and dont cover the subject, the object and the de complement. That leaves every other preposition — dans, sur, avec, pour, sans, sous, par — and for those French uses lequel. It is built from the definite article plus quel, which is why it agrees with its antecedent like an adjective.

le tiroir dans lequel j'ai rangé les photos — the drawer I put the photos in

How to spot it

If the relative clause needs a preposition and the antecedent is not a person, the pronoun is a form of lequel. Choose the form by looking back at the noun, then contract it if the preposition is à or de.

le pont sur lequel nous roulions — the bridge we were driving on
la boîte dans laquelle elle range ses bijoux — the box she keeps her jewellery in
les projets auxquels je participe — the projects I'm involved in
l'immeuble à côté duquel il habite — the building he lives next to

French never leaves the preposition at the end of the clause. It always stands in front of lequel, which is why these sentences look front-heavy to an English speaker.

Relative Pronoun Lequel Quick Reference

The forms of lequel, plain and contracted

Preposition	Masculine	Feminine
plain, singular	lequel	laquelle
plain, plural	lesquels	lesquelles
à + singular	auquel	à laquelle
à + plural	auxquels	auxquelles
de + singular	duquel	de laquelle
de + plural	desquels	desquelles

Common Relative Pronoun Lequel Examples in French

Lequel with the prepositions that require it:

Dans, Sur, Sous

Le pays dans lequel elle a grandi n'existe plus.: The country she grew up in no longer exists.
La table sur laquelle tu écris est fragile.: The table you're writing on is fragile.
Le lit sous lequel le chat se cache.: The bed the cat hides under.
Les tiroirs dans lesquels tout est mélangé.: The drawers where everything is jumbled up.

For a plain place, où is usually preferred: la table où tu écris. Lequel earns its keep when the preposition means something specific.

Avec, Sans, Pour, Par

L'outil avec lequel il a forcé la porte.: The tool he forced the door with.
La raison pour laquelle j'insiste est simple.: The reason I'm insisting is simple.
Les moyens par lesquels ils y sont parvenus restent flous.: The means by which they managed it remain unclear.
Le principe sans lequel rien ne tient.: The principle without which nothing holds together.

La raison pour laquelle is the standard translation of the reason why and worth learning as a block.

Contracted With À

Le concours auquel elle s'est inscrite est très sélectif.: The competition she entered is very selective.
La réunion à laquelle j'ai assisté a duré trois heures.: The meeting I attended lasted three hours.
Les difficultés auxquelles nous faisons face sont réelles.: The difficulties we're facing are real.
Les personnes auxquelles j'ai écrit n'ont pas répondu.: The people I wrote to haven't replied.

À laquelle is the one form that does not contract, because the article la survives before a vowel-less feminine form.

Contracted With De

Le sommet du haut duquel on voit la mer.: The peak from the top of which you can see the sea.
La colline au pied de laquelle se trouve le village.: The hill at the foot of which the village lies.
Le débat au cours duquel tout a basculé.: The debate during which everything changed.
Les arbres à l'ombre desquels nous déjeunions.: The trees in whose shade we used to have lunch.

Duquel appears only inside a compound preposition. A simple de takes dont instead.

How Lequel Works

Agreement, contraction, and the division of labour with qui, où and dont.

It Agrees With Its Antecedent

Lequel is the only relative pronoun in French that changes shape. It takes the gender and number of the noun it refers back to, exactly as an adjective would: la voiture dans laquelle, les voitures dans lesquelles.

Les valises dans lesquelles j'ai mis les cadeaux sont lourdes.

The suitcases I put the presents in are heavy.

Look back at the noun, then choose the form.

À and De Contract

Because lequel contains the definite article, à and de merge with it just as they do with le and les. À + lequel gives auquel, de + lesquelles gives desquelles. The two feminine singular forms resist, giving à laquelle and de laquelle.

Le problème auquel je pense n'a pas de solution simple.

The problem I'm thinking of has no simple solution.

auquel, auxquels, auxquelles; duquel, desquels, desquelles.

People Prefer Qui

After a preposition, French normally uses qui for human antecedents: l'ami avec qui je voyage. Lequel is not wrong there, and it appears in formal or legal writing, but avec qui is what people say.

La collègue avec qui je partage mon bureau part en congé.

The colleague I share my office with is going on leave.

Person → avec qui; thing → avec lequel.

A Simple De Belongs to Dont

If the preposition is nothing more than de, French uses dont: le livre dont je parle. Duquel only appears when de is buried inside a longer preposition such as au cours de or à côté de, or when the antecedent is possessed by a noun that itself follows a preposition.

Le film dont on parle sort en mars.

The film people are talking about comes out in March.

de alone → dont; de inside a phrase → duquel.

Où Is Lighter Where It Fits

For a plain place or time, où replaces dans lequel and sur lequel and sounds far more natural. Lequel takes over as soon as the preposition adds meaning that où cannot express.

La pièce où je travaille donne sur la cour.

The room I work in looks onto the courtyard.

Simple location → où, specific relation → lequel.

Common Mistakes with Relative Pronoun Lequel

Incorrect: la boîte que j'ai mis les clés dans — the box I put the keys in

Correct: la boîte dans laquelle j'ai mis les clés — the box I put the keys in

French cannot strand a preposition at the end of a relative clause. The preposition moves to the front, and the pronoun after it agrees with the antecedent.

Incorrect: Le concours à lequel il s'est inscrit est difficile. — The competition he entered is difficult.

Correct: Le concours auquel il s'est inscrit est difficile. — The competition he entered is difficult.

Lequel contains the article le, so à merges with it to give auquel. The only à form that stays separate is the feminine singular à laquelle.

Incorrect: les questions auxquels il a répondu — the questions he answered

Correct: les questions auxquelles il a répondu — the questions he answered

Question is feminine, so the plural form is auxquelles. Lequel is the one relative pronoun that has to be checked against the gender of its antecedent.

Incorrect: le livre duquel je parle — the book I'm talking about

Correct: le livre dont je parle — the book I'm talking about

When de stands alone, French uses dont. Duquel is reserved for a de buried inside a compound preposition, as in au cours duquel or à côté duquel.

Where Lequel Is the Only Option

Two contexts where nothing lighter will do, and one where lequel is chosen purely for clarity.

Compound prepositions built on de

Phrases like au cours de, à côté de, au milieu de, à l'issue de and grâce à cannot be shortened to dont. The de inside them takes duquel, de laquelle or their plurals.

la conférence au cours de laquelle il a démissionné: the conference during which he resigned
le jardin au milieu duquel se dresse un vieux chêne: the garden in the middle of which an old oak stands
les mesures grâce auxquelles la situation s'est améliorée: the measures thanks to which the situation improved

Writing la conférence dont il a démissionné au cours is not an option; the compound preposition has to stay whole.

Lequel as subject, for clarity

Formal and legal French sometimes uses lequel as a plain subject in place of qui, purely to show which of two possible antecedents is meant, since lequel carries gender and number.

Il a écrit au directeur de la société, lequel a refusé de répondre.: He wrote to the company's director, who refused to reply.
Elle a consulté l'avocate de son frère, laquelle lui a conseillé d'attendre.: She consulted her brother's lawyer, who advised her to wait.
Deux témoins sont venus, lesquels ont confirmé son récit.: Two witnesses came forward, who confirmed his account.

In everyday French qui would be used and the ambiguity tolerated. This construction belongs to contracts and administrative prose.

Parmi lesquels, entre lesquels

A small group of prepositions has no alternative form at all: parmi and entre always take lequel, whatever the antecedent, including people.

des amis parmi lesquels je compte deux médecins: friends among whom I count two doctors
les deux dates entre lesquelles il faut choisir: the two dates you have to choose between
une foule parmi laquelle il a disparu: a crowd he disappeared into

Parmi qui does not exist, so parmi lesquels is used even for human antecedents.

Relative Pronoun Lequel FAQs

When do you use lequel in French?: After a preposition, when the antecedent is a thing: le stylo avec lequel j'écris, la raison pour laquelle je pars. It is the only relative pronoun available for dans, sur, sans, pour, par and their relatives, and it agrees with the noun it refers to.
What are the four forms of lequel?: Lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles, matching the gender and number of the antecedent. With à they become auquel, à laquelle, auxquels and auxquelles; with de they become duquel, de laquelle, desquels and desquelles.
What is the difference between dont and duquel?: Dont covers a plain de: le film dont je parle. Duquel is needed when de belongs to a longer preposition such as au cours de, à côté de or au milieu de: la salle au fond de laquelle il était assis. Using duquel for a simple de sounds wrong.
Can I use lequel for people?: You can, but qui is far more idiomatic: l'ami avec qui je travaille. Lequel with people appears in formal and legal writing, or where the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous. After parmi and entre, lequel is the only possibility even for people.
How do I say the reason why in French?: La raison pour laquelle: c'est la raison pour laquelle j'ai refusé. Raison is feminine singular, so the form is laquelle, and pourquoi cannot be used after a noun.