Les Pronoms Relatifs Composés: Mastering Lequel, Duquel, and Auquel

Introduction: The "About Which" Crisis

You already know simple relative pronouns like QUI and QUE. They connect clauses easily:

• C’est le livre qui est intéressant. (It is the book that is interesting)

But what happens when you need to use a preposition like avec (with), pour (for), de (of), or à (to)? You cannot say "Le livre avec que j’étudie". That is syntactically broken.

To connect spaces with prepositions, you need Les Pronoms Relatifs Composés (Compound Relative Pronouns): Lequel, Laquelle, Lesquels, Lesquelles.

Mastering these is the ultimate display of structure weight for C1 grading. Let’s break down the rules seamlessly.

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Part 1: The Base Pronoun (Lequel)

The base is Lequel. It must agree in absolute gender and number with the noun it replaces.

How to Use It:

When you have simple prepositions like avec, pour, sur, sans, dans:

“

Preposition + Lequel Frame

”

• Example: La table **sur laquelle** j'ai posé mon livre. (The table on which I placed my book)
• Example: Les outils **avec lesquels** je travaille. (The tools with which I work)

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Part 2: The Contraction Rule set (De & À)

When Lequel meets the prepositions À or DE, they merge or "contract" into new forms. This is where most students get confused.

1. Contraction with À (To/At)

• À + Lequel $\rightarrow$ Auquel

• À + Laquelle $\rightarrow$ À laquelle (No contraction)

• À + Lesquels $\rightarrow$ Auxquels

• À + Lesquelles $\rightarrow$ Auxquelles

• Usage: C'est le projet **auquel** je pense. (It is the project about which I am thinking - penser à)

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2. Contraction with DE (About/Of)

• De + Lequel $\rightarrow$ Duquel

• De + Laquelle $\rightarrow$ De laquelle (No contraction)

• De + Lesquels $\rightarrow$ Desquels

• De + Lesquelles $\rightarrow$ Desquelles

• Usage: La réunion **au cours de laquelle** j'ai parlé. (The meeting during which I spoke)

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Part 3: The "Dont" Shortcut Rule

Always remember: if your verb uses DE and it is just a person or simple object, you can usually just use DONT instead of duquel.

• Correct: Le sac **dont** j'ai besoin. (Better than duquel)

Only use duquel/de laquelle for compound prepositions like à côté de, près de, au sujet de:

• Example: L'arbre **à côté duquel** je suis assis. (The tree next to which I am sitting).

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Conclusion: Checklist for absolute score

1. Identify the preposition tied to the verb (penser à, besoin de, jouer avec).
2. Choose the matching contraction block.
3. Align the gender and number with the replaced noun.

Add one or two compound pronouns to your writing prompts, and examiners will recognize continuous, high-scoring C1 structural frameworks instantly!