Kilo Lingo
French grammar Part of Chapter 24

CEFR B2

6 min read

Test yourself (28 questions)

Lequel, Auquel, Duquel: French Relatives After a Preposition

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

is the relative pronoun French uses after a preposition: , the table I write on. It agrees with the noun it points back to, and it fuses with à and the way the article does.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Fill in the blank

0/3

Complete each relative clause with the right form of lequel, fused with à or de where the rule requires it. The gender and number come from the noun before the preposition.

  1. La table sur j'ai posé mes clés est en bois. (la table, feminine singular)

  2. Le livre avec j'apprends le français est excellent. (le livre, masculine singular)

  3. Le projet je pense est très important. (penser à, le projet)

The lequel forms on one screen

masculinefemininepluralà or de fused inWhat do the colours mean?

Read down for the noun's gender and number, across for the preposition in front.

Noun before itAfter sur, avecAfter àAfter de
auquelduquel
masc. plurallesquelsauxquelsdesquels
fem. plurallesquellesauxquellesdesquelles

is one of four answers after a preposition. Which one depends on what the clause points back to:

Pointing back toUseExample
a thing
a person
a place or time
a plain
  • - the chair I am sitting on
  • - the friend I travel with
  • - the town I live in
  • - the book I am talking about

The basic set, , , and , is on the relative pronouns page.

French never strands a preposition

masculinefemininepluralWhat do the colours mean?

English ends the clause on its preposition: the chair I am sitting on. French cannot. The preposition moves to the front of the clause, and follows it.

Noun
Preposition
Relative
Rest of the clause
lesquelles
English orderFrench order
chair I'm sitting on
book I learn with
reasons he left lesquelles

lequel agrees with the noun before it

masculinefemininepluralWhat do the colours mean?

The form matches the noun the clause describes. Nothing inside the clause changes it.

NounWith lequelEnglish
the book I learn with
the box I keep my keys in
lesquels the trees we were sitting under
lesquelles the reasons he left
Six small panels with a grey cat and a yellow box: the cat sits on the box; the cat sits under the box, which stands on legs like a little table; the cat pokes its head out of the open box; the cat sits beside the box; the cat peeks over the top from behind the box with its tail sticking out; the cat sits in front of the box.

La boîte sur laquelle le chat est assis: the box the cat is sitting on. 1 sur laquelle, on which; 2 sous laquelle, under which; 3 dans laquelle, in which; 4 à côté de laquelle, beside which; 5 derrière laquelle, behind which; 6 devant laquelle, in front of which. Always laquelle, because la boîte is feminine.

The everyday prepositions all take plain : , , , , , pour, , , , , , , .

  • lesquels - the tools I cannot work without
  • - the company she works for

à + lequel: auquel

à or de fused inWhat do the colours mean?

When the verb takes , the à fuses with , just as à + gives . The feminine singular stays apart.

le projet auquel je pense: the project I am thinking about
PiecesExampleEnglish
à + auquel the project I think about
à + the question I am answering
à + lesquels auxquels the problems we face
à + lesquelles auxquelles the letters I answered

The à comes from the verb, not from the English. Learn these verbs with their à:

VerbEnglishExample
think about auquel
answer
take part in auquel
attend auxquels
be interested in auxquelles

de + lequel: duquel

à or de fused inWhat do the colours mean?

With the pattern is the same: duquel, desquels, desquelles, and stays apart. But a plain takes dont, not duquel:

  • - the book I am talking about ( )

Duquel does its real work after a longer preposition that ends in , because can never follow another preposition:

PrepositionExampleEnglish
duquel the bridge with the church at its end
duquel the village we live near
the house I live opposite
desquels the trees with a lake in the middle
duquel the problem I am late because of

People: qui after a preposition

For a person, French normally uses after a preposition. It does not agree and it does not fuse.

PrepositionWith quiEnglish
the man I work with
the woman I spoke to
the colleagues I work for
the man I sat next to

is also correct for people, just more formal: reads as written French.

After (among) and (between), French uses lesquels or lesquelles, even for people ( is not used, and is rare):

  • lesquels - the students I work among
  • lesquels - the two friends I was sitting between

Place and time: où

Before you reach for , ask whether the clause is about a place or a time. If it is, is the natural choice.

EnglishCorrect but heavyWhat people say
the town I live in
the box for my keys
my childhood home

For a point in time, is the normal choice, and English speakers keep trying :

  • - the day I arrived (never )
  • - the moment everything changed

For a stretch of time, also works: lesquelles - the holidays during which it rained.

cannot replace when the preposition is not about place or time: and have no .

lequel as a subject, in formal writing

Legal and official French sometimes uses as the subject of a clause, where would be ambiguous. Because agrees, it shows which noun is meant.

  • , , . - My neighbour's son, who is a lawyer, helped me.

is masculine, so the lawyer is the son, not the neighbour. Recognise this in a text; in your own French, use or rephrase.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
the preposition goes first
auquel à + fuses
lesquels lesquelles : plural
duquel never follows a preposition
time nouns take

What to do next

  1. Learn each à verb with its à: , , .
  2. Describe three objects around you with , or + .
  3. Go on to dont in depth for the relative.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the form: à and de fuse with lequel the way they fuse with le and les.

  1. à + lequel

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. à + lesquels

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. de + lequel

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. de + lesquelles

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/6

Penser à (to think about): which form follows each noun? Le projet ___ je pense.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Fill in the blank

0/8

Complete each relative clause with the right form of lequel, fused with à or de where the rule requires it. The gender and number come from the noun before the preposition.

  1. La table sur j'ai posé mes clés est en bois. (la table, feminine singular)

  2. Le livre avec j'apprends le français est excellent. (le livre, masculine singular)

  3. Le projet je pense est très important. (penser à, le projet)

  4. La question à je réponds est difficile. (répondre à, la question, no fusion)

  5. Les problèmes nous faisons face sont nombreux. (faire face à, les problèmes)

  6. Le pont au bout se trouve l'église est très vieux. (au bout de, le pont)

  7. La maison en face de j'habite est à vendre. (en face de, la maison, no fusion)

  8. Les raisons pour il est parti sont claires. (les raisons, feminine plural)

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake.

Translation drill

0/6

Translate into French. Put the preposition first, then the relative pronoun.

  1. The chair I am sitting on is broken.

  2. The friends I travel with are French.

  3. The project I am thinking about is important.

  4. The reason he left is simple.

  5. The town where I grew up is small.

  6. The tree we were sitting under was very old.

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use instead of or in French?
After a preposition. and are the subject and the object of a relative clause, and neither can follow , , or pour when the noun is a thing. There you need , agreeing with that noun: table , , lesquelles . For a person, is the everyday choice after a preposition: .
How do auquel and duquel work?
They are fused with à and , exactly as à + gives and + gives . With à: auquel, auxquels, auxquelles, but à stays apart. With : duquel, desquels, desquelles, but stays apart. So auquel ( à), but question à ( à). Only the feminine singular escapes, in both directions.
Do you use or for people after a preposition?
is the normal choice: , . is also correct for people, just more formal: reads as written French. After and , French uses lesquels or lesquelles even for people: lesquels .
When can replace ?
Whenever the relation is place or time. is far more natural than , and is the normal way to say the day I arrived (never ). cannot help with prepositions that are not about place or time: and have no .
What is the difference between and duquel?
replaces a that stands on its own: ( ). Duquel takes over when the is the end of a longer preposition such as , or à , because can never follow another preposition: duquel . With a feminine singular noun it is : .