Lequel, which usually means which, is arguably the most difficult French pronoun.
Lequel has four basic forms, because it has to agree in gender and number with the noun it replaces. In addition, lequel has several contracted forms - like the definite articlesle and les, lequelcontracts with the prepositionsà and de. You can see all of these forms in the table below.
Lequel is usually either an interrogative pronoun or a relative pronoun.
For more information, click the links to visit the detailed lessons on these types of pronouns.
1) Interrogative pronoun:Lequel replaces quel + noun.
   Quel livre veux-tu ? > Lequel veux-tu ?
   Which book do you want? > Which one do you want?
   Je veux la pomme là -bas. > Laquelle ?
   I want the apple over there. > Which one?
   Je pense à mon frère. > Auquel penses-tu ? [À quel frère...]
   I'm thinking about my brother. > Which one are you thinking about?
2) Relative pronoun:Lequel replaces an inanimate object of a preposition. (If the object of the preposition is a person, use qui.)
   Le livre dans lequel j'ai écrit...
   The book in which I wrote...
   La ville à laquelle je songe...
   The town about which I'm dreaming...
   Le cinéma près duquel j'ai mangé...
   The theater near which I ate... / The theater I ate near...
Less commonly, in very formal French, lequel can also be a relative adjective.
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Lequel has four basic forms, because it has to agree in gender and number with the noun it replaces. In addition, lequel has several contracted forms - like the definite articlesle and les, lequelcontracts with the prepositionsà and de. You can see all of these forms in the table below.
Lequel is usually either an interrogative pronoun or a relative pronoun.
For more information, click the links to visit the detailed lessons on these types of pronouns.
1) Interrogative pronoun:Lequel replaces quel + noun.
   Quel livre veux-tu ? > Lequel veux-tu ?
   Which book do you want? > Which one do you want?
   Je veux la pomme là -bas. > Laquelle ?
   I want the apple over there. > Which one?
   Je pense à mon frère. > Auquel penses-tu ? [À quel frère...]
   I'm thinking about my brother. > Which one are you thinking about?
2) Relative pronoun:Lequel replaces an inanimate object of a preposition. (If the object of the preposition is a person, use qui.)
   Le livre dans lequel j'ai écrit...
   The book in which I wrote...
   La ville à laquelle je songe...
   The town about which I'm dreaming...
   Le cinéma près duquel j'ai mangé...
   The theater near which I ate... / The theater I ate near...
Less commonly, in very formal French, lequel can also be a relative adjective.
Â
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine  | Feminine | Masculine  | Feminine | |
| Forms | lequel | laquelle | lesquels | lesquelles |
| Ã + lequel | auquel | Ã laquelle | auxquels | auxquelles |
| de + lequel  | duquel | de laquelle  | desquels | desquelles |