Like in English, Relative Pronouns in French don’t just stand in for other words, they are used to build up sentences by connecting clauses.
Example:
Je mange la tarte que ma mère a préparée / I eat the pie that my mother has prepared
Simple Forms
| Qui | Who, which, whom |
| Que | That |
| Quoi | What |
| Dont | Whose, of which |
| Où | Where |
Examples:
# Il faut trouver le témoin qui a identifié le meurtier. / We must find the witness who identified the murderer.
# La croisiére que j’ai fait m’a été recommendée par l’un de mes amis. / The cruise that I just went on was recommended by one of my friends.
# Je ne sais pas quoi te dire. / I don’t know what to tell you.
# Les chaussures dont elle s’est dôtée lui ont permi de finir le marathon. / The shoes of which she availed herself allowed her to finish the marathon.
# La maison où elle a vécu se trouve au Canada. / The house where she lived is located in Canada.
Complex Forms (le, la, les + quel)
| Lequel | Which one (masculine, singular form) |
| Lesquels | Which ones (masculine, plural form) |
| Laquelle | Which one (feminine, singular form) |
| Lesquelles | Which ones (feminine, plural form) |
Examples :
“Lequel avez-vous choisi?”, me demanda le vendeur en pointant l’étalage de fromages du doigt. / “Which one did you choose?”, asked the seller, while pointing his finger to the cheese display?
La cause pour laquelle nous nous sommes battus n’en valait pas la peine. / The cause for which we fought wasn’t worth it.
Les candidats parmi lesquels nous avons choisi le directeur étaient tous très qualifiés. / The candidates among which we chose the director were all very qualified.
Les pièces dans lesquelles vous avez installé les tableaux ne sont pas bien protégées. / The rooms in which you installed the paintings are not well protected.
Amalgamated Forms (à, au, aux, du, de la, des + complex form)
| Auquel | To which, at which (masc., sing. form) |
| Auxquels | To which, at which (masc., plur. form) |
| À laquelle | To which, at which (fem., sing. form) |
| Auxquelles | To which, at which (fem., plur. form) |
| Duquel | Of which, of whom, from which, from whom (masc., sing.) |
| Desquels | Of which, of whom, from which, from whom (masc., plur.) |
| De laquelle | Of which, of whom, from which, from whom (fem., sing.) |
| Desquelles | Of which, of whom, from which, from whom (fem., plur.) |
Examples:
L’espèce à laquelle vous faîtes allusion n’existe plus. / The species to which you’re referring no longer exists.
La recette indique de commencer avec du lait, auquel on peut ajouter du fromage. / The recipe tells us to start with milk, to which one can add cheese.
La voiture à côté de laquelle elle était garée à été volée. / The car by the side of which she was parked has been stolen.
