Forms of quel and lequel

Forms of quel and lequel
Forms of quel
Quel means "what" or "which." You have seen it in idiomatic expressions like quelle
heure est-il ? It is always followed by a noun and agrees in gender and in number with
that noun.
Quel stylo préfères-tu ? “Which/What pen do you prefer?”
Quels animaux peut-on voir dans un zoo ? “Which/What animals can we see
in a zoo?”
Quelle voiture aimes-tu ? “Which/What car do you like?”
Quelles photos préfères-tu ? “Which/What pictures do you prefer?”
Forms of lequel
Lequel is used to avoid repetition. For instance, if you have already used a noun in one
sentence and do not want to repeat it, you will replace it with lequel or one of its forms.
Let’s look at the following conversation:
- I love those two sweaters.
- Which one do you like the best?
The second person talking used “which one” instead of saying “which sweater.”
Similarly, when le, la, les is placed before quel to replace the noun, the whole thing
means “which one(s).” Lequel changes depending on the gender and number of the
noun that it replaces.
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Plural
Lequel
Lesquels
Tu as vu mon stylo
? “Have you seen my
pen?”
Tu as vu mes stylos
? “Have you seen my
pens?”
Non. Lequel ?
“No. Which one?”
Non. Lesquels ?
“No. Which ones?”
Laquelle
Lesquelles
Tu as vu ma robe ?
“Have you seen my
dress?”
Tu as vu mes robes
? “Have you seen my
dresses?”
Non. Laquelle ?
“No. Which one?”
Non. Lesquelles ?
No. Which ones?
So go ahead and practice asking questions using quel, lequel and all their forms.
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