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French Grammar

Prepositional Relatives: The "Duquel" Family

Blending variable relative pronouns with the origin preposition de (duquel, desquels, de laquelle) when de forms part of a compound preposition.

Level B2 Category Grammar

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Lesson Summary

Blending variable relative pronouns with the origin preposition de (duquel, desquels, de laquelle) when de forms part of a compound preposition.

Grammar

When the Verb Calls for a Compound Preposition with “de”

The relative pronoun dont (see the relative pronoun dont) replaces de + noun when de is used alone. When de is part of a longer prepositional phrase — such as près de, à cause de, au sujet de — the dont cannot be used. Instead, the contracted forms of the duquel family are required. These are formed from the preposition de and the variable relative pronouns of the lequel family (see complex variable relative pronouns: the lequel family).

Contractions of de + Lequel

Form	Meaning	Example
duquel	de + lequel (masculine singular)	le village près duquel j’habite (the village near which I live)
de laquelle	de + laquelle (feminine singular)	la rivière au bord de laquelle nous avons pique‑niqué (the river by which we had a picnic)
desquels	de + lesquels (masculine plural)	les problèmes à cause desquels le projet a échoué (the problems because of which the project failed)
desquelles	de + lesquelles (feminine plural)	les migrations au sujet desquelles le rapport a été écrit (the migrations about which the report was written)

Dont vs. the Duquel Family

The choice between dont and the duquel family is determined by the preposition used.

Dont is used when the preposition de stands alone (after a verb, an adjective, or a noun):
- Le livre dont je t’ai parlé. (parler de)
- La ville dont je suis fier. (fier de)

The duquel family is used when de is part of a compound preposition:
- près de → le parc près duquel…
- au bord de → la mer au bord de laquelle…
- à cause de → les raisons à cause desquelles…
- au sujet de → la question au sujet de laquelle…
- à propos de → l’affaire à propos de laquelle…
- au milieu de → la foule au milieu de laquelle…

Summary of the Three Families

The choice of the relative pronoun after a preposition follows a clear hierarchy:
- Compound preposition ending in de → duquel family
- Preposition à alone → auquel family (see prepositional relatives: the auquel family)
- Any other single preposition (sur, avec, pour, dans, etc.) → lequel family directly

Examples

L'étude démographique au sujet de laquelle le débat a été organisé est très controversée.
The compound preposition au sujet de requires the form de laquelle (feminine singular, agreeing with étude).
Les tendances migratoires à cause desquelles certaines régions se dépeuplent inquiètent les élus.
The compound preposition à cause de requires desquelles (feminine plural, agreeing with tendances).

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Prepositional Relatives: The "Duquel" FamilyBlending variable relative pronouns with the origin preposition de (duquel, desquels, de laquelle) when de forms part of a compound preposition.Link multi‑clause descriptive statements smoothly when referencing origins, possession, or circumstance governed by a compound preposition ending in de.GrammarB2grammarLearn French GrammarFrench GrammarWhen the Verb Calls for a Compound Preposition with “de”The relative pronoun dont (see the relative pronoun dont) replaces de + noun when de is used alone. When de is part of a longer prepositional phrase — such as près de, à cause de, au sujet de — the dont cannot be used. Instead, the contracted forms of the duquel family are required. These are formed from the preposition de and the variable relative pronouns of the lequel family (see complex variable relative pronouns: the lequel family).