Lesquelles

Lesquelles is a French pronoun used as both an interrogative and a relative pronoun meaning "which ones" or "of which ones." It is the feminine plural form of lequel (and of lequel in other combinations), and it agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to. As a result, lesquelles refers to feminine plural antecedents.

Forms and compatibility

The base forms are lequel (masculine singular), laquelle (feminine singular), lesquels (masculine plural), and lesquelles (feminine plural). The forms take different prepositional endings when they introduce relative clauses or questions, for example: auxquelles, auxquelles, auxquelles, desquelles, desquelles, desquels, auxquelles, etc. The exact form depends on the preposition and the gender/number of the antecedent.

Usage

Lesquelles can be used in two main ways:

- Interrogative: to ask about a subset among a known group. Example: Lesquelles de ces options préférez-vous ? (Which of these options do you prefer?)

- Relative: to introduce a clause that provides information about a feminine plural antecedent. Example: Ce sont les propositions auxquelles j'ai pensé. (These are the proposals to which I have thought.)

Notes on agreement and style

Agreement with the antecedent is key: use lesquelles for feminine plural nouns, and lesquels for masculine plural nouns. When the gender is mixed or unknown, some contexts default to the masculine forms (lesquels) in informal usage, though strict agreement prefers the masculine unless the feminine is clearly specified. Lesquelles tends to be more common in formal or written French, especially in contexts requiring precise reference to feminine plural items.

See also lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles.