# FR: quel / lequel (de)



## sunsail

salut à tous

est-ce qu'il y a un différence entre ceux-ci?

lequel est le cheval gris?
quel cheval est gris?

merci d'advance

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.


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## Jet Lewis

The first one means, wich one is the grey horse?
The second one means, Which horse is grey?


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## Krom le Barbare

In the first sentence, the other things among which the grey horse is can be other animals.


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## sunsail

Thanks
How can I use lequel laquelle or lesquelles?

which one is that ? Without referencing to previously spoken object


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## jann

It's not possible to use these pronouns without referring to a previously mentioned object.

If you want to translate "which one is that? then we must know what kind of objects you're talking about.  In a previous sentence, you will have indicated that we're talking about cars, or people, or ideas, or books.

The gender of the object will determine which pronoun you use.

_Lequel est celui-là ?_ ==> which one (of the previously mentioned masculine objects) is that (one)?
_Laquelle est celle-là ?_ ==> which one (of the previously mentioned feminine objects) is that (one)?

Please read this page.


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## rightskeys

What is the difference between lequel and quel?
I was reading a question that had lequel in it, and it seemed like it had the same meaning as quel.
Does it?


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## geostan

Lequel is a pronoun; quel is an adjective.

Quel journal lis-tu?  Quel modifies journal.
Quel est ton journal préféré?   Quel is a predicate adjective with être. It still refers to journal.

Lequel de ces trois journaux préfères-tu?  A ponoun is required because it is completed by a preposition.

Do you have specific examples in mind?


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## Keith Bradford

As for meaning, compare the way we say this in English:

_What paper are you reading?_
_Which paper are you reading?_
_Which of the papers are you reading?_
_Which one of the three papers are you reading?_

_Quel_ is right to translate the first two; _lequel_ the last two.


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## jacques songo'o

Until recently I was under the impression that either lequel or quel could precede a prepostion. However a friend told me that only lequel can be used before it. Can anyone tell me why this is so? I know that quel doesn't  have to be directly followed by a noun:it can be separated from its noun by est, peut etre, doit etre, so why is the quel+de preposition impossible?


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## marget

As you mentioned, quel does  not have to be followed directly by a noun.  It can be followed by some form of the verb être + noun.  But in the case of "_Which one/s_ of... " you need a pronoun.


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## CapnPrep

_Quel_ used by itself as the subject or the object of a verb is outdated:


> *Rem.* (Vieilli). Dans une constr. alternative, _quel_ peut commuter avec _lequel_: _De Chénier ou de Saint-Just, quel était le plus pur?_ (TLFi, s.v. _quel_)


The following examples contain this use of _quel_, followed by the preposition _de_, but nowadays it would be much more usual to use _lequel_:


*Quelle* *de* nos provinces a marqué sa volonté de séparer son destin de celui de la Patrie ? (De Gaulle, 1943)
 Je vais souvent pensant en moi-même *quelle** de* ces deux conditions est la pire : ou aimer sans être aimé ou, aimant et étant aimé, être empêché par des murailles. (Camus, 1953)
*Quel* *de* ces deux courants l'emportera ? L'humanité sera-t-elle nationale ou spirituelle ? (Benda, 1927)
I don't think anyone can say "why"…


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## Marie3933

... because in modern french, "quel" is only adjective, while "lequel" is a pronoun.


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## Aoyama

> _Quel_ used by itself as the subject or the object of a verb is outdated


absolutely (or outright obsolete). The three examples given are not so old but they are pedantic or precious.


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## CapnPrep

Marie3933 said:


> ... because in modern french, "quel" is only adjective, while "lequel" is a pronoun.


_Quel _is a pronoun when used as the complement of _être_, but it still cannot combine with _de_.


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## Marie3933

CapnPrep said:


> _Quel _is a pronoun when used as the complement of _être_


Could you give an example???


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## CapnPrep

_Quel est ton prénom ?_ *_Norvégien_.


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## Marie3933

CapnPrep said:


> _Quel est ton prénom ?_


CapnPep, dans cette phrase, "Quel" est adjectif (interrogatif), attribut de "prénom". (_Le Bon usage_, § 943; Robert, entrée 'quel')


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## sejean

I'm getting confused. Can you clarify for me which question is phrased correctly?
"Il y a beaucoup de bons restaurants dans le coin."
"Quel est le meilleur?" ou "Lequel est le meilleur?"


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## CapnPrep

Marie3933 said:


> CapnPep, dans cette phrase, "Quel" est adjectif (interrogatif), attribut de "prénom". (_Le Bon usage_, § 943; Robert, entrée 'quel')


Comme il s'agit d'une construction assez figée, la nature de _quel_ est difficile à déterminer. L'analyse adjectivale est justifiable dans les cas où on cherche à charactériser le sujet, par ex. _Si la lance d’un guerrier ordinaire a dix piés de long, quelle sera la lance d’Ajax ?_ (Diderot, cité par Grevisse). Mais aujourd'hui ces questions cherchent à identifier le sujet, et la réponse est toujours nominale, jamais adjectivale. Je ne vois pas d'argument fort pour faire de _quel_ un adjectif ici.



sejean said:


> I'm getting confused. Can you clarify for me which question is phrased correctly?
> "Il y a beaucoup de bons restaurants dans le coin."
> "Quel est le meilleur?" ou "Lequel est le meilleur?"


_Lequel_ is the more natural choice, since it means you want to pick the best one from the set of good restaurants just mentioned. _Quel_ is in principle also possible, but it makes the question less connected to the preceding context.


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## Aoyama

> "Il y a beaucoup de bons restaurants dans le coin."
> "Quel est le meilleur?" ou "Lequel est le meilleur?"


in that case, practically both are possible, with the argument of "quel est le meilleur" being outdated not relevant here. Modern French will use both.
It is nevertheless true that "lequel" would seem the more natural choice but on a different level than the examples given in #3, where use of quel/quelle is old. But #3 deals with _quel/quelle de ._


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## qizi

Laquelle des langues parlez-vous le mieux? 
Hello, could you tell me why I can't replace laquelle with quelle here? Thank you.


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## MarcusK

"Quelle" cannot be followed by "des". 
It's used in a sentence such as "Quelle langue parlez-vous le mieux ?" for example.


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## TSR

"_Laquelle_ de ces langues" would mean "_which_ language (among those we've talked about)?"

"_Quelle_ langue" can mean either "_what_" or "_which_".


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