which

which ⇒ Usage note : which , US hwItS

A pron

1 (also which one) lequel m, laquelle f ; which do you want, the red skirt or the blue one? laquelle est-ce que tu veux, la jupe rouge ou la bleue? ; which of the groups…? (referring to one) lequel des groupes…? ; (referring to several) lesquels des groupes …? ; which of you…? lequel/laquelle etc de vous or d'entre vous…? ; I know which you'd like je sais lequel/laquelle etc tu voudrais ; show her which you mean montre-lui celui/celle etc que tu veux dire ; which is the best/the shortest route? quel est le meilleur chemin/le chemin le plus court? ; do you mind which you have? est-ce que tu as une préférence? ; I don't mind which ça m'est égal ; can you tell which is which? peux-tu les distinguer? ;

2 (relative to preceding noun) (as subject) qui ; (as object) que ; (after prepositions) lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles ; the painting which hangs in the sitting room le tableau qui est accroché dans le salon ; you'll see some crates behind which I've placed… tu verras des caisses derrière lesquelles j'ai mis… ; the contract which he's spoken about ou about which he's spoken le contrat dont il a parlé ;

3 (relative to preceding clause or concept) (as subject) ce qui ; (as object) ce que ; he said he hadn't done it, which may be true/which he can't prove il a nié l'avoir fait, ce qui est peut-être vrai/ce qu'il ne peut pas prouver ; which reminds me… ce qui me fait penser que… ; upon which she disappeared littér sur quoi elle a disparu ; we'll be moving, before which we need to… nous allons déménager mais avant il faut que nous… ; he's resigned, from which we must assume that il a démissionné, d'où on peut déduire que.

B det

1 (interrogative) quel/quelle/quels/quelles (before n) ; which books? quels livres? ; which medals did he win? quelles médailles a-t-il gagnées? ; he told me which jacket he'd like il m'a dit quelle veste il aimerait avoir ; she asked me which coach was leaving first elle m'a demandé lequel des cars allait partir le premier ; which one of the children…? lequel or laquelle des enfants…? ;

2 (relative) he left the room, during which time… il a quitté la pièce et pendant ce temps-là… ; you may wish to join, in which case… vous voulez peut-être vous inscrire, auquel cas… ; he failed to apologize, for which mistake he paid dearly sout il ne s'est même pas excusé, (c'est une) erreur qu'il a payée cher.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.