FRENCH: pronoms relatifs

[orpheus_samhain]

I have a question concerning the relative pronouns in French, more specifically the difference between "auquel" and "à quoi". They both can refer to things (the second one only to things), the second one with things more abstract or wider categories, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Is there some clear rule what to apply when? Are they

Comments

[cafecomics]

I don't think they're interchangeable. You can say "je ne sais pas à quoi il pense" (I don't know what he's thinking) but not "Je ne sais pas auquel il pense" (I don't know which one he's thinking about). Or rather you can but they don't mean the same thing. With auquel, you know some of the things he might be thinking about. You just don't know which one in particular. Say, is he thinking about the blue car or the red car?

I'd say one is indefinite and vague (à quoi) while the other is definite (auquel/à laquelle/auxquels/auxquelles) but I'm actually not à grammarian. With "auquel" and related variants you know what you're refering to (also why it has masc/sg, fem/sg, masc/pl and fem/pl forms). Same with lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles.

[orpheus_samhain]

Thank you.

[orpheus_samhain]

And could you clarify this use for me, please: "Gutenberg, à qui nous devons l'imprimerie..."? Is "Gutenberg, auquel nous devons l'imprimerie" also correct? It seems so to me. If not, why?

[mack_the_spoon]

Not a native French speaker, although I do have a (somewhat rusty) degree in it:

Your two examples both seem correct to me, but they also don't seem identical. To me, it's similar to what cafecomics said above - in your first example, it seems like you could be introducing Gutenberg for the first time, or you have only one previous sentence about him. In your second, however, it sounds like you've talked about several people and now you'd like to focus specifically on Gutenberg.

I will fully admit the possibility that I'm incorrect, though; as I said, I'm not a native speaker.

[cafecomics]

I don't think I'd use "auquel" here.

I think mack_the_spoon is correct. It only makes sense if you've talked about multiple people and are now focusing on Gutenberg as the one wo introduced the printing press to Europe, contrary to those other people you mentioned before. Still I feel "auquel" sounds weird here.