Here's how you introduce a relative clause including a prepositional verb or verbal expression with of/about in English:
The person about whom I'm talking is coming later.
The person (whom) I'm talking about is coming later.
In French, not only is the structure different, but you also have different relative pronouns (dont, de qui, duquel) available to introduce relative clauses with prepositional verbs or verbal expressions with de*.
Let's learn when to use which.
How to use "de qui / dont / duquel" in French
First of all, note that
unlike in English, you can never have de, duquel or dont at the end of the clause in French, nor can you separate de qui or de laquelle.
The boy whom I'm speaking of
-> You cannot say any of these:
Le garçon qui je parle de
Le garçon je parle duquel
Le garçon je parle dont
La fille laquelle je parle de
The boy whom I'm speaking of
-> You cannot say any of these:
Le garçon qui je parle de
Le garçon je parle duquel
Le garçon je parle dont
La fille laquelle je parle de
Now let's have a look at our different pronouns.
Dont = of/about which and of/about whom
Le garçon dont tu parles est très gentil.The boy (whom) you are speaking of is very nice.
The boy of whom you are speaking is very nice.
The boy of whom you are speaking is very nice.
Dont is the best option to introduce relative clauses with prepositional verbs or verbal expressions with de*, for both people and inanimate objects.
De qui = of/about whom
De qui is also an acceptable option, though generally less elegant than dont, and it applies exclusively to people.
Duquel, de laquelle, desquel(le)s = of/about whom and of/about which
In the context of relative clauses with prepositional verbs or verbal expressions with de*, using duquel, etc is considered archaic and over-formal compared to the more colloquial dont.
However, there's one case where you can favour duquel, etc and that is when using dont is ambiguous, and you want to be specific as to who/what is being referred to.
(Note that you can still use dont or de qui (people only) in such cases.)
However, there's one case where you can favour duquel, etc and that is when using dont is ambiguous, and you want to be specific as to who/what is being referred to.
(Note that you can still use dont or de qui (people only) in such cases.)
La fille d'Henri, de laquelle je t'ai parlé, vient d'emménager à Genève.Henri's daughter, whom I told you about, just moved to Geneva.
-> Here dont could refer to either Henri or his daughter, whereas de laquelle (feminine) removes all ambiguity.
* Here's a non-exhaustive list of French prepositional verbs and verbal expressions with de:
parler de, se souvenir de, avoir peur de, être fier de, avoir besoin de, avoir envie de, se servir de, s'occuper de, avoir conscience de ...
See also Dont = Whose (French Relative Pronouns), Dont = Including/[quantity] of which (French Relative Pronouns) and Duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles with prepositional phrases with "de" (French Relative Pronouns)
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Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
The witch of whom he is scared lives here.
The boy of whom you are speaking is very nice.
(Sacha Guitry)I guess a woman's past from the way she holds her cigarettes, and a man's future from the way he holds his drink/liquor.
(Sacha Guitry)
lit. The shoes of which you're in need are in the cupboard.
The boy of whom you are speaking is very nice.
The witch of whom he is scared lives here.
