Question 1

Why do we use "dans lequel" here instead of just "que"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we often put prepositions at the end of a sentence, like 'the attic that you install the shelves in.' In French, you can never end a clause with a preposition. The preposition (dans) must come right before the word for 'which' (lequel). You cannot use que after a preposition.

Question 2

How do I know whether to use "lequel", "laquelle", or a plural form here?

Accepted Answer

The relative pronoun must agree in gender and number with the noun it refers back to. Here, it refers to le grenier (the attic), which is masculine singular, so we use lequel. If we were talking about a feminine noun like la pièce (the room), it would be dans laquelle.

Question 3

Since this is a physical place, could I use "où" instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because an attic is a physical location, saying Le grenier où vous installez les étagères... (The attic where you install...) is perfectly correct and very common in everyday spoken French. Dans lequel is a bit more precise and slightly more formal, emphasizing being 'inside' it.

Question 4

Why is the verb "est" (is) all the way at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The main subject of the sentence is Le grenier (The attic) and its verb is est. The entire middle section, dans lequel vous installez les étagères, is a relative clause providing extra information to describe the attic. If you remove it, the core sentence is simply Le grenier est sombre (The attic is dark).

Le grenier dans lequel vous installez les étagères est sombre.

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