Voici le coffre sur lequel le cadenas est bloqué.

Questions & Answers about Voici le coffre sur lequel le cadenas est bloqué.

Why do we use sur lequel here instead of que or où?
The relative pronoun que translates to 'that' or 'which', but it cannot be used after a preposition like sur. While you can sometimes use for locations, sur lequel is required when you want to specifically say 'on which' to describe a physical surface.
Since the current lesson is about the pronoun y, could I use y here instead of lequel?
No, because they do different jobs. The pronoun y is an object pronoun that replaces a phrase starting with à or a location inside a single clause (like j'y pense - I think about it). Here, sur lequel acts as a bridge linking two separate clauses ('Here is the safe' and 'the padlock is stuck on it').
Why is it lequel and not laquelle?
The word lequel must agree in gender and number with the noun it refers back to. Here, it refers to le coffre (the safe), which is masculine singular. If the sentence were about a feminine noun like la porte (the door), it would be sur laquelle.
I know bloqué means 'blocked'. Why is it translated as 'stuck' here?
In French, bloqué is very commonly used for mechanical things that are jammed and will not move. When a lock, a door, a zipper, or a padlock (le cadenas) will not open, you say it is bloqué.

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