Log inSign up

Nous jouons à la variante de l'auteur, laquelle est très complexe.

Nous jouons à la variante de l'auteur, laquelle est très complexe.
We are playing the author's variant, which is very complex.
From Lesson 448:Subject disambiguation (lequel, laquelle)·French

Questions & Answers about Nous jouons à la variante de l'auteur, laquelle est très complexe.

Why is laquelle used here instead of qui?
In French, qui usually means 'who' or 'which' as a subject. If we said qui est très complexe, it could grammatically refer to either la variante (the variant) or l'auteur (the author). By using laquelle (the feminine singular form), it makes it crystal clear that the variant is complex, not the author.
How do we know to use laquelle and not another form like lequel?
The pronoun lequel has to agree in gender and number with the noun it refers back to. Here, it refers to la variante, which is a feminine singular noun, so we use the feminine singular form laquelle. If it referred to a masculine noun, we would use lequel.
Is it completely wrong to use qui instead of laquelle in this sentence?
Grammatically, qui is not wrong, but it leaves the sentence ambiguous. A native speaker would likely guess from context that the game variant is what is complex, but using laquelle is a much more precise and elegant way to eliminate any doubt.
Why does the sentence use jouons à instead of just jouons or jouons de?
The verb jouer requires the preposition à when talking about playing games, sports, or rule-based activities (like this game variant). You would use jouer de instead when talking about playing a musical instrument.

Learn Nous jouons à la variante de l'auteur, laquelle est très complexe and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →