Lesquels de ces romans préfères-tu lire au bord de la mer ?

Lesquels means which ones and is used because the question is asking someone to choose from a known group: ces romans.

It is the plural masculine form of lequel. The full set is:

• lequel = which one? (masculine singular)
• laquelle = which one? (feminine singular)
• lesquels = which ones? (masculine plural)
• lesquelles = which ones? (feminine plural)

Since romans is masculine plural, French uses lesquels.

These two structures are close, but not identical.

• Lesquels de ces romans... ? = Which ones among these novels...?
• Quels romans... ? = Which novels...?

Using lesquels de ces romans emphasizes selection from a specific set already in front of you or already known in the conversation.

So this sentence sounds like:

• Here are some novels.
• Which ones of these do you prefer to read by the sea?

Because this is inversion, a common way to form a question in French.

The normal statement order would be:

• Tu préfères lire... = You prefer to read...

To make it a more formal or standard written question, French often inverts the verb and subject pronoun:

• Préfères-tu lire... ?

The hyphen is required between the verb and the subject pronoun in inversion.

Yes. That is a very natural spoken-French version.

You will commonly hear:

• Tu préfères lire lesquels de ces romans au bord de la mer ?

Compared with:

• Lesquels de ces romans préfères-tu lire au bord de la mer ?

The original sentence is perfectly correct and a bit more structured or formal. The version starting with Tu préfères... is often more conversational.

The verb is préférer = to prefer.

With tu, the present tense is:

• je préfère
• tu préfères
• il/elle préfère

So préfères-tu is the correct tu form.

The accent changes from é to è in these forms because the syllable becomes stressed in a way that triggers a common stem change in verbs like préférer.

So:

• infinitive: préférer
• tu préfères

Because after préférer, French often uses an infinitive verb to say what someone prefers to do.

So:

• préférer lire = to prefer to read
• préférer manger = to prefer to eat
• préférer rester = to prefer to stay

This works much like English:

• Which ones do you prefer to read...?

It means of these novels or more naturally in English, among these novels.

French often uses de after lequel/lesquels when choosing from a group:

• Lequel de ces films... ? = Which of these films...?
• Lesquels de ces romans... ? = Which of these novels...?

So de ces romans defines the set you are choosing from.

Because ces means these, while ses means his/her.

• ces romans = these novels
• ses romans = his/her novels

In this sentence, the speaker is pointing to a specific set of novels, so ces is the correct choice.

Literally, it means at the edge of the sea, but in natural English it usually means:

• by the sea
• by the seaside
• at the seaside

It does not necessarily mean you are physically on the beach. It just places the reading near the sea or coast.

So it gives a setting or atmosphere: reading while on a seaside vacation, for example.

Because au bord de la mer means by the sea / at the seaside, which is the natural idea here.

• au bord de la mer = by the sea, near the sea
• sur la mer = on the sea, literally on top of the sea

If you said sur la mer, it would sound like you were reading while physically on the water, maybe on a boat. That is a very different meaning.

Yes. Lesquels must match the noun it refers to in gender and number.

Since romans is:

• masculine
• plural

the correct form is:

• lesquels

If the noun were feminine plural, like revues or histoires, you would use lesquelles instead.

If you were asking for just one choice, you would use the singular form lequel:

• Lequel de ces romans préfères-tu lire au bord de la mer ?

That means Which one of these novels do you prefer to read by the sea?

The original sentence with lesquels asks for more than one choice, or at least leaves open the idea of multiple selections.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Lesquels de ces romans préfères-tu lire au bord de la mer ?
≈ leh-KEL duh say roh-MAHN pray-FAIR too leer oh bor duh lah mehr

A few useful points:

• lesquels: the final s is silent
• romans: the an is nasal
• préfères-tu: the è sounds like the vowel in fair
• bord: the final d is usually not pronounced
• mer: sounds like mehr

Also, French rhythm is smoother and more connected than English, so learners should try not to over-pronounce every final consonant.

It is fairly neutral to slightly formal, mainly because of inversion:

• Lesquels de ces romans préfères-tu... ?

In everyday spoken French, many people would more naturally say:

• Tu préfères lire lesquels de ces romans au bord de la mer ?

Both are correct. The original sentence is very standard and especially common in writing, teaching materials, and careful speech.