Mes amis, auxquels j'écris

PeumaC1Kwiziq community member

Mes amis, auxquels j'écris

Is it correct to use ''auxquels'' in this context when the antecedent is animate, because I was under the impression that ''auxquels'' was a restricted to inanimate objects (things) only
Asked 6 years ago
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Peuma,
Below are links to two sites that provide explanatory description of the use of auxquels. I use other sites at times to review a structure that I am unsure of. It gives me a little different perspective that at times assists me to better understand the concept,. The first link, the article is written by Laura from Kwiziq and the second is from the French department at the University of Texas at Austin. Both are excellent.
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/lequel/
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/int6.html
J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour à nouveau, Here are four locutions: Mes amis, auxquels j'écris, viennent me voir bientôt --> My friends, that I write, come see me soon Mes amis, desquels j'écris, viennent me voir bientôt --> My friends, of which I write, come see me soon Mes amis, lesquels j'écris, viennent me voir bientôt --> My friends, which I write, come (are coming to) see me soon Mes amis, à qui j’écris, viennent me voir bientôt. --> My friends, to whom I write, come to see me soon. Which of these contexts best describes the scenario in the phrase you provided using «auxquels»?
PeumaC1Kwiziq community member
The first, second and third because I believed that in each case it would not be possible to use auxquels/desquels/lesquels because they are referring to animate objects of the preposition. The first link you provided stated this: "2) Relative pronoun: Lequel replaces an inanimate object of a preposition. (If the object of the preposition is a person, use qui.)" Would appreciate some clarity on this matter.
ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi Peuma, as explained in the lesson, "à qui" is reserved for animate objects/persons. "Auquel", "à laquelle", "auxquels" and "à laquelles" can be used in either case. -- Chris (no native speaker).

Mes amis, auxquels j'écris

Is it correct to use ''auxquels'' in this context when the antecedent is animate, because I was under the impression that ''auxquels'' was a restricted to inanimate objects (things) only

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