Où vs Pendant Laquelle vs Dans Laquelle

Question

This discussion has me confused- it seems contradictory.  The question was L'année ______ Napoléon a été sacré empereur.  I knew that 'où' would be correct, but from comments in the thread it stated that 'pendant laquelle' would also be correct.  So I tried that but it was marked wrong.  I'm also confused as to whether 'dans laquelle' would be ok.  There are comments in the thread that imply it is ok, but others that it "doesn't sound right".  Can someone clarify?  Thanks

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Philip,
Maarten and Chris are both correct. Both expressions (l'année où ... / l'année pendant laquelle ...) do not carry the exact same meaning: "où" means "when" whereas "pendant laquelle" means "during which" (the latter emphasising on a long period of time).
L'année où je t'ai rencontré,... = The year (when) I met you
-> a short past event, i.e. meeting the person is a "short" action
L'année pendant laquelle j'ai voyagé,... = The year (during which) I travelled
-> a much longer past event, i.e. travelling takes much longer
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Philip,

the choice of pronoun depends on the context and the meaning to be conveyed.

The example you give is really just a fragment - it doesn't convey any significant information or context. Is it the complete sentence/question as given or was there more information in or around the sentence ? If it was directly attached to this lesson, then ' où ' would definitely be what the bot was expecting.

Regardless, the possible choices here, I think are' L'année où ..' or ' L'année pendant laquelle ...' . The first is the most common expression I have encountered in similar situations, especially for a 'short' event, such as 'birth'.

I could envisage ' pendant laquelle ... ' being used for something that occurred over a prolonged time during the year perhaps.

They do not have exactly the same meaning, and in both cases, some further qualifying information about the year would be expected.

On the other hand, both quand and que for example, would be wrong as the example is presented.

I have not heard or seen ' dans lequel/laquelle ...' used for a past time period like this and my (French) wife thinks it sounds weird/wrong. This is in keeping with Cécile's comment below.

Given these reactions, I think it is reasonable to accept that ' dans lequel/laquelle ' etc is not used for past time periods.

If anyone has information to the contrary, good to see it, but I try to stick with the practical French I encounter.

Answer

Just to add to Maarten's answer:L'année où... -- The year when...L'année pendant laquelle... -- The year during which...These two translations give you the flavor of how où or pendant laquelle would sound to French ears.