11.5.5 Special cases for references

1) Ce, tout and rien are in gender and number undefined. Lequel / laquelle / lesquels / lesquelles can only refer to things that are defined in gender and number. This means that lequel / laquelle / lesquels / lesquelles cannot be used in these cases. Here, we use quoi as relative pronoun. There is a chapter regarding these special cases here.

Example
C' était tout sur quoi il a fondé son jugement.
This is everything on what he has based his judgement.

2) duquel / de laquelle / desquels / desquelles anstatt dont

Usually dont is used for references with the preposition of. However, if the referred object is on a place not directly after the referred object, auf duquel / de laquelle / desquels / desquelles is used.

Example  
L' homme dont la femme est partie en Italie lit un livre.
The man whose wife has gone to Italy reads a book.  

but

Examples  
L' homme avec la femme duquel il avait parlé, a disparu.
The man with whose wife he has talked, has disappeared.
La femme avec le mari de laquelle il avait parlé, a disparu.
The woman with whose husband he has talked, has disappeared.  

3) We have said that de changes to dont when it appears in a phrase of a relative clause. This is not the case when a reference is made to something abstract, where we use "of what" in English.

Examples  
Rien de ce qu' il dit est juste. Nothing of what he says is true.
Quelque chose de ce qu' il dit est juste. Something of what he says is true.





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