English places whose before the possessed noun: “a writer whose novels sell well.” Contemporary standard Catalan normally builds the relationship in the opposite direction: a writer + the novels + of whom — un escriptor les novel·les del qual es venen molt. This (formal) construction is precise and common in edited prose, though conversation usually prefers a paraphrase.
The core pattern
The possessive relative has this order:
antecedent + possessed noun phrase + de + article + qual
Hem entrevistat una científica els articles de la qual han tingut molt ressò.
We interviewed a scientist whose articles have attracted a great deal of attention.
The antecedent is una científica. Start from two full sentences:
- Hem entrevistat una científica.
- Els articles de la científica han tingut molt ressò.
- Replace de la científica with de la qual: Hem entrevistat una científica els articles de la qual han tingut molt ressò.
The relative phrase performs the same syntactic job as the replaced phrase: it is a complement of the possessed noun articles. It is not the subject or object of han tingut. This replacement test explains both the preposition de and the position after the possessed noun.
Han ajornat el projecte, el pressupost del qual encara no està aprovat.
They have postponed the project, whose budget has not yet been approved.
Coneixes les famílies els fills de les quals participen en l'intercanvi?
Do you know the families whose children are taking part in the exchange?
What agrees with what
The article inside the relative phrase agrees with the antecedent, not with the possessed noun. The possessed noun has its own determiner and its own number.
| Antecedent | Relative form | Example fragment |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | del qual | un barri els carrers del qual |
| feminine singular | de la qual | una empresa la directora de la qual |
| masculine plural | dels quals | uns acords l'aplicació dels quals |
| feminine plural | de les quals | unes cases els terrats de les quals |
Thus una empresa el director de la qual is correct: el director is masculine, but de la qual is feminine because it refers back to empresa. Likewise, plural articles does not force plural quals if its antecedent is singular.
Treballa en una empresa la directora de la qual viu a Girona.
She works for a company whose director lives in Girona.
S'han publicat dos informes, les conclusions dels quals no coincideixen.
Two reports have been published whose conclusions do not coincide.
There is elision in the possessed noun phrase when ordinary article rules require it: l'autora, l'aplicació. By contrast, the relative forms are fixed as del qual, de la qual, dels quals, de les quals. Write the contractions del and dels as single words; there is no apostrophe or hyphen in any of the four forms.
Extra prepositions belong before the possessed phrase
Sometimes the entire possessed noun phrase is governed by another preposition. That preposition goes before its article; de + el qual still stays after the possessed noun.
Vaig parlar amb una investigadora, amb els col·laboradors de la qual ja havia treballat.
I spoke with a researcher whose collaborators I had already worked with.
Underlying phrase: ja havia treballat amb els col·laboradors de la investigadora. Replacing de la investigadora does not move or delete amb. The resulting sequence amb els col·laboradors de la qual may look heavy, but it is structurally transparent.
És una mesura contra els efectes de la qual s'han pronunciat diverses entitats.
It is a measure against whose effects several organizations have spoken out.
This density is one reason the construction belongs mainly to formal and academic writing. There is no honest shortcut: with a complex noun phrase, you must identify which preposition belongs to the host verb and which de marks possession.
Natural alternatives
In everyday speech, recast the sentence with tenir, repeat the antecedent, or split it into two sentences. These are not evasions; they are often better style.
| Register | Form |
|---|---|
| (formal) | Busquem una casa el jardí de la qual tingui sol tot el dia. |
| (neutral) | Busquem una casa que tingui un jardí amb sol tot el dia. |
| (informal) | Busquem una casa. El jardí ha de tenir sol tot el dia. |
Busquem una casa el jardí de la qual tingui sol tot el dia.
We are looking for a house whose garden gets sun all day.
No contractarem cap proveïdor les condicions del qual no siguin clares.
We will not hire any supplier whose terms are unclear.
The second example is negative and has an indefinite antecedent. The relative does not change, but the subjunctive siguin presents the desired supplier as not yet identified. For mood in such clauses, see mood in relative clauses.
Unlike ordinary prepositional relatives such as una persona amb qui parlar, this possessive pattern normally introduces a finite clause. Do not force an English infinitival “whose” construction into Catalan. A natural finite version is:
Necessitem un programa la interfície del qual funcioni sense connexió.
We need a program whose interface works offline.
What not to substitute
Catalan has no standard relative determiner matching Spanish cuyo. Neither quin nor the historical, now nonproductive form cui can fill this role in contemporary Catalan. An animate antecedent does not trigger a Spanish-style personal a here: possession still requires de la qual, not a la qual. English also allows “whose” with people and things; Catalan del qual does too, since its agreement makes the antecedent explicit.
The colloquial pattern una noia que el seu pare... is widespread in spontaneous speech. It is an informal analytic relative: que links the clause while el seu carries the possessive relationship. It is not the preferred form in formal edited Catalan. Use una noia el pare de la qual... there, or rewrite naturally.
—Parles de la Marta o de la Júlia? —De la Marta, la germana de la qual treballa amb mi.
—Are you talking about Marta or Júlia? —Marta, whose sister works with me.
The repeated de la Marta makes the antecedent unambiguous. Without context, a long chain of feminine nouns can still be hard to process even when agreement is correct.
This relative is a strong, stressed phrase, not a weak pronoun. It neither attaches to the verb nor forms a clitic cluster. Therefore en and hi do not replace del qual here. Either pronoun may still occur if the verb has a different complement with a different referent, but it must not repeat the same relationship already expressed by de la qual. Avoid accidental doubling.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English word order.
❌ una arquitecta de la qual els projectes coneixes
Incorrect — the possessed noun phrase cannot follow del qual in an imitation of English whose.
✅ una arquitecta els projectes de la qual coneixes
an architect whose projects you know
2. Agreeing qual with the possessed noun.
❌ una revista els articles dels quals llegeixo
Incorrect — dels quals wrongly agrees with articles rather than with revista.
✅ una revista els articles de la qual llegeixo
a magazine whose articles I read
3. Importing Spanish cuyo or a Spanish-style construction.
❌ una autora cuyo llibre ha guanyat el premi
Incorrect — cuyo is Spanish, not Catalan.
✅ una escriptora la novel·la de la qual ha guanyat el premi
a writer whose novel has won the prize
4. Duplicating the possessive relationship.
❌ una autora el seu llibre de la qual ha guanyat el premi
Incorrect — both seu and de la qual mark the same possessor.
✅ una autora el llibre de la qual ha guanyat el premi
an author whose book has won the prize
5. Mixing the contracted and uncontracted forms.
❌ un projecte el cost de el qual desconeixem
Incorrect — de + el must contract to del.
✅ un projecte el cost del qual desconeixem
a project whose cost we do not know
Key Takeaways
Build the construction from possessed noun + de + antecedent. Replace only the antecedent with el qual, la qual, els quals, or les quals, contracting de + el/els. Agreement follows the antecedent, while word order follows Catalan the X of whom/which, not English whose X. In conversation, a clear paraphrase is usually more natural.
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