When a Catalan relative represents a phrase introduced by a preposition, the preposition normally comes first: la persona amb qui treballo, el projecte de què parlem, la sala en la qual ens reunirem. The choice after it depends mainly on animacy, the kind of preposition, agreement, clarity, and register.
English often leaves the preposition at the end—“the person I work with”—or omits the relative marker altogether. Catalan standard syntax does neither: it turns the complete prepositional phrase into preposition + stressed relative.
The core choice
| Form | Typical antecedent | Behavior | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| què | nonhuman | invariable; normally after a simple preposition | l'eina amb què treballo |
| qui | human or personified | invariable; always preceded by a preposition in a headed relative | la tècnica amb qui treballo |
| el qual, la qual, els quals, les quals | human or nonhuman | agrees with the antecedent; especially useful after strong prepositions and for clarity | la norma segons la qual actuem |
These forms are stressed relatives, unlike weak unaccented que. They are not weak pronouns attached to a verb, so they never take a verbal hyphen or an apostrophe: de què, amb qui, segons la qual.
Què for nonhuman antecedents
With a thing, idea, event, or other nonhuman antecedent after an ordinary simple preposition, use accented què. The accent marks a stressed relative; it does not make the clause a question.
Vam obrir la capsa amb aquesta eina. → Aquesta és l'eina amb què vam obrir la capsa.
We opened the box with this tool. → This is the tool with which we opened the box.
Encara parlem del canvi d'horari. → El canvi d'horari de què parlem encara no és definitiu.
We're still talking about the schedule change. → The schedule change we're talking about is not yet final.
No estic d'acord amb el criteri en què es basa la decisió.
I don't agree with the criterion on which the decision is based.
The standard combines què with a, de, en, amb, and sobre, and with per in certain contexts. Thus per què can be a relative phrase: la raó per què vam marxar “the reason for which we left.” In everyday usage, la raó per la qual is also common and often clearer. In some restrictive relatives, què can even have a human antecedent, but qui is the more usual learner choice for a person.
Do not choose què solely from the English word “what.” Its function here comes from a nonhuman antecedent plus a preposition. For free “what” relatives, see free relatives.
Qui for human antecedents
With a person or personified antecedent, the simple stressed relative is qui.
Confio en aquesta advocada. → Aquesta és l'advocada en qui confio.
I trust this lawyer. → This is the lawyer whom I trust.
La investigadora amb qui col·laborem presentarà els resultats demà.
The researcher we collaborate with will present the results tomorrow.
El company de qui et parlava acaba d'arribar.
The colleague I was telling you about has just arrived.
Qui is invariable: el company amb qui and les companyes amb qui. Number and gender remain properties of the antecedent; the relative form simply signals human reference.
The preposition a before qui can represent an indirect object or another complement selected by the verb: la persona a qui vaig escriure, from vaig escriure a la persona. It can also mark an animate direct object. In that latter function, que is the most frequent form—la professora que vaig veure—but a qui is standard too, especially when it prevents ambiguity or when a psychological predicate takes a human experiencer: els nens a qui il·lusiona la festa. Bare qui is not the alternative. This construction should not be confused with mechanically adding Spanish-style personal a before every ordinary human noun phrase.
El qual: agreement, clarity, and stronger prepositions
The compound relative agrees with its antecedent:
| Antecedent | After en | After de |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | en el qual | del qual |
| feminine singular | en la qual | de la qual |
| masculine plural | en els quals | dels quals |
| feminine plural | en les quals | de les quals |
Contractions apply normally: a + el qual → al qual, de + els quals → dels quals, and per + les quals → per les quals. The article is part of the relative form. It does not mean that the antecedent itself must be definite: una dificultat davant la qual no ens podem aturar is fully possible.
The compound relative has the widest distribution: it works after most unstressed and stressed prepositions and after prepositional locutions—davant del qual, darrere de la qual, al voltant dels quals, gràcies a les quals, a través del qual. Human qui is also possible with many such expressions, as in el polític a favor de qui et poses, but not with every one: use per consideració a la qual, not per consideració a qui. Nonhuman què has the more limited set of prepositions described above. There is no fully reliable shortcut here; less frequent locutions must be checked or learned with their relative pattern.
L'edifici davant del qual ens esperàveu ja ha estat enderrocat.
The building in front of which you were waiting for us has already been demolished.
Aquestes són les mesures gràcies a les quals hem reduït el consum d'aigua.
These are the measures thanks to which we have reduced water consumption.
The agreeing form can also resolve an ambiguous antecedent:
La filla del metge, amb la qual vaig parlar ahir, dirigirà el projecte.
The doctor's daughter, with whom I spoke yesterday, will lead the project.
Amb qui could grammatically refer to either la filla or el metge. Feminine amb la qual explicitly selects la filla. This precision makes el qual valuable in (formal) administrative, academic, and legal prose, although it is not restricted to formal writing.
The relative can belong to an infinitive
The prepositional relative appears at the front of its clause even if the selecting verb is nonfinite.
Aquesta és la persona amb qui vull parlar abans de prendre cap decisió.
This is the person I want to speak with before making any decision.
The full dependency is vull parlar amb aquesta persona. Fronting gives amb qui vull parlar. Do not leave a strong pronoun after the infinitive (la persona amb qui vull parlar amb ella) and do not add locative hi (la persona amb qui hi vull parlar) to represent the same complement.
Other weak pronouns are possible inside the relative if they have a different function. In el canvi a què m'he d'acostumar, a què represents al canvi, while m' is the person component of pronominal acostumar-se. The correct form is not el canvi que m'hi he d'acostumar, where hi resumptively duplicates the fronted complement.
Why resumptive que is different
In (informal, widespread) speech, speakers often use invariant que plus a clitic or an overt prepositional phrase: el tema que en parlàvem, l'empresa que hi treballo, la persona que vaig venir amb ella. These patterns are real spoken Catalan, not random slips, and they can keep a familiar que while the clitic or phrase expresses the relation.
In edited (formal) Catalan, use the synthetic standard relatives instead: el tema de què parlàvem, l'empresa en què treballo, la persona amb qui vaig venir. The standard relative itself encodes the governing preposition, so en or hi is omitted because its function has already been filled, not because Catalan has ceased to require that relation.
Parlem sovint d'aquesta proposta. → En parlem sovint. → És la proposta de què parlem sovint.
We often talk about this proposal. → We often talk about it. → It is the proposal that we often talk about.
This three-step contrast is crucial. In an independent pronominal clause, en preserves de la proposta. In the relative clause, de què preserves the same relation, so adding en would mark it twice.
A relative at the front of the clause does not disrupt any separate weak-pronoun cluster inside it:
Aquest és el notari davant del qual me'l van fer signar.
This is the notary in whose presence they made me sign it.
Here davant del qual refers to the notary, while me'l contains first-person me and a masculine direct object mentioned in the discourse. The normal order and elision remain intact; el me van fer signar is not licensed by the preceding relative.
A dialogue with clear antecedents
—Qui és l'home amb qui parlaves al vestíbul? —És l'arquitecte a qui hem encarregat la reforma.
Who is the man you were talking with in the lobby? —He's the architect to whom we entrusted the renovation.
The antecedent of amb qui is l'home; the antecedent of a qui is l'arquitecte. In the second clause, a qui is the recipient selected by encarregar una cosa a algú, while la reforma remains the direct object.
Regional and normative perspective
The choice among prepositional què, qui, and el qual belongs to both IEC and AVL standards. Central, Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese varieties differ in how frequently everyday speech uses resumptive que, but careful pan-regional writing preserves the preposition before the relative. Regional clitic forms inside the relative clause should remain coherent with their own system; they do not change the antecedent or license preposition stranding.
Common Mistakes
1. Stranding the preposition as English does.
❌ La persona que treballo amb arribarà a les deu.
Incorrect in standard Catalan—the preposition cannot be left at the end.
✅ La persona amb qui treballo arribarà a les deu.
The person I work with will arrive at ten.
2. Ignoring animacy.
❌ L'eina amb qui hem obert la porta s'ha trencat.
Incorrect—qui requires a human or personified antecedent.
✅ L'eina amb què hem obert la porta s'ha trencat.
The tool we opened the door with has broken.
3. Treating stressed què as weak que or attaching it like a clitic.
❌ El criteri de que'n depèn la decisió no és públic.
Incorrect—prepositional relative què is accented and is not joined to a clitic.
✅ El criteri de què depèn la decisió no és públic.
The criterion on which the decision depends is not public.
4. Doubling the prepositional relative with en or hi.
❌ És una proposta de què n'hem parlat moltes vegades.
Incorrect in the intended standard structure—de què and en represent the same complement.
✅ És una proposta de què hem parlat moltes vegades.
It's a proposal that we have talked about many times.
5. Leaving direct-object qui without a.
❌ La candidata qui vam entrevistar ahir parla quatre llengües.
Incorrect—qui in a headed animate direct-object relative requires a.
✅ La candidata que vam entrevistar ahir parla quatre llengües. / La candidata a qui vam entrevistar ahir parla quatre llengües.
The candidate we interviewed yesterday speaks four languages.
Key Takeaways
Put the governing preposition before the relative. Use què mainly for nonhuman antecedents with its licensed prepositions, qui mainly for people, and an agreeing form of el qual for either—especially when a locution excludes the simple forms, in formal prose, or to remove ambiguity. A prepositional relative already fills the complement slot, so do not strand the preposition or duplicate the relation with en, hi, or an overt strong pronoun.
Related Topics
- Relative QueB1 — Use invariant unstressed que to build Catalan subject and direct-object relative clauses without omission, agreement, or stranded prepositions.
- Relative OnB1 — Use locative on for literal places and directions, add spatial prepositions when needed, and choose en què or el qual for nonlocative relations.
- Possessive Relatives with Del QualB1 — How formal Catalan expresses whose with a possessed noun followed by del qual and its agreeing forms.
- Colloquial Resumptive Pronouns in Relative ClausesC1 — How spoken Catalan uses que plus a clitic or possessive, why speakers do it, and how formal prose repairs the pattern.
- Why Catalan Does Not Normally Strand PrepositionsC1 — Learn why Catalan moves a preposition together with an interrogative or relative phrase, and how natural colloquial repairs avoid English-style stranding.
- Que, Què, Qui, or El Qual?B1 — Choose the Catalan relative form from its syntactic role, governing preposition, antecedent, punctuation, and register.