English speakers learning Spanish carry one bad habit into relative clauses: stranded prepositions. The friend I talked to. The house I live in. The film we were talking about. English happily lets the preposition dangle at the end of the clause, far from the relative pronoun it belongs to. Spanish does not. The preposition stays glued to the relative pronoun at the head of the clause: el amigo *con quien hablé, la casa **en la que vivo, la película **de la que hablábamos*.
This page is about the second piece of the problem — once you know the preposition has to move, which relative pronoun do you put after it? That depends on the antecedent (person vs thing), the register (conversational vs formal), and sometimes on the preposition itself.
The non-negotiable rule: no stranding
Spanish syntax does not allow a preposition to be separated from its object. In a relative clause, that means the preposition heads the clause, immediately followed by the relative pronoun.
El amigo con quien hablé esta mañana se llama Javier.
The friend I talked to this morning is called Javier.
La empresa para la que trabajo tiene su sede en Bilbao.
The company I work for is headquartered in Bilbao.
El tema del que hablábamos antes ya está resuelto.
The topic we were talking about before is already sorted.
The English versions all end in a preposition (to, for, about). The Spanish equivalents start the relative clause with the preposition. This is one of the most reliable markers of a non-native speaker: produce a stranded preposition in Spanish and everyone in the room hears it.
Choosing the pronoun: people vs things
After a preposition, the pronoun choice depends first on whether the antecedent is a person or a thing.
People — quien/quienes or el que/la que
When the antecedent is a person, two options are available in modern peninsular Spanish:
- con quien / para quien / a quien — slightly more formal, very common in writing and careful speech
- con el que / con la que / para los que / para las que — slightly more conversational, also very common
Both are correct. Personal preference and register decide.
La chica con quien salgo se llama Lucía.
The girl I'm going out with is called Lucía. (slightly more formal)
La chica con la que salgo se llama Lucía.
The girl I'm going out with is called Lucía. (slightly more conversational)
El compañero al que ayudo con los deberes vive en mi calle.
The classmate I help with the homework lives on my street.
El médico de quien te hablé es amigo de mis padres.
The doctor I told you about is a friend of my parents.
Things — el que/la que/los que/las que (or bare que with short prepositions)
When the antecedent is a thing, the gender-marked el que forms are the default after a preposition. After short, common prepositions (con, en, de, por, a), bare que — without the article — is also acceptable, especially in writing.
La silla en la que me senté estaba un poco rota.
The chair I sat on was a bit broken. (article, fully conversational)
La silla en que me senté estaba un poco rota.
The chair on which I sat was a bit broken. (no article, slightly more written)
El libro del que te hablé está agotado.
The book I told you about is sold out.
El libro de que te hablé está agotado.
The book I told you about is sold out. (also correct, more written)
In modern peninsular Spanish, the versions with the article (en la que, del que, con el que) are increasingly the conversational norm. You will hear and read them more often than the bare que versions. When in doubt, use the article — you will sound natural.
Formal register: el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales
The el cual family is the formal counterpart of el que. It is the standard choice in journalism, academic writing, legal prose, and elevated speech. After certain prepositions — particularly multi-syllable ones and compound prepositions — el cual is not merely an option but a strong preference.
Required (or strongly preferred) after multi-syllable/compound prepositions
The prepositions mediante, durante, según, debido a, a causa de, gracias a, en virtud de, por medio de, a pesar de sit awkwardly with bare que or with el que. The natural — and in formal writing, essentially required — choice is el cual.
Los argumentos en virtud de los cuales se rechazó la propuesta no convencieron a nadie.
The arguments by virtue of which the proposal was rejected convinced no one. (formal)
La conferencia, durante la cual se debatieron varios temas, duró más de cuatro horas.
The conference, during which various topics were debated, lasted over four hours.
Los motivos gracias a los cuales he ganado la beca son varios.
The reasons thanks to which I won the scholarship are several.
El procedimiento mediante el cual se calcula el impuesto está descrito en el reglamento.
The procedure by means of which the tax is calculated is described in the regulations.
Optional in formal contexts, even after short prepositions
In academic and journalistic writing, el cual is also used after short prepositions where el que would also work — it lifts the register.
El acuerdo, por el cual ambas partes se comprometieron a colaborar, fue firmado el viernes.
The agreement, by which both parties undertook to collaborate, was signed on Friday. (formal)
In conversation, this would sound stiff: a native speaker chatting at a bar would say por el que or simply por el que se comprometieron. El cual belongs to the register of writing and prepared speech.
A register table
| Preposition | Conversational | Educated speech / careful writing | Formal writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| con (person) | con el que / con la que | con quien | con quien or con el/la cual |
| con (thing) | con el/la que | con el/la que | con el/la cual |
| en (thing) | en el/la que | en el/la que or en que | en el/la cual |
| de (thing) | del/de la que | del/de la que or de que | del/de la cual |
| mediante / durante / según | rare in speech | mediante el cual, etc. | mediante el cual, etc. |
| gracias a / debido a | rare in speech | gracias a los cuales, etc. | gracias a los cuales, etc. |
Donde: a built-in preposition+pronoun for places
When the antecedent is a place, donde already contains the preposition (it incorporates en and similar locatives). You don't need to put a preposition in front of it.
La ciudad donde vivo está al norte de Madrid.
The city where I live is north of Madrid.
La ciudad en la que vivo está al norte de Madrid.
The city in which I live is north of Madrid. (same meaning, slightly more formal)
Both are correct. Donde is shorter and more idiomatic when the relation is purely locative; en la que is preferred when the place-of-occurrence reading is what you want to emphasize, or in formal contexts.
For destinations, adonde incorporates a: la playa adonde vamos.
La playa adonde solemos ir está cerca de Tarifa.
The beach we usually go to is near Tarifa.
Lo que / lo cual after a preposition
When the antecedent is a whole clause or abstract idea, the neuter lo que (conversational) or lo cual (formal) sits after the preposition.
No vino a la fiesta, por lo que estuve un poco triste toda la noche.
He didn't come to the party, for which reason I was a bit sad all night.
Nos llovió todo el fin de semana, a pesar de lo cual lo pasamos muy bien.
It rained on us all weekend, despite which we had a great time.
These are essentially adverbial connectors — por lo que (so / that's why), a pesar de lo cual (despite which) — built on the relative-with-preposition pattern.
The article-drop pattern: en que vs en el que
In peninsular Spanish, after short prepositions and with inanimate antecedents, you can sometimes drop the article: el libro de que te hablé alongside el libro del que te hablé. The article-less version is slightly more written and has a faint classical feel; the version with the article is more frequent in modern speech.
El año en que nació mi hijo fue 2018.
The year my son was born was 2018.
El año en el que nació mi hijo fue 2018.
The year (in which) my son was born was 2018.
Both are correct. The first is slightly more elegant in writing; the second is the everyday default.
The article cannot be dropped:
- after multi-syllable prepositions (mediante, gracias a, a pesar de)
- when the antecedent is a person and the pronoun is el que (it must agree)
- when ambiguity would result
Common Mistakes
❌ El amigo que hablé con vive en Bilbao.
Wrong — Spanish never strands a preposition. The preposition must move to the front of the relative clause.
✅ El amigo con quien hablé vive en Bilbao.
The friend I talked to lives in Bilbao.
❌ La película que te hablé es muy buena.
Wrong — 'hablar' requires 'de'; the relative clause needs the preposition too.
✅ La película de la que te hablé es muy buena.
The film I told you about is very good.
❌ Los motivos por que ganó son varios.
Wrong in formal register — after 'por' with an inanimate antecedent, modern peninsular Spanish prefers 'por los que' or 'por los cuales'.
✅ Los motivos por los que ganó son varios.
The reasons he won are several.
❌ La mujer con la cual me casé es de León.
Not wrong, but overly formal for everyday speech. In conversation, 'con la que' or 'con quien' sounds far more natural.
✅ La mujer con la que me casé es de León.
The woman I married is from León.
❌ Los compañeros mediante quienes conseguí el trabajo me invitaron a cenar.
Wrong — 'mediante' requires 'el cual' family, not 'quien', in modern peninsular usage.
✅ Los compañeros mediante los cuales conseguí el trabajo me invitaron a cenar.
The colleagues through whom I got the job invited me to dinner.
Key takeaways
- No preposition stranding. Ever. The preposition heads the relative clause, glued to the pronoun.
- People after a preposition: con quien (slightly more formal) or con el que / con la que (slightly more conversational). Both are correct and widely used.
- Things after a preposition: con el que / la que / los que / las que in modern peninsular; bare que is acceptable after short prepositions in writing.
- Multi-syllable or compound prepositions (mediante, durante, gracias a, debido a, a pesar de) require the el cual family. Mediante el cual, gracias a los cuales, not mediante el que.
- El cual is the formal-register option throughout, especially in writing.
- Donde already contains a locative preposition; don't double up. La ciudad donde vivo — not en donde (which exists but emphasizes inside-ness in writing only).
- For abstract antecedents: por lo que, a pesar de lo cual, gracias a lo cual — the neuter relative carries the same preposition logic.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Cláusulas relativas: guía completaB1 — A comprehensive reference of every Spanish relative pronoun — que, quien, el que, el cual, lo que/lo cual, cuyo, donde, cuando, como, cuanto — with register, antecedent type, and decision logic.
- Cláusulas relativas no restrictivasB1 — Non-restrictive (non-defining) relative clauses in Spanish add parenthetical information between commas — and the commas themselves change the meaning of the sentence.
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