La que canta muy bien es mi amiga.

to be

Breakdown of La que canta muy bien es mi amiga.

• mi: my
• muy: very
• cantar: to sing
• la amiga: the friend
• bien: well
• la que: the one

Questions & Answers about La que canta muy bien es mi amiga.

Why do we say la que instead of quien to refer to the person who sings well?

In Spanish, when referring back to a noun (in this case, a female person) with a relative pronoun, you can use: • la que to specify “the one who,” which highlights the idea of a specific person among others.
• quien is also possible, but typically used when the antecedent is explicitly a person, often after a preposition (for example, la persona a quien conozco). In this sentence, la que emphasizes “the woman who sings well” as a defined individual.

Is the que in la que the same qué used in questions?

No. In la que, the word que is a relative pronoun meaning “who” or “that” instead of the question word qué meaning “what.” They both look similar, but they serve different functions. In la que, it does not carry an accent and isn’t used to form a question.

Why do we use the feminine article la in this sentence?

The feminine article la matches the gender of the person it refers to (a female friend). In Spanish, the relative pronoun phrase la que must agree in gender (and number, if needed) with its antecedent. Since we’re talking about amiga (female friend), it’s feminine singular.

Could we say La mujer que canta muy bien es mi amiga?

Yes, that is also correct. You can use La mujer que canta muy bien to specify the woman who sings well. Saying la que is a more concise way to highlight “the one who” without explicitly saying mujer each time.

Can we simply say Ella canta muy bien, es mi amiga instead?

Yes, you could. However, it slightly changes the style. Ella canta muy bien, es mi amiga is more direct: “She sings very well, she’s my friend.” Using la que canta muy bien is more like “The one who sings very well is my friend,” which sounds more precise or descriptive in identifying this friend by her characteristic of singing well.