Breakdown of El emprendedor con quien hablaste ayer necesita un mentor.
un
a, an (masculine)
necesitar
to need
hablar
to speak / to talk
con
with
quien
whom / who (relative singular)
ayer
yesterday
el emprendedor
the entrepreneur
el mentor
the mentor
Questions & Answers about El emprendedor con quien hablaste ayer necesita un mentor.
Why do we use quien here instead of que?
When a relative pronoun comes immediately after a preposition (like con, de, or a) and refers to a person, you must use quien (or quienes for plural). You cannot use que after con when talking about a person.
Could I use quienes instead of quien in this sentence?
In everyday English I might say 'The entrepreneur you spoke with'. Can I put con at the end of the clause in Spanish?
No. In Spanish, you can never leave a preposition dangling at the end of a sentence or clause. It must always go directly before the relative pronoun, which is why it has to be con quien (with whom).
Why is hablaste in the past tense while necesita is in the present?
The sentence combines two different timeframes. The action of speaking happened yesterday (ayer), so hablaste is in the preterite (simple past) tense. However, the entrepreneur's need for a mentor is happening right now, so necesita is in the present tense.
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