Question 1

Why do we say con quien here instead of just que?

Accepted Answer

In English, we often say "the person that you must sign with." But in Spanish, when a relative pronoun (like who or that) follows a preposition like con, de, a, or en, you usually cannot just use que. Because we are referring to a person, we use quien for singular or quienes for plural.

Question 2

Could I use con la que instead of con quien?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You will often hear exactly that in everyday spoken Spanish, and it means the exact same thing. Using con quien is completely standard for referring to people and sounds just a tiny bit more formal, but both are excellent choices at this level.

Question 3

Why isn't it "es a la persona" with the "personal a"?

Accepted Answer

The "personal a" is only used when a specific person is the direct object of an action verb (like seeing, calling, or visiting someone). The verb ser (es) is a linking verb that simply states what something is (The notary = the person). Because it does not take a direct object, no "personal a" is needed.

Question 4

In English I might casually say "the person you must sign the mortgage with." Can I put con at the end of the sentence in Spanish?

Accepted Answer

No, Spanish never leaves a preposition dangling at the end of a sentence. A preposition must always come right before the relative pronoun it connects to. That is why con has to go in the middle of the sentence here: ...con quien debes firmar... (which literally translates to "...with whom you must sign...").

El notario es la persona con quien debes firmar la hipoteca.

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