Learn Spanish (Latin America): Es la trituradora nueva la que necesitamos usar. - It is the new shredder that we need to use.

Es la trituradora nueva la que necesitamos usar.

It is the new shredder that we need to use.

Breakdown of Es la trituradora nueva la que necesitamos usar.

Questions & Answers about Es la trituradora nueva la que necesitamos usar.

Why does this sentence use la que instead of just que for "that"?

In Spanish cleft sentences, when you emphasize a specific noun (here, la trituradora nueva), the relative pronoun usually includes a definite article. We use la que (literally "the one that") because trituradora is feminine and singular. While English just says "It's the new shredder that...", Spanish phrasing is closer to "It is the new shredder the one that we need to use."

If we were talking about plural shredders, would we change Es to Son?

Yes! Unlike English, which strictly uses "It is..." or "It was..." in cleft sentences (e.g., "It is the shredders that..."), Spanish makes the verb ser agree with the emphasized noun. For plural shredders, the sentence would become: Son las trituradoras nuevas las que necesitamos usar.

Could I express this same idea without the Es... la que structure?

Absolutely. The cleft structure is used purely for emphasis. The standard, non-emphasized version is simply Necesitamos usar la trituradora nueva (We need to use the new shredder). By adding Es... la que..., you put a spotlight on the new shredder, heavily implying we need to use this specific one rather than an older model.

What is the root of the word trituradora?