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¿Dónde está la grapadora con la que trabajas?

¿Dónde está la grapadora con la que trabajas?
Where is the stapler with which you work?
From Lesson 261:Relative pronouns for things (el que, la que)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about ¿Dónde está la grapadora con la que trabajas?

Why do we say con la que instead of just con que?
After prepositions like con, de, or en, Spanish requires a definite article (el, la, los, or las) before the relative pronoun que to point back to the thing you are talking about. Because it refers back to la grapadora, we use la que.
Can I put the preposition at the end, like la grapadora que trabajas con?
No, Spanish never ends a sentence or clause with a preposition. You must always place the preposition directly before the relative pronoun. This is why you must phrase it as con la que (with which), even though in English you might say 'the stapler you work with'.
Why isn't it lo que in this sentence? Doesn't lo que mean 'which' or 'what'?
We use lo que when referring to an abstract idea, a whole situation, or something unknown. Because we are referring back to a specific, known noun (la grapadora), we must use the matching feminine singular article la instead of the neutral lo.
Could I use con la cual here instead of con la que?
Yes, con la cual means exactly the same thing. However, forms of el cual sound quite formal or literary. In everyday conversation, Spanish speakers strongly prefer el que and la que.

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