Learn Spanish (Spain): Aceptamos la cláusula mediante la cual fijamos el precio. - We accept the clause through which we set the price.

Aceptamos la cláusula mediante la cual fijamos el precio.

We accept the clause through which we set the price.

Breakdown of Aceptamos la cláusula mediante la cual fijamos el precio.

Questions & Answers about Aceptamos la cláusula mediante la cual fijamos el precio.

Why use la cual instead of la que after mediante?

Both are grammatically correct and mean "which", but la cual is more formal. You will see el cual, la cual, los cuales, and las cuales frequently in legal, business, or written Spanish, especially after longer prepositions like mediante (through/by means of).

How do we know to use la instead of el before cual?

The relative pronoun el cual or la cual must always match the gender and number of the noun it refers back to (its antecedent). Here, it refers to la cláusula (the clause), which is feminine and singular, so we must use la cual.

Can we drop the article and just say mediante que?

No, that would be grammatically incorrect. After prepositions in Spanish, you generally must use a definite article with the relative pronoun (such as la que or la cual). You cannot use que entirely on its own after mediante.

Are aceptamos and fijamos definitely in the present tense here?

Not necessarily! For regular -ar verbs like aceptar and fijar, the nosotros (we) form is exactly the same in both the present tense and the preterite (simple past) tense. Depending on the surrounding context, this sentence could also perfectly translate to "We accepted the clause through which we set the price."