Relative clauses with prepositions: en el que, con quien
B2Grammar path · Lesson 73 of 86 · Stage B2 · Advanced sentences
You need this structure for ideas like 'the house I live in' or 'the person I talked to', where the verb in the clause comes with a preposition: vivir en, hablar con, pensar en. The key rule is that Spanish never leaves the preposition at the end the way English does. It moves to the front, right before the relative word. For things, use preposition + el/la/los/las + que, as in en la que. For people, use preposition + quien/quienes, as in con quien, or the article form con el que. The usual mix-up is with plain que, which only works when no preposition is involved: la casa que compré, but la casa en la que vivo.
Practise this lesson · 10 sentences
Form
sustantivo + preposición + el/la/los/las + que + verbopersona + preposición + quien/quienes + verbosustantivo + preposición + el/la que + no + verbo¿Cuál es + sustantivo + preposición + el/la que + verbo?When to use it
Places and moments
Use en el que / en la que for the place or time in which something happens. For places you can often swap in donde, and for times cuando or en que.
Talking about people
For people, use a preposition + quien (singular) or quienes (plural). The article form, such as con el que, is also correct and very common in speech.
Verbs with a fixed preposition
Verbs like hablar de, contar con and pensar en keep their preposition, which moves to the front of the relative word. Note that de + el que contracts to del que.
Signal words
Don't confuse it with
Frequently asked questions
Can I leave the preposition at the end like in English, as in la casa que vivo en?
No. In Spanish the preposition always comes before the relative word: la casa en la que vivo.
For people, should I use con quien or con el que?
Both are correct. con quien sounds slightly more formal, while con el que is very common in everyday speech.
Does the article in en el que agree with the noun?
Yes. It matches the gender and number of the noun before it: la casa en la que, los amigos con los que.
When can I use donde instead of en el que?
With physical places both work: la ciudad donde vivo or la ciudad en la que vivo. For times or abstract ideas, donde does not fit.
Can I drop the article and say en que?
Yes, especially with time expressions: el día en que nos conocimos. With places and things, the form with the article sounds more natural.
How is el cual different from el que after a preposition?
They mean the same. el cual is more formal and common in writing: la razón por la cual renunció.