el que/la que/los que/las que
El Que Forms
El que, la que, los que and las que can mean the one(s) who or that. They can refer to a contextual noun or introduce people not previously named: Los que quieran venir pueden hacerlo.
How It Works
The combinations el que, la que, los que, and las que can refer to a stated antecedent or form a noun-like relative expression without an overt noun. Compare the simple relative pronoun que.
Formation and Agreement
The article marks gender and number for the referent or understood noun:
- el que (masculine singular): the one that/who
- la que (feminine singular): the one that/who
- los que (masculine plural): the ones that/who
- las que (feminine plural): the ones that/who
Usage
1. To replace a noun and avoid repetition:
- ¿Ves esos dos coches? El que es rojo es mío. (Do you see those two cars? The one that is red is mine.)
2. After prepositions (a, con, de, en, etc.):
When referring to things after a preposition, these forms are very common. After a preposition, references to people can often alternate with quien/quienes.
- La silla en la que te sentaste está rota. (The chair on which you sat is broken.)
- El amigo con el que fui al cine es de México. (The friend with whom I went to the movies is from Mexico.)
3. To start a sentence (as the subject):
They can be used to mean 'he who', 'she who', or 'those who'.
- Los que quieran venir pueden hacerlo. (Those who want to come can do so.)
With An Expressed Noun
In an ordinary restrictive relative directly after a noun, use que: El libro que leí, not El libro el que leí. El que leí is possible when the noun itself is omitted. Do not insert el que everywhere that que would work.
Examples (5)
- El que llegó tarde es mi hermano.
The one who arrived late is my brother.
Word by Word: The one that arrived late is my brother.
- ¿Cuál falda te gusta? — La que es azul.
Which skirt do you like? — The one that is blue.
Word by Word: Which skirt to you is pleasing? — The one that is blue.
La queis used becausefalda(skirt) is a feminine noun. - Los que estudian mucho sacan buenas notas.
The ones who study a lot get good grades.
Word by Word: The ones that study a lot get good grades.
- De todas las canciones, prefiero las que son de rock.
Of all the songs, I prefer the ones that are rock.
Word by Word: Of all the songs, I prefer the ones that are of rock.
Las queis used to refer tolas canciones(the songs), which is feminine plural. - La mujer con la que hablé es la directora.
The woman with whom I spoke is the director.
Word by Word: The woman with the one that I spoke is the director.
Here,
la queis used after the prepositioncon.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting to match the gender and number of the article with the noun it replaces.
Me gustan las camisas, especialmente el que es rojo.Me gustan las camisas, especialmente la que es roja.La que refers to one understood camisa, so it is feminine singular even though camisas names the larger plural set. Roja agrees with that one shirt.
Confusing
el quewithlo que.El libro lo que leí es interesante.El libro que leí es interesante.Lo que does not directly modify libro in this restrictive relative. Use El libro que leí. With libro omitted, El que leí is possible. Lo que can refer to content or things without recovering that masculine noun; it is not limited to abstract ideas.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- queRelative Pronoun Que
Que directly follows a noun in an ordinary restrictive relative. Article + que is useful after a preposition or in a relative expression with no overt noun; it is not a universal more-specific replacement.
Level 3 - quien/quienesRelative Pronoun Quien
Level 3Quien/quienesare relative pronouns used only for people, often after prepositions. In many cases,el que/la quecan be used interchangeably withquien/quieneswhen referring to people after a preposition (e.g.,el hombre con quien hablé/el hombre con el que hablé). - lo queLo Que Construction
Lo que can refer to content, things, or amounts without recovering a particular masculine or feminine noun. El que and its variants instead carry gender and number; they can describe people not already named.
Level 3 - el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cualesEl Cual Forms
El cual and its variants can alternate with el que in several relatives with an expressed antecedent, particularly after prepositions. They cannot replace el que in Los que estudian with no expressed antecedent.
Level 3
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Practice el que/la que/los que/las que in Bubblegum
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