el que

Spanish

Conjunction

el que

1. that

   Me extraña el que no hayan dicho nada de eso.

   It’s strange to me that they have said nothing about that.

Pronoun

el que (relative, feminine la que, neuter lo que, masculine plural los que, feminine plural las que)

1. (for a person) who, whom, that

   Synonyms: quien, el cual, que

   Eres el hombre al que amo.

   You are the man [that/who] I love.

   Estamos buscando a la mujer para la que compraste un ramo de flores en nuestra tienda.

   We're looking for the women for whom you bought a bouquet of flowers at our store.

2. (for an object) (that) which, what

   Synonyms: el cual, que

   Esta es la casa de la que hablé, en la que vivía mi hermano hasta que se mudó a Aragón hace unos cuantos años.

   This is the house [that] I talked about, the one that my brother lived in until he moved to Aragon a few years ago.

   No creo que haya ninguna razón convincente por la que debería hablar contigo.

   I don't think there's any convincing reason for which I should talk with you.

   • 2007, El Sueño de Morfeo, Nada es Suficiente:

     ¿Qué voy a ser si te he dado lo que soy?

     What am I going to be if I've given you what I am?

Usage notes

While the relative pronouns el cual, el que and que are in some cases interchangeable, the Royal Spanish Academy advises several guidelines for determining which should be used in particular situations. Please note that this is not a comprehensive examination of the use of these pronouns and there are several exceptions to the descriptions listed here.

• el cual
  • only used when the antecedent is explicit
  • can always begin a non-defining clause (oración explicativa)
  • can only begin a defining clause (oración especificativa) when it is the object of a preposition
  • the most formal of the relative pronouns, typically only used in writing and such
• el que
  • less formal than el cual and can be used in its place in many situations that would not require simply que
  • can be used with both explicit and implicit antecedents
  • when it is the subject of multisyllabic prepositions or prepositional phrase (e.g., a través de, a consecuencia de, etc.) el cual tends to be preferred
  • similarly, if there are many words intervening between the antecedent and the relative pronoun to which it refers, el cual is more likely to be preferred
• que
  • can be used with both explicit and implicit antecedents in defining and non-defining clauses
  • can be used to begin both defining clauses and non-defining clauses, except when it is the subject of a preposition, in which case el que is required

Further reading

• “el que, la que, lo que”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28
• “que” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN