15.10.1

Que and Quien

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'Que' and 'Quien'

'Que' is the shortest and most simple way of saying that or who. It is used when you need a simple link to talk about either people or things. 'Quien' is only used to talk about people.

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'Que'

  • 'Que' can mean that, who or whom, it depends on the sentence.
    • El hombre que pronunció el discurso.
      • The man that gave the speech.
    • Mi hermana que vive en Nueva York.
      • My sister who lives in New York.
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'Quien'

  • 'Quien' is only used to talk about people.
  • It is also used after a preposition rather than 'que'.
  • If 'quien' matches with a plural word it changes to 'quienes'.
    • Mi madre, quien es profesora, va a España hoy
      • My mum, who is a teacher, is going to Spain today.
    • El hombre con quien hablo.
      • The man, with whom I speak.
    • Las personas quienes me conocen bien.
      • The people who know me well.

'El Que' and 'El Cual'

'El Que' and 'El Cual' are used with people, animals and things. They need to match with the word they refer to. They have the same meaning and can be used in the same way.

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El que, la que, los que, las que

  • These forms of 'que' need a preposition (a, con, para) to be used.
    • El programa con el que trabajan.
      • The program with which they work.
    • Llevan auyda a los que la necesitan.
      • They bring help to those who need it.
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El cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales

  • These have the same meaning as 'el que, la que' etc.
  • They also need a preposition to be used in a sentence.
    • La gente con la cual trabajamos.
      • The people with whom we work.
    • Las cosas para las cuales no tienes tiempo.
      • The things for which you don't have time.

'Lo Que' and 'Lo Cual'

'Lo que' and 'lo cual' are used to talk about situations, concepts and sentences as a whole.

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'Lo que'

  • 'Lo que' can be used either at the start of a sentence or after a phrase.
    • Lo que quiero decir es que me gusta el queso.
      • What I want to say it that I like the cheese.
    • Pase lo que pase.
      • Whatever happens, happens.
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'Lo cual'

  • The main difference between these two is that 'lo cual' is not often used at the start of a sentence.
  • It is normally used in reference to something else.
    • Entienden nuestro propósito, lo cual es importante.
      • They understand our aim, which is important.

Jump to other topics

1Los valores tradicionales y modernos

2El ciberespacio

3La igualdad de los sexos

4La inmigración

5El racismo

6La convivencia

7La influencia de los ídolos

8La identidad regional en España

9El patrimonio cultural

10El Laberinto del Fauno

11Nouns

12Articles

12.1Definite & Indefinite

12.2El with Feminine Nouns

12.3Lo + Adjective

13Adjectives

13.1Agreement

13.2Position

13.3Apocopation

13.4Comparative & Superlative

13.5Use of Adjectives as Nouns

13.6Demonstrative

13.7Indefinite

13.8Possessive

13.9Interrogative & Exclamative

13.10Relative

14Numerals & Quantifiers

15Pronouns

15.1Subject

15.2Object: Direct & Indirect

15.3Reflexive

15.4Unstressed & Stressed Forms

15.5Position & Order

15.6Relative

15.7Demonstrative

15.8Indefinite

15.9Possessive

15.10Interrogative

16Verbs

16.1Regular Conjugations

16.2Regular & Irregular Verbs

16.3Agreement of Verb & Subject

16.4Use of Hay Que in All Tenses

16.5Present Tense

16.6Preterite Tense

16.7Imperfect Tense

16.8Future Tense

16.9Conditional Tense

16.10Perfect Tense

16.11Future Perfect Tense

16.12Conditional Perfect Tense

16.13Pluperfect Tense

16.14Infinitive, Gerund & Past Participle

16.15Verbal Paraphrases

16.16Use of the Subjunctive

16.17Commands

16.18Conditional Sentences

16.19After Conjunctions of Time

16.20After Para Que, Sin Que

16.21In Relative Clauses

16.22After Other Subordinating Conjunctions

16.23With Verbs of Wishing & Commanding

16.24Sequence of Tense in Indirect Speech

16.25Voice

16.26Use of the Reflexives as a Passive

16.27Use of the Reflexive to Express an Impersonal

16.28Use of Ser + Past Participle

16.29Use of Estar + Past Participle

16.30'Nuance' Reflexive Verbs

16.31Modes of Address

16.32Constructions with Verbs

16.33Verbs Followed by an Infinitive

17Prepositions & Conjunctions

17.1All Prepositions

17.2'Personal' a

17.3Discrimination of Por and Para

17.4Coordinating Conjunctions

17.5Subordinating Conjunctions

17.6Use of Que to Introduce a Clause

18Negation, Questions & Commands

18.1Negation

19Word Order, Other Constructions & Discourse Marker

19.1Subject Following Verb

19.2Focalisation

19.3Time Expressions with Hace/Hacía

19.4Cleft Sentences

19.5Comparative Constructions

19.6Indirect Speech

19.7Discourse Markers

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