11.8.8

'El Que' and 'El Cual'

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'El Que' and 'El Cual'

'El Que' and 'El Cual' are used with people, animals and things. The 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 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.

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1The Basics

2Home & Abroad

3Education & Employment

4Personal Life & Relationships

5The World Around Us

6Social Activities, Fitness & Health

7Listening

8Common Tenses

9Important Verbs

10Advanced Tenses

11Extra Grammar

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