Relative Pronouns with Prepositions in Catalan

In Brief

When the verb in a Catalan relative clause requires a preposition, put that preposition before the relative pronoun: la persona amb qui parlo (“the person I am speaking with”). Use qui for people, què for things and ideas after a simple preposition, or an agreeing form of el qual for people or things: el tema del qual parlàvem. Standard Catalan does not use plain, unaccented que directly after a preposition in this construction.

Overview

A relative clause is a group of words that identifies or describes a noun: in “the colleague who called,” who called describes the colleague. The noun being described is called the antecedent (the earlier noun to which the relative word points). Basic Catalan relative clauses usually use que: la pel·lícula que vam veure (“the film that we saw”).

At B1, you learn what happens when part of the relative clause needs a preposition, a short linking word such as a (“to”), de (“of/about”), amb (“with”), or en (“in/on”). Catalan says parlar amb algú (“speak with someone”), so amb remains when algú becomes the antecedent: la persona amb qui parlo. Similarly, parlar d’un tema becomes el tema de què parlem.

This differs from everyday English in a useful way. English readily leaves a preposition at the end—“the company I work for”—but standard Catalan places it before the relative form: l’empresa per a la qual treballo. Once you identify the preposition required by the verb, most of the construction becomes predictable.

How It Works

Start from the complete expression

Do not choose a preposition by translating the English sentence word for word. First learn the Catalan verb or expression with the complement it takes, then turn that complement into a relative clause.

Starting expression in Catalan	Relative construction	Meaning in English
parlar amb una persona	la persona amb qui parlo	the person I speak with
escriure a una persona	la persona a qui escric	the person I write to
parlar d’un tema	el tema de què parlem	the topic we talk about
pensar en un problema	el problema en què penso	the problem I am thinking about
treballar per a una empresa	l’empresa per a la qual treballo	the company I work for
participar en un projecte	el projecte en el qual participem	the project we participate in

The general pattern is:

antecedent + preposition + relative pronoun + clause

In el tema de què parlàvem, el tema is the antecedent, de is required by parlar de, and què stands for the topic inside the relative clause.

Choose among qui, què, and el qual

Catalan form	What it refers to	Typical use
preposition + qui	a person or people	l’amic en qui confio
simple preposition + què	a thing, topic, fact, or idea	la qüestió de què discutim
preposition + el qual / la qual / els quals / les quals	people or things	la proposta amb la qual estic d’acord
on and forms such as d’on, per on	a place or route	el poble d’on vinc

These choices overlap, but they are not interchangeable in every context.

Qui for people

After a preposition, qui refers to one or more people. It does not mark gender or number:

• la persona amb qui treballo — the person I work with
• els veïns a qui vam avisar — the neighbours we notified
• la professora de qui et parlava — the teacher I was telling you about
• les amigues en qui confio — the friends I trust

The longer forms are also possible: la persona amb la qual treballo, els veïns als quals vam avisar. Qui is often the lighter choice when the reference to a person is already clear.

Què for things and ideas

Stressed què, written with a grave accent, can follow simple prepositions when the antecedent is not a person:

• el tema de què parlàvem — the topic we were discussing
• la cadira en què seia — the chair he or she was sitting on
• l’eina amb què ho vaig obrir — the tool I opened it with
• el motiu per què protesten — the reason they are protesting

This què is different from unaccented que in el tema que tractem (“the topic that we are addressing”). The accent distinguishes the stressed form used after the preposition.

For a person, use qui rather than què: la persona de qui parlem. For a thing, use què or an agreeing form of el qual: el tema de què parlem or el tema del qual parlem.

The agreeing forms of el qual

El qual, la qual, els quals, les quals agree with the antecedent in gender and number—that is, the form changes to match whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Antecedent	Relative form	Example in Catalan
masculine singular	el qual	el curs en el qual participo
feminine singular	la qual	l’empresa per a la qual treballo
masculine plural	els quals	els companys amb els quals viatjo
feminine plural	les quals	les condicions en les quals vivien

These forms are particularly useful after longer prepositions or prepositional expressions, and whenever agreement helps make the reference clear: contra la qual, gràcies al qual, a causa dels quals. They are frequent in careful and formal writing, though they are not limited to it.

Apply contractions correctly

The article inside an el qual form contracts with certain preceding prepositions. This is the same contraction system used elsewhere in Catalan.

Combination	Result	Example
a + el qual	al qual	el client al qual vaig respondre
a + els quals	als quals	els clients als quals vaig respondre
de + el qual	del qual	el tema del qual parlàvem
de + els quals	dels quals	els temes dels quals parlàvem
per + el qual	pel qual	el motiu pel qual va marxar
per + els quals	pels quals	els motius pels quals va marxar

There is no corresponding contraction before feminine la qual or les quals: a la qual, de la qual, per la qual, a les quals. With per a, keep the full sequence and contract a + el/els: per al qual, per a la qual, per als quals, per a les quals.

Do not strand the preposition

Preposition stranding means leaving a preposition at the end of its clause, as English does in “the person I spoke to.” Standard Catalan instead puts the preposition before its relative pronoun:

• English: the colleague I travelled with
• Catalan: el company amb qui vaig viatjar

This is not simply a preference for formal wording. It is the normal grammatical pattern to learn for accurate Catalan.

Use on for places when appropriate

For an actual place, on often gives a shorter alternative to en què or en el qual:

• la casa on vivim — the house where we live
• la casa en què vivim — the house in which we live
• la casa en la qual vivim — the house in which we live

The preposition can combine with on when the meaning requires it: el poble d’on vinc (“the town I come from”), el camí per on passem (“the path we go along”), and el lloc cap on anem (“the place we are heading towards”). Use on for a place, not as a general replacement for every relative form.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
La persona amb qui parlo és la directora.	The person I am speaking with is the director.	qui refers to a person.
La persona a qui vaig escriure ja m’ha contestat.	The person I wrote to has already replied.	escriure a algú supplies a.
Els companys amb qui comparteixo el despatx arriben aviat.	The colleagues I share the office with arrive early.	qui also refers to plural people.
L’amiga en qui més confio viu lluny.	The friend I trust most lives far away.	confiar en algú.
El tema del qual parlàvem encara és important.	The topic we were talking about is still important.	de + el qual contracts to del qual.
La qüestió de què discutien no era urgent.	The issue they were discussing was not urgent.	què refers to an idea.
Aquesta és l’eina amb què he tallat el cable.	This is the tool I used to cut the cable.	amb què expresses the instrument.
La cadira en què seia era incòmoda.	The chair he or she was sitting on was uncomfortable.	A thing after simple en.
L’empresa per a la qual treballo exporta vi.	The company I work for exports wine.	la qual agrees with l’empresa.
El projecte en el qual participem acaba al juny.	The project we are participating in ends in June.	Masculine singular agreement.
Les raons per les quals van cancel·lar el viatge són clares.	The reasons why they cancelled the trip are clear.	Feminine plural agreement.
La norma contra la qual protesten entrarà en vigor demà.	The rule they are protesting against will take effect tomorrow.	el qual form after contra.
Aquest és el poble d’on venien els meus avis.	This is the town my grandparents came from.	A place of origin with d’on.
El metge gràcies al qual es va recuperar s’ha jubilat.	The doctor thanks to whom he recovered has retired.	Longer expression: gràcies a.

Common Mistakes

Putting plain que after a preposition

• Wrong: La persona amb que treballo és arquitecta.
• Right: La persona amb qui treballo és arquitecta.
• Why: After the preposition, use qui for a person, què for a thing, or an agreeing el qual form. Plain que is not the standard form here.

Omitting the accent on què

• Wrong: El tema de que parlàvem era complicat.
• Right: El tema de què parlàvem era complicat.
• Why: The relative form after a simple preposition is stressed què, with an accent. Compare unaccented el tema que estudiem.

Using qui for an object

• Wrong: La màquina amb qui treballem és nova.
• Right: La màquina amb què treballem és nova.
• Also right: La màquina amb la qual treballem és nova.
• Why: Qui points to people. A machine requires què or an agreeing qual form.

Copying English word order

• Wrong: L’empresa que treballo per a té una oficina a Reus.
• Right: L’empresa per a la qual treballo té una oficina a Reus.
• Why: English can leave “for” at the end; Catalan puts per a before the relative pronoun.

Forgetting agreement and contraction

• Wrong: Les raons per el qual ho va fer...
• Right: Les raons per les quals ho va fer...
• Why: Les raons is feminine plural, so the form must be les quals. There is no contraction in per les quals.

Keeping the wrong preposition from English

• Wrong: El problema sobre què penso cada dia...
• Right: El problema en què penso cada dia...
• Why: In this meaning Catalan uses pensar en. Learn the whole unit rather than matching English “think about” one word at a time.

Usage Notes

Short combinations such as amb qui, de qui, de què, and en què are useful in both speech and writing. The el qual series is common when the preposition is longer, when the sentence is dense, or when the writer wants to show clearly which noun the clause modifies. In a casual conversation, repeated use of el qual can sound heavier than a shorter form or a sentence recast with on.

For people, compare la noia de qui parlàvem and la noia de la qual parlàvem. Both are grammatical; the first is compact, while the second explicitly marks feminine singular agreement. For things, el tema de què parlàvem and el tema del qual parlàvem likewise communicate the same basic relationship, with a difference in weight and style rather than meaning.

Catalan per and per a have broader dialectal and stylistic variation. Do not try to solve that entire topic inside the relative clause. Learn reliable chunks in context, including el motiu pel qual (“the reason why”) and the concept example l’empresa per a la qual treballo (“the company I work for”), and follow the variety of Catalan you are studying.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

A relative can refer to a whole statement

La qual cosa means “which” when it comments on the entire preceding statement rather than one noun:

Van ajornar la reunió, la qual cosa ens va sorprendre.

“They postponed the meeting, which surprised us.”

Here, la qual cosa refers to the fact that the meeting was postponed. This is mainly a written, carefully structured way to connect ideas.

Del qual can express an English “whose” relationship

English uses “whose” for possession and other close noun relationships. Catalan can place the possessed noun before de + el qual:

És una novel·la l’autora de la qual viu a Girona.

“It is a novel whose author lives in Girona.”

The relative form la qual agrees with una novel·la, while l’autora is the noun being related to it. The pattern also appears in un edifici les finestres del qual són blaves (“a building whose windows are blue”). This structure is useful in formal prose; in conversation, speakers may prefer two shorter clauses.

Longer prepositional expressions favour el qual

With expressions containing several words, the agreeing form is normally the clearest option:

• un canvi a causa del qual vam perdre temps — a change because of which we lost time
• una mesura contra la qual van votar — a measure they voted against
• un acord segons el qual els costos es reparteixen — an agreement according to which the costs are shared
• el sistema gràcies al qual podem treballar — the system thanks to which we can work

At B1, it is enough to produce the common short patterns confidently and recognise these longer ones. They become especially valuable in academic, administrative, and journalistic texts.

Practice Tips

1. Build from verb-preposition pairs. Write parlar de, confiar en, escriure a, and treballar per a on one side of a card; on the other, make a relative phrase such as el tema de què parlo.
2. Transform two sentences into one. Change Treballo amb una persona. La persona és de Lleida into La persona amb qui treballo és de Lleida. This makes the missing role and its preposition visible.
3. Use a three-choice check. Ask: person, non-person, or place? Try qui for a person, què for a non-person after a simple preposition, and on for a place; then rewrite the same phrase with an agreeing el qual form where possible.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Relative Clauses — introduces relative clauses with que, on, and quan.
• Useful foundation: Basic Prepositions — helps you learn which preposition each Catalan verb or expression requires.
• Useful foundation: Contractions and Elision — explains combinations such as al, del, and pel.
• Next step: Advanced Relative Clauses — develops more complex and formal relative structures.