Relative pronouns can be combined with the prepositions de and a.
With a
Have a look and listen to the following sentences using preposition a:
El partido al que fui el sábado fue interesantísimo.The match I went to on Saturday was very interesting. [lit: to which I went]
La fiesta a la que asistieron fue organizada por el colegio.The party they went to was organised by the school. [lit: to which they went]
Notice how in the first example, when referring to something masculine and singular (el partido) the preposition a and the article el contract to "al". When referring to feminine singular or plural and masculine plural, there is no contraction.
With de
Now have a look at the following examples with preposition de:
El proyecto del que te hablé se ha cancelado.The project I talked to you about has been cancelled. [lit: about which]
La bolsa de la que cogiste el dinero era de Laura.The bag you took the money from was Laura's. [lit: from which]
Notice how in the first example, when referring to something masculine singular (el proyecto), the preposition de and the article el contract to "del". When referring to feminine singular or plural and masculine plural, there is no contraction.
Remember that, unlike in English, the prepositions are placed in front and not at the end.
El hotel al que fui tenía piscina.
The hotel que fui a tenía piscina.
The hotel I went to had a swimming pool.
Using cual
We can substitute el que/la que/los que/las que with:
- el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales
and the meaning won't change.
Have a look:
La fiesta a la cual asistieron fue organizada por el colegio.The party they went to was organised by the school.
See how de + el contract again (del) in the first example, when referring to a singular masculine noun.
Using quien/quienes
There is another possible substitution with quien/quienes, but only when the referent is a person/people.
Have a look:
Ya no me gusta tanto la chica de quien te hablé.I don't like the girl I talked to you about as much now.
However:
Las sillas a quienes se referían estaban ocupadas.
(sillas is an object)
Remember that quien/quienes are not preceded by the articles el/la/los/las.
Bear in mind that quien/quienes and el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales are more formal than el que/la que/los que/las que.
Note that, while in English the relative pronoun "who" is often used to refer to pets, in Spain it is not generally used.
"Mi gato, del que tengo muchas fotos, es adorable."
"My cat, who I have lots of pictures of, is adorable"
To learn about other prepositions used with relative pronouns see also Using preposition [except a and de] + el que, la que, los que, las que = with/for/on/in/from which (relative pronouns) and Al and Del in Spanish
See also basic lesson Al and Del in Spanish
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