📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 23 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 5 · Relatar y conectar
El cual, cuyo, lo cual
Module 11 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 23 of 30: After a preposition. On this page: 11 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
la razón por la cual
the reason why
lah rrah-SOHN pohr lah KWAHL
el proyecto en el cual pienso
the project I am thinking of
ehl proh-YEHK-toh ehn ehl KWAHL PYEHN-soh
sobre la cual
on which (f)
SOH-breh lah kwahl
cuyo
whose (m)
KOO-yoh
cuya
whose (f)
KOO-yah
lo cual
which (referring to a whole idea)
loh KWAHL
el detalle
the detail
ehl deh-TAH-yeh
la preposición
the preposition
lah preh-poh-see-SYOHN
el proyecto
the plan (project)
ehl proh-YEHK-toh
referirse a
to refer to
rreh-feh-REER-seh ah
yo me refiero al proyecto
I am referring to the project
yoh meh rreh-FYEH-roh ahl proh-YEHK-toh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
After a preposition, que often gives way to el cual and its family: la mesa sobre la cual escribo, el proyecto en el cual pienso, la razón por la cual me voy. Cuyo says whose and agrees with what follows: el autor cuya novela leímos.
Y también · And also
Lo cual refers to a whole idea: llegó tarde, lo cual molestó a todos. With a short preposition el que is the lighter twin (la razón por la que); el cual reads a level more formal and is the choice after long prepositions: a pesar de lo cual.
Ojo · Watch out
cuyo agrees with the thing OWNED, not the owner: el autor cuya novela, la autora cuyo libro. And la razón por la que (or por la cual) — never la razón por que.
referirse, presente — the table
yo me refiero · tú te refieres · él/ella/usted se refiere · nosotros nos referimos · ustedes se refieren · ellos/ellas se refieren
Do it now — on paper
Say all 11 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la razón por la cual.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out referirse, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.