📖LearnModule 9 · Lesson 17 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, completedUnit 4 · Los relativos complejos
El que, la que — after a preposition
Module 9 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, completed), lesson 17 of 30: After a preposition. On this page: 9 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 pluma con la que escribo
the pen I write with
lah PLOO-mah kohn lah keh ehs-KREE-boh
la mesa en la que trabajo
the table on which I work
lah MEH-sah ehn lah keh trah-BAH-hoh
las razones por las que me voy
the reasons for which I am leaving
lahs rrah-SOH-nehs pohr lahs keh meh boy
la preposición
the preposition
lah preh-poh-see-SYOHN
la concordancia
the agreement (grammar)
lah kohn-kohr-DAHN-syah
la pluma
the pen (fountain pen)
lah PLOO-mah
trabajar
to work
trah-bah-HAR
preciso
precise (m)
preh-SEE-soh
nosotros sabíamos la verdad
we knew the truth
noh-SOH-trohs sah-BEE-ah-mohs lah behr-DAHD
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 needs an article for a thing: la pluma con la que escribo (the pen I write with), la mesa en la que trabajo, las razones por las que me voy. The article agrees with the noun: el que, la que, los que, las que.
Y también · And also
For a person, quien still works: la mujer con quien trabajo — and most speakers use it. Sabíamos la verdad: saber in the imperfecto is knowing that was already there, against supimos, the moment of finding out.
Ojo · Watch out
After a preposition, a thing takes el que / la que / los que / las que, agreeing with the noun: la mesa en la que trabajo. A person may take quien: la mujer con quien trabajo.
saber, imperfecto — the table
yo sabía · tú sabías · él/ella/usted sabía · nosotros sabíamos · ustedes sabían · ellos/ellas sabían
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la pluma con la que escribo.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out saber, imperfecto 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.