Template:U:es:relative pronouns

While the relative pronouns el cual, el que and que are in some cases interchangeable, the Royal Spanish Academy advises several guidelines for determining which should be used in particular situations. Please note that this is not a comprehensive examination of the use of these pronouns and there are several exceptions to the descriptions listed here.

• el cual
  • only used when the antecedent is explicit
  • can always begin a non-defining clause (oración explicativa)
  • can only begin a defining clause (oración especificativa) when it is the object of a preposition
  • the most formal of the relative pronouns, typically only used in writing and such
• el que
  • less formal than el cual and can be used in its place in many situations that would not require simply que
  • can be used with both explicit and implicit antecedents
  • when it is the subject of multisyllabic prepositions or prepositional phrase (e.g., a través de, a consecuencia de, etc.) el cual tends to be preferred
  • similarly, if there are many words intervening between the antecedent and the relative pronoun to which it refers, el cual is more likely to be preferred
• que
  • can be used with both explicit and implicit antecedents in defining and non-defining clauses
  • can be used to begin both defining clauses and non-defining clauses, except when it is the subject of a preposition, in which case el que is required