Let's continue studying phrases that combine prepositions, articles, and pronouns, since these are always a source of confusion for many Spanish learners. One of the main functions of this type of phrase is to connect simple sentences to transform them into more complex utterances, thus allowing a speaker to participate in real conversations. Take a look at Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 here.

Today, we'll focus on the use of the pronoun cual (plural cuales), which should not be mixed up with the interrogative adjective cuál (plural cuáles) that modifies and accompanies a noun, as in the following example:

¿Pero cuál juego les gusta más?

But which attraction do you like the most?

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario - El parque de diversiones
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Or with the interrogative pronoun cuál (plural cuáles) that takes the place of a noun. In the following example, when having a conversation about cars, someone uses it to ask:

¿Cuál te gusta a ti?

Which one do you like?

Caption 13, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos
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The focus of our lesson today, the pronoun cual/cuales (without the accent mark) is not used to ask questions. Rather, it's used in fixed phrases (called locusiones in Spanish) that usually involve the combination of articles, prepositions, and other pronouns. In this case, the core is always a definite article + cual: el cual, la cual, lo cual, for the singular, and los cuales, las cuales, los cuales, for the plural. Other parts of speech can then be added to that: prepositions before, pronouns after. Let's see an example using the preposition en (on, in) and the personal pronoun nos:

Y el segundo tiene que ver con el lugar

And the second one has to do with the place

en el cual nos encontramos.

in which we are located.

Caption 35, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conceptos básicos
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Here's an example with the preposition por (for). These are the words of a Mexican politician. We've transcribed a big chunk of what he says so you can see the phrase in context:

Yo sé que este país que me ha tocado conocer de cerca, palparlo de cerca...

I know that this country that I've had the fortune to know closely, to sense it closely...

sentirlo muy, muy profundamente y por el cual tengo una enorme pasión...

to feel it very, very deeply and for which I have an enormous passion...

Captions 2-3, Felipe Calderón - Publicidad
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Here's another long example using the plural feminine form las cuales and the preposition con (with):

Básicamente este era un juguete que era un amplificador,

Basically this was a toy that was an amplifier,

con algunas pistas,

with some tracks,

con las cuales los niños juegan a cantar, ¿no?

that kids sing along with, right?

Captions 62-63, Lo que no sabías - Arte electrónico
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Now an example using the preposition de (for) and the neutral form lo cual:

Es básicamente lo mismo que hicimos

It's basically the same thing we did

en el laboratorio pero a escala industrial,

in the laboratory but on an industrial scale,

de lo cual están encargados otros colegas.

which other colleagues are in charge of.

Captions 61-62, Una Historia de Café - La Catación
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You can find many other combinations in our catalog of videos, with other prepositions and pronouns, or without them. Here's just one example with the preposition de (of) and the pronoun me:

De lo cual me siento muy orgulloso.

I'm very proud of that [of which I'm very proud].

Caption 41, Escuela Don Quijote - Jesús Baz
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Something important to note is that it's possible to substitute the pronoun cual with the pronoun que. This is especially true in colloquial Spanish, though considered less correct in formal or written speech. Take the first example above, el lugar en el cual nos encontramos: people also say el lugar en el que nos encontramos. The same substitution can be made with all the other subsequent examples.

Topics Expressions Grammar