I would like to know how one would say "which is" in Spanish in a non-questioning usage.
I know that it could be "Cual es" as a question, but what about in this sentence?
I like blue, which is also the color of the sky
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2Note in a question you would accentuate "cual" --> ¿Cuál es el mejor amigo del hombre?.– fedorquiCommented May 24, 2016 at 8:20
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6 Answers
Another option apart from 野原無's answer is very similar to your original choice, and it would be el cual es, so you would have the following options:
Me gusta el azul, el cual es también el color del cielo.
Me gusta el azul, el cual también es el color del cielo.
Edit: of course you would have to coordinate gender/number depending on the sentence: el cual es, la cual es, los cuales son, las cuales son.
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3Can't really explain why, but this sounds very awkward to me. @insaner answer seems much more natural. Commented May 24, 2016 at 13:49
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1@JCover you're so much welcome! Please bear in mind other people's answers, as mine may be a bit-too-literal translation (but perfectly valid). In fact, if I were to say the sentence, I would go for something simpler, like me gusta el azul, el color del cielo.– CharlieCommented May 24, 2016 at 13:49
In these types of cases you could also just use "que es":
Me gusta el azul, que también es el color del cielo.
Using "el cual es" sounds a little outdated, formal or regional to me. It reads a little like something written by someone from Spain. But again, this might just be because in certain places it is more common to use "que" than "el cual" for such cases. Both are correct though.
Two things to note though, "el cual" is more precise to mean "which", where "que" can also mean "that" (as in "the color that..."), also, how you choose to phrase it can greatly depend on context.
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3I'm from Spain and I have to say I also find "el cual es" outdated and too formal.– YayCommented May 24, 2016 at 11:07
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Im from Venezuela, and I rather "el cual es". "que tambien" sound incomplete to me. Commented May 25, 2016 at 4:26
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In my experience, "el cual es" is used more in more formal environments (academia, for example) while "que también es" is used in more popular contexts.– qbantekCommented May 25, 2016 at 13:43
In English, this is a non-defining relative clause.
Keep it simple, you can just replace which by que:
Me gusta el azul, que también es el color del cielo.
The relative pronouns which, who & that can all be replaced by que to form subordinated sentences in Spanish.
"Which" has several translations besides "cual" - see, for instance here
In the sentence you are asking about I think "que" would be best, thus your "...which is also..." would be rendered "...que también es..."
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2Interesante respuesta. Intenta, de todos modos, añadir algo más de contenido y mejorar el formato para que tenga mayor valor. ¡Gracias!– fedorquiCommented May 24, 2016 at 7:45
I like blue, which is also the color of the sky
Translates to any of these:
- Me gusta el azul, que también es el color del cielo.
- Me gusta el azul, que es también el color del cielo.
- Me gusta el azul, el cual es también el color del cielo.
- Me gusta el azul, el cual es, además, el color del cielo.
- Me gusta el azul, que además, es el color del cielo.
Some of those sentences would be less commonly heard than others, but none would be incorrect.
The correct answer is:
Me gusta el azul, que es también el color del cielo.
Which backtranslates to:
I like blue, that is also the color of the sky.
I.e., you would not translate from "which".
