Introduction to Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns in Spanish connect clauses or phrases to a noun or pronoun. They introduce relative clauses that provide more information about a noun mentioned previously. Unlike English, Spanish has several relative pronouns that vary in gender, number, and formality.
The most common relative pronouns are que, quien, and el que. They can refer to people, things, or concepts.
La casa que compré es grande.
La ka-sa ke kom-pré es gran-de.
The house that I bought is big.
Quién, Quienes, and Que
Que is the most frequently used relative pronoun. It can mean "that," "which," "who," or "whom" and refers to people or things.
Quién (singular) and quienes (plural) refer only to people and are often used after prepositions or to add emphasis.
| Relative Pronoun | Refers to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| que | people or things | La mujer que canta es famosa. |
| quién / quiénes | only people | El hombre a quien vi es mi vecino. |
El libro que leí fue interesante.
El lee-bro ke le-í fue in-te-res-an-te.
The book that I read was interesting.
Ella, quien es doctora, ayuda a muchos.
E-ya, kien es dok-to-ra, a-yu-da a mu-chos.
She, who is a doctor, helps many.
El Que, La Que, Los Que, Las Que
These forms agree in gender and number with the noun they replace and are often used for clarification or after prepositions. They can often be translated as "the one(s) that" or "the one(s) who."
Note the four forms:
- el que (masculine singular)
- la que (feminine singular)
- los que (masculine plural)
- las que (feminine plural)
El perro, el que ladra mucho, es mío.
El pe-rro, el ke la-dra mu-cho, es mí-o.
The dog, the one that barks a lot, is mine.
Las casas, las que están al final, son nuevas.
Las ka-sas, las ke es-tán al fi-nal, son nue-vas.
The houses, the ones that are at the end, are new.
Cuyo and Its Variants
Cuyo and its gender and number variants (cuya, cuyos, cuyas) function like the English "whose," indicating possession. They always agree with the noun that follows, not with the possessor.
| Form | Agrees with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cuyo | masculine singular noun | El hombre cuyo coche es rojo. |
| cuya | feminine singular noun | La mujer cuya casa es grande. |
| cuyos | masculine plural noun | Los niños cuyos juguetes están rotos. |
| cuyas | feminine plural noun | Las chicas cuyas mochilas son nuevas. |
El autor cuyo libro leí es famoso.
El au-tor ku-yo lee-bro le-í es fa-mo-so.
The author whose book I read is famous.
Relative Pronouns After Prepositions
When relative pronouns follow prepositions (like de, a, con), quien and its plural quienes are commonly used for people, while el que forms are used for things or when specifying.
Note that que is rarely used directly after prepositions in formal Spanish.
La persona con quien hablé es amable.
La per-so-na kon kien a-blé es a-ma-ble.
The person with whom I spoke is kind.
El tema sobre el que discutimos es importante.
El te-ma so-bre el ke dis-ku-ti-mos es im-por-tan-te.
The topic about which we discussed is important.
Differences Between Que and Quien
Que is the most versatile relative pronoun and can be used for both people and things in defining relative clauses. However, quien and quienes refer only to people and are used mainly in non-defining clauses or after prepositions.
Use que for essential information and quien for additional or parenthetical information about people.
El profesor que enseña matemáticas es estricto.
El pro-fe-sor ke en-se-ña ma-te-má-ti-cas es es-trik-to.
The teacher who teaches math is strict.
Mi amigo, quien vive en España, llegará mañana.
Mi a-mi-go, kien bi-ve en Es-pa-ña, lle-ga-rá ma-ña-na.
My friend, who lives in Spain, will arrive tomorrow.
Practice Examples
Try to identify the relative pronouns and their function in the following sentences:
La película que vimos anoche ganó varios premios.
La pe-li-kyu-la ke vi-mos a-no-che go-ñó va-rios pre-mios.
The movie that we saw last night won several awards.
Los estudiantes, quienes estudiaron mucho, aprobaron el examen.
Los es-tu-dian-tes, kien-es es-tu-dia-ron mu-cho, a-pro-ba-ron el ek-sa-men.
The students, who studied a lot, passed the exam.
El hombre cuya bicicleta está rota es mi vecino.
El hom-bre ku-ya bi-si-kle-ta es-tá ro-ta es mí ve-ci-no.
The man whose bicycle is broken is my neighbor.
La carta a la que te refieres es antigua.
La kar-ta a la ke te re-fie-res es an-ti-gua.
The letter to which you refer is old.
Tips for Remembering Rules
- Que is your go-to relative pronoun for most cases involving people or things.
- Use quien/quienes mainly after prepositions or in non-defining clauses referring to people.
- Remember that cuyo agrees with the noun possessed, not the possessor.
- El que and its forms add clarity or follow prepositions, matching gender and number.
- Practice by identifying the noun the relative pronoun refers to, this helps choose the correct form.
Consistent practice with real sentences will help internalize these distinctions and improve fluency.