Relative Pronouns

Spanish: Los Pronombres Relativos

Level: B1 Intermediate

Category: clauses

Explanation

Relative pronouns connect two clauses and help avoid repeating a noun. In Spanish, the most important ones are "que" (that/which/who), "quien/quienes" (who/whom), "el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales" (which/who), "cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas" (whose), and "donde" (where). The antecedent is the word the relative pronoun refers back to. "Que" is the most common relative pronoun and works for both people and things. It never changes form: "El libro que leí" (The book that I read) or "La mujer que vino" (The woman who came). When used with a preposition referring to people, it is often replaced by "quien": "La persona con quien hablé" (The person with whom I spoke). "Quien" and "quienes" are used only for people and agree in number with the antecedent. "Cuyo" expresses possession (equivalent to "whose") and agrees in gender and number with the thing possessed, NOT with the possessor: "El hombre cuya casa vimos" (The man whose house we saw). The forms "el cual", "la cual", etc., are more formal and used especially after prepositions or to avoid ambiguity. Knowing when to use each one is key at the B1 level. Remember that "que" carries NO accent mark as a relative pronoun (unlike the interrogative "qué").

Examples

• El cafe que pedi esta frio. - The coffee that I ordered is cold.
• La camarera con quien hable es muy amable. - The waitress with whom I spoke is very kind.
• Esta es la habitacion que reserve por internet. - This is the room that I booked online.
• El cliente cuya maleta se perdio esta en recepcion. - The customer whose suitcase got lost is at reception.
• Las frutas que compre en el mercado estan muy frescas. - The fruits that I bought at the market are very fresh.