Español
← Topics & rules

Relative pronouns

B1

Relative pronouns join two clauses and refer back to a previously mentioned person or thing.

Overview

Relative pronouns join two clauses and refer back to a previously mentioned person or thing.

At a glance
  1. 1.que – the all-purpose relative pronoun
  2. 2.quien/quienes – people only, after prepositions
  3. 3.cuyo – "whose" (possession)
  4. 4.donde – relative pronoun for places
  5. 5.lo que – "what / that which" (abstract)
  6. 6.el que / el cual – formal, after prepositions

Rules

6

1que – the all-purpose relative pronoun

"que" stands for people and things, never changes, and is the most common relative pronoun.

  • El libro que leo es interesante. — The book that I'm reading is interesting.
  • La mujer que vive aquí es mi tía. — The woman who lives here is my aunt.also for people

2quien/quienes – people only, after prepositions

After a preposition, use "quien" (singular) or "quienes" (plural) for people.

  • La chica con quien hablo es española. — The girl with whom I'm talking is Spanish.
  • Los amigos a quienes invité ya llegaron. — The friends whom I invited have already arrived.plural: quienes

3cuyo – "whose" (possession)

"cuyo" shows possession and agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner.

  • El hombre cuyo perro ladra vive al lado. — The man whose dog barks lives next door.perro = masc. sing.
  • Una casa cuyas ventanas son grandes. — A house whose windows are big.ventanas = fem. pl.

4donde – relative pronoun for places

"donde" refers to a place and replaces "en el que / en la que".

  • La ciudad donde nací es pequeña. — The city where I was born is small.
  • Este es el café donde nos conocimos. — This is the café where we met.

5lo que – "what / that which" (abstract)

"lo que" refers to a whole idea or something unspecified, not a single noun.

  • No entiendo lo que dices. — I don't understand what you're saying.
  • Lo que más me gusta es viajar. — What I like most is traveling.

6el que / el cual – formal, after prepositions

"el que/el cual" follows longer prepositions and agrees in gender and number.

  • La razón por la que vine es clara. — The reason for which I came is clear.
  • El puente debajo del cual pasamos es viejo. — The bridge under which we passed is old.agrees with puente

Test

19

Test yourself – every rule is checked. You get a score at the end.

Pass at 90%not tried yet