- Master relative pronouns to connect clauses and avoid repetition
- Use que (that, which, who) correctly - the most common relative pronoun
- Distinguish between que and quien/quienes (who/whom) with people
- Apply cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas (whose) to show possession
- Understand when to use el que, el cual, and their variations
- Use donde (where) as a relative adverb
What You'll Learn
Overview
Relative pronouns connect clauses together, allowing you to provide additional information about a noun without repeating it. Instead of saying "I saw a man. The man was tall", you can say "I saw a man who was tall".
The Main Relative Pronouns
Most Common
El libro que leo
The book that I read
People + Preposition
La persona con quien hablo
The person with whom I speak
Possessive
El hombre cuyo coche
The man whose car
Key Insight: Master que first -it covers 80% of situations. Then learn quien for people after prepositions, and cuyo for possession.
Structure & Formation
QUE - The Essential Relative Pronoun
Que means "that", "which", or "who" and works for both people and things. It never changes form.
With Things
El libro que leo
The book that I read
La casa que vimos
The house that we saw
With People
La mujer que trabaja aquí
The woman who works here
El hombre que viste
The man who you saw
QUIEN/QUIENES - Who/Whom (People Only)
Use quien (singular) or quienes (plural) for people after prepositions.
La persona con quien hablo
The person with whom I speak
Los amigos para quienes trabajo
The friends for whom I work
El profesor de quien te hablé
The teacher about whom I told you
EL QUE / EL CUAL - Which (With Agreement)
These forms agree in gender/number and provide clarity after prepositions.
el que / el cual
masc. sing.
la que / la cual
fem. sing.
los que / los cuales
masc. pl.
las que / las cuales
fem. pl.
lo que / lo cual
neuter (ideas)
El coche con el que viajé
The car with which I travelled
No vino, lo cual me sorprendió
He didn't come, which surprised me
CUYO/CUYA/CUYOS/CUYAS - Whose (Possessive)
Agrees with the thing possessed, not the possessor!
cuyo
whose (masc. sing.)
cuyo libro
cuya
whose (fem. sing.)
cuya casa
cuyos
whose (masc. pl.)
cuyos amigos
cuyas
whose (fem. pl.)
cuyas ideas
El hombre cuyo coche - agrees with "coche" (masc.), not "hombre"
DONDE - Where (Places)
Refers to places. Can replace "en el que", "en la que", etc.
La ciudad donde vivo
The city where I live
El restaurante donde comimos
The restaurant where we ate
El lugar donde nos conocimos
The place where we met
Examples
Daily Conversations (que)
que
Este es el libro que te recomendé
This is the book that I recommended to you
que
La película que vimos fue genial
The film that we saw was great
que
El chico que conocí ayer es simpático
The boy whom I met yesterday is nice
With Prepositions
quien
La mujer con quien trabajo es francesa
The woman with whom I work is French
el que
El hotel en el que nos alojamos era lujoso
The hotel in which we stayed was luxurious
la que
La razón por la que llamé es importante
The reason for which I called is important
Possession & Ideas
cuya
Es un país cuya cultura me encanta
It's a country whose culture I love
lo que
Lo que me dijiste no es verdad
What you told me is not true
lo cual
Llegó tarde, lo cual me molestó
He arrived late, which annoyed me
Quick Reference
que
that, which, who
Default choice
quien(es)
who, whom
People + preposition
el que/cual
which
Clarity + preposition
cuyo/a/os/as
whose
Possession
donde
where
Places
lo que/cual
what, which
Entire ideas
Common Mistakes
Most Common Mistakes
Wrong: La persona con que trabajo
Correct: La persona con quien trabajo
After prepositions with people, use quien (not que)
Wrong: El hombre cuyo casa
Correct: El hombre cuya casa
Cuyo agrees with "casa" (fem.), not "hombre"
Wrong: Que lees? (no accent)
Correct: ¿Qué lees? (with accent)
Relative "que" = no accent, Question "qué" = accent
Key Distinctions
lo que vs que
Lo que dijiste = "What you said" (entire idea)
El libro que leo = "The book that I read" (specific noun)
donde = en el que
La ciudad donde vivo
La ciudad en la que vivo
Both mean "The city where I live"
Commas Change Meaning!
Los estudiantes que estudian pasan
Only those who study pass (restrictive)
Los estudiantes, que estudian, pasan
All students study and pass (non-restrictive)
Quick Test
Test your knowledge of Spanish relative pronouns!
1. Complete: El libro _____ leo es interesante (The book that I read is interesting)
2. Complete: La persona con _____ hablo es mi jefe (The person with whom I speak is my boss)
3. Complete: El hombre _____ coche es rojo (The man whose car is red)
4. Complete: La ciudad _____ vivo es grande (The city where I live is big)
5. Which means 'What you said is interesting'?
6. Complete: La mujer _____ hijos estudian aquí (The woman whose children study here)
7. Complete: Los amigos para _____ trabajo (The friends for whom I work)
8. Which is correct? 'The book that I gave you'
Want more practice? Try our interactive fill-in-the-blank exercises to master relative pronouns in context!