Relative Pronouns in Spanish

This section explains Relative Pronouns in Spanish. Relative pronouns (pronombres relativos) are used to introduce relative clauses, providing more information about a noun without starting a new sentence. They can mean "who," "which," "that," "whose," "whom," or "where."

Below are explanations and examples of relative pronouns, including foundation and higher-tier structures.

Common Relative Pronouns in Spanish

‘Que’ – The Most Common Relative Pronoun

‘Que’ means "that," "which," or "who" and is used for both people and things.

Examples:

• El coche que compré es rojo. → The car that I bought is red.
• La chica que conocí ayer es simpática. → The girl who I met yesterday is nice.
• El libro que estoy leyendo es interesante. → The book that I am reading is interesting.

✅ Tip: Que is the most common relative pronoun in Spanish and can often replace who or which in English.

Higher-Tier Example:

• El examen que hicimos ayer fue difícil. → The exam that we did yesterday was difficult.

 ‘Quien / Quienes’ – Referring to People

‘Quien’ (singular) and ‘quienes’ (plural) mean "who" or "whom" and are usually used after prepositions like a, de, con, para.

Examples:

• La profesora con quien estudio es muy inteligente. → The teacher with whom I study is very intelligent.
• Mis amigos, quienes viven en España, son simpáticos. → My friends, who live in Spain, are nice.

✅ Tip: ‘Que’ is often preferred in spoken Spanish, but quien is used more formally or after a preposition.

Higher-Tier Example:

• El chico de quien te hablé está aquí. → The boy whom I told you about is here.

 ‘El que / La que / Los que / Las que’ – The One(s) Who/That

These forms mean "the one(s) who" or "the one(s) that." They agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Examples:

• El que canta es mi hermano. → The one who sings is my brother.
• Las que llegaron tarde son mis primas. → The ones who arrived late are my cousins.

✅ Tip: These are used for emphasis or clarification, especially in spoken Spanish.

Higher-Tier Example:

• Los que estudian mucho sacan buenas notas. → Those who study a lot get good grades.

 ‘El cual / La cual / Los cuales / Las cuales’ – Formal ‘Which’ or ‘Who’

These are formal alternatives to que and quien, usually used after prepositions or in formal writing.

Examples:

• El edificio en el cual trabajo es muy grande. → The building in which I work is very big.
• Los estudiantes, los cuales aprobaron el examen, están felices. → The students, who passed the exam, are happy.

✅ Tip: Used mostly in formal or written Spanish to avoid ambiguity.

Higher-Tier Example:

• El problema del cual hablábamos es complicado. → The problem about which we were talking is complicated.

 ‘Cuyo / Cuya / Cuyos / Cuyas’ – Expressing Possession (‘Whose’)

‘Cuyo’ means "whose" and must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows it.

Examples:

• La mujer cuya casa es grande es mi profesora. → The woman whose house is big is my teacher.
• Los alumnos cuyos libros están en la mesa deben recogerlos. → The students whose books are on the table must collect them.

✅ Tip: In English, whose refers to people, but in Spanish, cuyo can refer to both people and things.

Higher-Tier Example:

• El escritor cuyas novelas son famosas vive en Madrid. → The writer whose novels are famous lives in Madrid.

 ‘Donde’ – Referring to Places (‘Where’)

‘Donde’ means "where" and replaces phrases like en el que (in which).

Examples:

• La ciudad donde nací es pequeña. → The city where I was born is small.
• El colegio donde estudio es moderno. → The school where I study is modern.

✅ Tip: ‘Donde’ is commonly used instead of en el que in everyday Spanish.

Higher-Tier Example:

• La casa donde pasamos las vacaciones era preciosa. → The house where we spent our holidays was beautiful.

Summary Table

Practice Exercises

A. Translate into Spanish:

1. The boy who is speaking is my friend.
2. The book that I am reading is interesting.
3. The girl with whom I study is intelligent.
4. The city where I live is beautiful.
5. The man whose car is expensive is a businessman.

B. Fill in the blanks with the correct relative pronoun:

1. La película ___ vimos anoche era fantástica. (that)
2. Mi amigo, ___ vive en Madrid, me visitó ayer. (who)
3. La casa en ___ vivo es muy antigua. (where)
4. La profesora ___ clases son divertidas es mi favorita. (whose)
5. Los niños, ___ estaban en el parque, jugaban al fútbol. (who)

Final Tips for Learning Spanish

✅ Use ‘que’ as the default relative pronoun for people and things.
✅Use ‘quien’ after prepositions when referring to people.
✅Use ‘cuyo’ to indicate possession, making it agree in gender and number.
✅Use ‘donde’ to refer to places instead of ‘en el que’.
✅Use ‘el cual’ and ‘el que’ for clarity in formal writing.