Relative Pronouns in Spanish
(Los Pronombres Relativos)
Relative pronouns are words that connect two ideas or clauses in a sentence — they refer back to a noun (antecedent) mentioned earlier and replace it in the second clause.
They work like English words such as who, which, that, whose, where, and what.
1) What Is a Relative Pronoun?
A relative pronoun introduces a clause that describes or gives more information about a noun.
English: The book that I read was interesting.
Spanish: El libro que leí fue interesante.
In both cases, that / que refers back to book and connects the two ideas.
2) The Most Common Relative Pronouns
| Spanish | English | Use / Notes |
| que | that, which, who | Most common; refers to people or things |
| quien / quienes | who, whom | Refers only to people; often after prepositions or commas |
| el que / la que / los que / las que | the one(s) that / who | Adds clarity, gender, and number agreement |
| el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales | which, who | More formal version of el que forms |
| lo que / lo cual | what, that which | Refers to an idea or a situation (not a person or specific noun) |
| cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas | whose | Expresses possession; agrees with what is owned |
| donde | where | Refers to a place |
| cuando | when | Refers to time expressions |
| como | how | Refers to manner or the way something happens |
3) “Que” — The Most Common Relative Pronoun
Que can refer to people, things, or places. It usually means that, which, or who.
Examples:
- El libro que leo es interesante. → The book that I’m reading is interesting.
- La chica que canta es mi hermana. → The girl who sings is my sister.
- El coche que compré es nuevo. → The car that I bought is new.
Que can be used with or without a preposition, but after a preposition referring to a person, quien is often preferred.
4) “Quien / Quienes” — Refers Only to People
Used to mean who or whom.
| Use | Example | Translation |
| After a comma | Mi abuela, quien vive en Madrid, me llama cada día. | My grandmother, who lives in Madrid, calls me every day. |
| After a preposition (a, con, de, para, etc.) | La persona con quien trabajo es simpática. | The person with whom I work is nice. |
| Plural form | Las personas a quienes vi eran turistas. | The people whom I saw were tourists. |
Quien is mostly used in non-defining clauses (extra information) or after prepositions.
5) “El que / La que / Los que / Las que” — The One(s) That / Who
These forms agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.
They’re used for clarity or emphasis, especially after prepositions or to avoid confusion.
Examples:
- El chico con el que salgo es divertido. → The boy with whom I go out is funny.
- Las chicas para las que trabajo son amables. → The girls for whom I work are kind.
- Los que estudian mucho aprenden más. → Those who study a lot learn more.
El que and its forms can replace que or quien when the meaning might otherwise be unclear.
6) “El cual / La cual / Los cuales / Las cuales” — Which, Who (Formal)
These are the more formal equivalents of el que / la que / los que / las que.
Used often in writing, literature, or formal speech — especially after prepositions.
Examples:
- El libro, el cual está en la mesa, es mío. → The book, which is on the table, is mine.
- La mujer con la cual hablé es profesora. → The woman with whom I spoke is a teacher.
- Los estudiantes, los cuales son muy aplicados, aprobaron el examen. → The students, who are very diligent, passed the exam.
7) “Lo que / Lo cual” — What, That Which
Used to refer to an entire idea or situation, not a specific noun.
| Spanish | English |
| No entiendo lo que dices. | I don’t understand what you’re saying. |
| No me gusta lo que hiciste. | I don’t like what you did. |
| Llegó tarde, lo cual me sorprendió. | He arrived late, which surprised me. |
Lo que introduces undefined ideas (“what”)
Lo cual refers back to something already mentioned (“which”).
8) “Cuyo / Cuya / Cuyos / Cuyas” — Whose
Shows possession, and agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner.
| Example | Translation |
| El hombre cuyo coche ves es mi tío. | The man whose car you see is my uncle. |
| La mujer cuya casa visitamos es doctora. | The woman whose house we visited is a doctor. |
| Los estudiantes cuyos libros están aquí son inteligentes. | The students whose books are here are smart. |
Cuyo must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows (coche, casa, libros), not with hombre, mujer, estudiantes.
9) “Donde” — Where
Used to refer to places. It often replaces en que or en el que/la que.
Examples:
- El restaurante donde comimos es famoso. → The restaurant where we ate is famous.
- La casa donde nací ya no existe. → The house where I was born no longer exists.
- Esa es la ciudad donde vive mi familia. → That’s the city where my family lives.
10) “Cuando” — When
Refers to time expressions or moments.
Examples:
- Recuerdo el día cuando te conocí. → I remember the day when I met you.
- Fue un momento cuando todos lloramos. → It was a moment when we all cried.
11) “Como” — How / The Way (That)
Used to describe manner or the way something happens.
Examples:
- Así fue como lo conocí. → That’s how I met him.
- No entiendo como llegaste tan rápido. → I don’t understand how you arrived so fast.
- Es la forma como aprendí español. → It’s the way I learned Spanish.
12) Summary Chart: Relative Pronouns Overview
| Pronoun | Meaning | Refers To | Example |
| que | that, which, who | people/things | El libro que leí. |
| quien(es) | who, whom | people | La persona con quien hablo. |
| el que / la que / los que / las que | the one(s) that | people/things | Los que trabajan mucho. |
| el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales | which, who (formal) | people/things | La casa, la cual es vieja… |
| lo que / lo cual | what, that which | idea or situation | No entiendo lo que dices. |
| cuyo/a/os/as | whose | possession | El hombre cuyo coche… |
| donde | where | places | La escuela donde estudio. |
| cuando | when | time | El día cuando llegaste. |
| como | how, the way that | manner | Así fue como pasó. |
13) Practice: Fill in the Blanks
- El hombre ________ vive allí es mi abuelo.
- La mujer con ________ hablé es muy simpática.
- No entiendo ________ quieres decir.
- La casa ________ techo es rojo es muy vieja.
- Ese es el restaurante ________ comimos anoche.
Answers:
- que
- quien
- lo que
- cuyo
- donde
14) Practice: Translate
- The students who study a lot get good grades.
- The woman whose son is sick is sad.
- That’s the place where we met.
- I don’t understand what you’re saying.
- The teacher, who is from Spain, is very nice.
Answers:
- Los estudiantes que estudian mucho sacan buenas notas.
- La mujer cuyo hijo está enfermo está triste.
- Ese es el lugar donde nos conocimos.
- No entiendo lo que dices.
- El profesor, quien es de España, es muy simpático.
Why Relative Pronouns Matter
Mastering relative pronouns helps learners:
- Connect ideas smoothly for complex sentences
- Speak and write with fluency and sophistication
- Understand authentic Spanish texts where these are used frequently
- Build cohesive paragraphs and natural conversation flow
They’re key for moving from simple to advanced sentence structures in Spanish.
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