Relative Clauses: Que, Quien, Donde, Lo Que

Introduction

Relative clauses let you combine two simple sentences into one fluid statement. Instead of saying "I have a friend. He speaks Japanese," you say "I have a friend who speaks Japanese." Spanish has several relative pronouns for this, and que is by far the most common.

Que (that / which / who)

Que is the workhorse — it covers "that," "which," and "who" in most cases:

• El libro que leí es interesante. — The book (that) I read is interesting.
• La mujer que trabaja aquí es mi madre. — The woman who works here is my mother.
• La película que vimos fue aburrida. — The movie (that) we watched was boring.

Unlike English, que can never be omitted. English says "The book I read" (dropping "that"), but Spanish requires El libro que leí.

After prepositions

When que follows a preposition, it needs an article: preposition + el/la/los/las + que

• La casa en la que vivo es vieja. — The house in which I live is old.
• El hombre con el que hablé es profesor. — The man with whom I spoke is a professor.
• Las razones por las que se fue. — The reasons (for which) she left.

Quien / Quienes (who / whom)

Quien refers only to people and is used after prepositions or in non-restrictive clauses:

• La persona con quien hablé fue amable. — The person with whom I spoke was kind.
• Mi hermana, quien vive en Madrid, viene mañana. — My sister, who lives in Madrid, is coming tomorrow.

Tip: After prepositions referring to people, both quien and el/la que work: con quien = con el que.

Donde (where)

Used for places — replaces en que or en el que:

• El restaurante donde comimos era bueno. — The restaurant where we ate was good.
• La ciudad donde nací es pequeña. — The city where I was born is small.
• No conozco el lugar adonde vas. — I don't know the place where you're going. (Adonde with verbs of motion.)

Lo Que (what / that which)

Lo que refers to an abstract idea, a whole clause, or an unknown thing — not a specific noun:

• Lo que dices es verdad. — What you say is true.
• No entiendo lo que pasó. — I don't understand what happened.
• Lo que más me gusta es viajar. — What I like most is traveling.
• Hizo todo lo que pudo. — He did everything (that) he could.

Lo cual (which — referring to a whole clause)

• Llegó tarde, lo cual me molestó. — He arrived late, which bothered me.
• No dijo nada, lo cual fue raro. — He didn't say anything, which was strange.

Cuyo/a/os/as (whose)

Cuyo functions as a possessive relative adjective. It agrees with the noun it modifies (not the owner):

• El hombre cuya esposa es doctora… — The man whose wife is a doctor…
• El país cuyo idioma oficial es español… — The country whose official language is Spanish…
• La autora cuyos libros he leído… — The author whose books I've read…

Important: Cuyo agrees with the thing possessed, not the possessor. Cuya esposa (wife is feminine), not cuyo esposa.

Restrictive vs Non-Restrictive

• Restrictive (no commas): identifies which one. Los estudiantes que aprobaron pueden irse. — The students who passed can leave. (Only those who passed.)
• Non-restrictive (commas): adds extra info. Los estudiantes, que estudiaron mucho, aprobaron. — The students, who studied a lot, passed. (All of them.)

Practice