– QUE (who, what)
– EL CUAL / LA CUAL / LOS CUALES / LAS CUALES (which)
– QUIEN / QUIENES.
– EL QUE / LA QUE / LOS QUE / LAS QUE (which one, that one) ==> which can also replace “QUIEN / QUIENES”
– CUYO / CUYA ==> is translated as “whose” when it is a noun complement.

N.B : Relative pronouns are written without an accent so as not to confuse them with interrogative pronouns.

II. Subject relative pronouns

There is only one relative subject pronoun in English: “WHO”. In Spanish, this “Who” can be translated in different ways:

* By using the relative pronoun QUE (which can have people or things as antecedents).

• La chica que acaba de entrar es mi hermana ==> The girl who just entered is my sister.

* By using the relative pronoun EL CUAL ; which agrees in gender and number with its antecedent, becoming “los cuales” (masculine plural); “la cual” (feminine singular) or “las cuales” (feminine plural).

• Escribí a mi jefa, la cual me repsondio en seguida ==> I wrote to my boss and she answered right away.

==> The antecedent “jefa” is feminine, so the pronoun is granted using the pronoun “la cual“.

* By using the relative pronoun QUIEN, which agrees with its antecedent and before QUIENES in the plural.

• Esta señora, quien es una joven bailarina ==> This woman, who is a young dancer.

III. Relative pronouns as direct object complements

* QUE is the most commonly used relative pronoun. It is invariable and applies to persons and things.

• El animal que ví en el bosque es imponente==> The animal I saw in the forest is very imposing.

==> Here, “que” has the antecedent “El animal”.

* LO QUE is invariable and is translated as “What”.

• Es verdad, lo que me dijiste ==> It’s true what you told me.

IV. Relative pronouns as indirect object

* QUIEN / QUIENES is a relative pronoun that is used only for persons or things that are personified. QUIEN” agrees with its antecedent, becoming “QUIENES” in the plural. QUIEN/QUIENES are used after the following clauses : “a“, “de“, “con“, “en“, “para“, ou “por“.

• El amigo con quien cenamos se fue a dormir ==> The friend we had dinner with went to sleep. ==> “Quien” a pour antécédent “El amigo”.
• Los chicos con quienes estuve hablando son deportistas professionales ==> The boys I was talking to are professional athletes.

==> “Quienes” has as antecedent “los chicos”

* Used without antecedent, “QUIEN” can be translated as “who” or “the one who”. It can be used in proverbs or impersonal phrases.

• Quien siembra vientos recoge tempestades ==> He who sows the wind reaps the storm.
• Hay quien(es) piensa(n) que los unicornios existen ==> There are people who think that unicorns exist.

V. Use of CUYO to translate “whose”

* CUYO does NOT agree with its antecedent but with the noun that follows. CUYO can be translated as “Of which” when it is the complement of the noun.

• Es un museo cuyos cuadros son famosos ==> It is a museum whose paintings are famous.

On the other hand, if “whose” is the complement of a verb or an adjective, “whose” should be translated using the pronouns “del que” or “del cual” (which also agree in gender and number with their antecedent).

• Te compartiré las peliculas de las cuales te hablé ==> I’ll share the movies I told you about.

VI. Relative pronouns as a complement of place or time

In English, the relative pronoun “where” is used to express place and time (e.g. the restaurant where I eat every day). In Spanish, “where” is translated in different ways depending on whether it refers to place or time.

* The word DONDE is used to express the place

• El parque donde fuimos a correr esta cerrado ahora ==> The park where we went running is now closed.

* We use EN QUE to express the time

• El año en que tuvo un accidente ha sido duro ==> The year he had an accident was difficult.

N.B : The two relative pronouns “DONDE” and “EN QUE” are invariable.

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