Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a word that links a description (“relative clause”) to a noun, so you can add extra info about which one / what kind / who you mean.

In English, the main relative pronouns are: who / whom , which , that, whose

English has a small kit
Spanish has a bigger kit: que, el que, la que, quien, lo que

Relative Pronouns

QUE for identifying a noun (restrictive clauses)

Use que when the clause tells you which one.

noun + que + verb

Examples

  • La persona que vive aquí
  • El hombre que trabaja conmigo
  • La chica que me llamó ayer
  • El libro que compraste
  • El lugar que te gusta

Preposition + EL QUE / LA QUE / LOS QUE / LAS QUE

Use this when English ends with a preposition. In English, the preposition gets stranded at the end.
Spanish doesn’t allow that — it pulls the preposition forward and attaches it to el/la/los/las que. (with, about, to, of).

“the woman I spoke with”
“the topic we talked about”
“the place I’m going to”
“the person I fell in love with”

preposition + el/la/los/las que + verb

English ends with a preposition → Spanish pulls it away from the end

WITH

English: The woman (who) I spoke with is nice.
Spanish: La mujer con la que hablé es simpática.

English: The people (that) I go out with are funny.
Spanish: Las personas con las que salgo son graciosas.

ABOUT

English: The topic (that) we talked about is interesting.
Spanish: El tema del que hablamos es interesante.

English: The problem (that) she complained about is real.
Spanish: El problema del que se quejó es real.

TO

English: The city (that) I’m moving to is expensive.
Spanish: La ciudad a la que me mudo es cara.

English: The place (that) we’re going to is far.
Spanish: El lugar al que vamos está lejos.

OF / FROM

English: The topic (that) I’m thinking about is important.
Spanish: El tema en el que pienso es importante.

English: The idea (that) I’m thinking about is interesting.
Spanish: La idea en la que pienso es interesante.

English: The person (that) I’m talking about is my boss.
Spanish: La persona de la que hablo es mi jefa.

Verbs with prepositions force the structure

Some verbs require a preposition like:

  • hablar de / con (about / with)
  • pensar en (think about)
  • depender de (depend on)
  • cuidar de (take care of)
  • preocuparse por (worry about)

You can’t drop the preposition (because the verb requires it)
You can’t leave it hanging at the end like English does

Examples:

  • La persona de la que me enamoré
  • El hombre del que me quejé
  • La mujer con la que hablé ayer
  • El tema del que hablamos

QUIEN / QUIENES (optional, people only)

Use quien/quienes only when the relative clause starts with a preposition (e.g. con, de, a, en, etc).

preposition + quien/quienes + verb

Quien/quienes has the exact same “problem” as el que/la que because it’s used in the same structural situation:

When the English sentence ends with a preposition like with / about / to / from / of, Spanish must pull that preposition forward into the sentence.

So you get:

  • The woman I spoke with
    → La mujer con quien hablé
    (or con la que)
  • The person I’m talking about
    → La persona de quien hablo
    (or de la que)

Key rule (stupidly simple)
If you’re using quien, it will almost always be:
con quien / de quien / a quien / en quien / por quien / para quien

Treat them like set phrases:
con quien = with whom / who…with
de quien = of/from/about whom
a quien = to whom / whom (as object, esp. people)
en quien = in/on whom (less common, but legit)
por quien = because of whom / by whom
para quien = for whom

LO QUE for ideas, situations, events

Use lo que when English would use “what” (the thing that / what happened / what you said) — not a specific named noun.

It refers to an idea/event, not a named noun like el libro / la mujer / la casa.

Mental rule:

  • QUE attaches to a noun: el libro que…
  • LO QUE means “what…” (no noun stated)

lo que + verb

Examples that show the meaning (not just grammar)

  • No entendí lo que dijiste.
    = I didn’t understand what you said.
  • Lo que pasó ayer fue raro.
    = What happened yesterday was weird.
  • Dime lo que quieres.
    = Tell me what you want.
  • Lo que más me gusta es viajar.
    = What I like most is travelling.
  • Eso es lo que necesito.
    = That’s what I need.

Optional formal equivalents (recognition only)

  • el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales
    = just the more formal / more written version of el que / la que / los que / las que.

Same meaning. Same job. Just fancier clothes.

Where you’ll see it:

  • news articles
  • official documents / government / legal-ish writing
  • academic writing
  • sometimes novels (especially more formal narrative voice)

In everyday speech in Mexico? Basically:

  • “who are you trying to sound like, the constitution?”

1) QUE for identifying a noun (restrictive clauses)

Exercise 1A — Choose QUE only

Translate using QUE only.
(No commas. No el que. No quien.)

  1. The student who won the prize is happy.
  2. The woman who lives here works with me.
  3. The neighbors who complain a lot moved away.
  4. The book that changed my life is short.

Exercise 1B — Fill in the gap

Complete with que.

  1. El amigo ___ vive aquí es ingeniero.
  2. Las personas ___ trabajan conmigo son pacientes.
  3. La película ___ vimos ayer fue mala.

2) Preposition + EL QUE / LA QUE / LOS QUE / LAS QUE

Exercise 2A — English → Spanish restructuring

Translate.
(Move the preposition forward.)

  1. The woman I spoke with is here.
  2. The problem we talked about is serious.
  3. The place I’m going to is far.
  4. The people I go out with are friendly.

Exercise 2B — Complete the sentence

Use the correct form of el que / la que / los que / las que.

  1. La mujer con ___ hablé es doctora.
  2. El tema del ___ hablamos es importante.
  3. Las personas con ___ salgo viven cerca.
  4. El lugar al ___ vamos está cerrado.

3) QUIEN / QUIENES (optional, people only)

Exercise 3A — Rewrite with QUIEN / QUIENES

Rewrite the sentence using quien or quienes.

  1. La mujer con la que hablé es doctora.
  2. Los amigos con los que viajé viven lejos.
  3. Mis padres, que viven lejos, vienen mañana.

Exercise 3B — Decide if QUIEN is possible

Write YES or NO.

  1. La mujer con ___ hablé ayer.
  2. La persona de ___ me enamoré.
  3. Las ciudades en ___ viví eran bonitas.
  4. Mis amigos, ___ viven en México, vienen mañana.

(Answers: 1 YES, 2 YES, 3 NO, 4 YES)

4) LO QUE for ideas, situations, events

Exercise 4A — QUE or LO QUE

Choose QUE or LO QUE.

  1. ___ dijiste ayer fue raro.
  2. La cosa ___ más me molesta es el ruido.
  3. ___ pasó ayer no fue normal.
  4. El problema ___ tenemos es el tiempo.
  5. ___ quiero ahora es dormir.

Exercise 4B — Sentence start

Translate using LO QUE at the beginning.

  1. What I like most is traveling.
  2. What happened yesterday doesn’t matter.
  3. What she said surprised me.

5) Verbs with prepositions force the structure

(enamorarse de / quejarse de / hablar de / con)

Exercise 5A — English → Spanish

Translate.
(Use the verb’s required preposition.)

  1. The person I fell in love with lives far away.
  2. The man I complained about just arrived.
  3. The woman I spoke with yesterday is here.
  4. The topic we talked about is boring.

Exercise 5B — Complete the sentence

Fill in the missing words.

  1. La persona ___ la que me enamoré vive lejos.
  2. El hombre ___ que me quejé se fue.
  3. La mujer con ___ hablé ayer llegó tarde.
  4. El tema ___ que hablamos es complicado.

Optional formal equivalents (recognition only)

Exercise 6 — Recognition

Rewrite using el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales.

  1. Las razones por las que me fui son personales.
  2. La empresa para la que trabajo es pequeña.

“Dangling” prepositions (English → Spanish)

Exercise 7A — Restructure the English

Translate the Spanish way.

  1. The friend I went to the movies with is here.
  2. The city I moved to is expensive.
  3. The problem we argued about is stupid.

Exercise 7B — Spot the error

Mark ✓ correct or ✗ incorrect.

  1. ✗ La mujer que hablé con es simpática.
  2. ___ La mujer con la que hablé es simpática.
  3. ✗ El tema que hablamos de es difícil.
  4. ___ El tema del que hablamos es difícil.

Clause types (recognition only)

Exercise 8 — Restrictive or Non-restrictive

Write R or NR.

  1. The students who passed the exam are happy.
  2. My sister, who lives in Mexico, is visiting.
  3. The neighbors who make noise moved out.
  4. My car, which I bought last year, is already broken.