Relative Pronouns And Expressions In Spanish Chart
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4Relative Pronouns and Expressions in Spanish
Relative pronouns. Relative expressions typically refer back to another expression or concept which
that
preceded it. The most frequently used type is the relative pronoun, usually expressed in English as
,
which
who(m)
, or
. We can even omit these pronouns in many cases in English. The noun, pronoun, or
frase to which these relative pronouns refer back to is called the antecedent. For example:
relative
antecedent
pronoun
The man
that
you met is my uncle.
The man
whom
you met is my uncle.
The man
you met is my uncle.
There are several differences between English and Spanish regarding relatives:
1) In Spanish we cannot omit the relative pronoun as occurred in the last example above
2) Spanish highlights the difference between relative pronouns and similarly spelled question words
by not using accent marks on the relatives
3) There are a wider range of relative pronouns from which to choose in Spanish:
que
that, which, who, whom
q u e
who (or whom) after a
quien, quienes
q u i e n
preposition
el que, la que, los que, las que
that, which, who, whom
e l
q u e
el cual, la cual, los cuales, las
that, which, who, whom
e l
c u a l
cuales
Notice that the above list is given in the order of length: que (only three characters), quien (five), el que
(six), and el cual (seven).
These four relative pronouns are used depending on their length and the distance between them and the
antecedent. That is, the longer the distance between the antecedent and the relative pronoun, the longer is
the relative pronoun to be used.
In general:
1. The shortest relative pronoun, que, must be used when the relative pronoun comes
immediately after the antecedent, that is, when there is nothing between the two, not even a
comma. It is used for both people and objects, and may serve as the subject or object of the
clause which follows:
La pluma que está en la mesa no
The pen that/which is on the table isn't mine.
es mía.
Tengo el libro que buscas.
I have the book (that/which) you're looing for.
Conozco a la chica que vive allí.
I know the girl that/who lives there.
El hombre que ves es mi abuelo.
The man (whom) you see is my grandfather.
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