Relative Pronouns
Descubre qué son los pronombres relativos en español, sus usos, y equivalencias en inglés. Explicaciones claras, ejemplos y ejercicios para dominar la concordancia y la cohesión.
Discover what relative pronouns are in Spanish, their uses, and equivalents in English. Clear explanations, examples, and exercises to improve agreement and cohesion.
Relative pronouns link clauses by referring back to a noun, so they keep your meaning clear and your sentences connected.
Overview
Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause that gives more information about a noun, and they agree in gender and number with that noun.
Key Relative Pronouns
The main relative pronouns are que, quien, el que, el cual, and cuyo, each serving slightly different functions and levels of formality.
Que
Que is the most common relative pronoun and can refer to people or things in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.
Quien
Quien refers specifically to people and is used in more formal or emphatic relative clauses, often after prepositions.
El que / El cual
El que and el cual agree in gender and number and are used for emphasis or after prepositions; el cual sounds more formal.
Cuyo
Cuyo shows possession and agrees in gender and number with the thing possessed, not the possessor.
Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive
A restrictive relative clause defines which noun you mean and is not set off by commas, while a nonrestrictive clause adds extra information and is enclosed in commas.
Special Cases
When a relative clause is introduced by a preposition, use the appropriate form like el que, quien, or el cual; and remember that relative pronouns sometimes can be omitted in spoken language.
Summary
Relative pronouns keep sentences linked by referring back to a noun; choose que for general use, quien for people after prepositions, el que/el cual for formality and emphasis, and cuyo for possession.
Here's a comparative table of the key relative pronouns:
| Relative Pronoun | Use | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| que | People or things, general use | Most common; can be omitted in speech | |
| quien / quienes | People, after prepositions or commas | More formal; must agree in number | |
| el que / la que / los que / las que | People or things, after prepositions or for emphasis | Agree in gender and number; more precise | |
| el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales | People or things, formal contexts | Similar to el que but more formal | |
| cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas | Possession | Agrees with the thing possessed, not the possessor |
Suggested Reading
English File by Unknown (Oxford University Press series)
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy
English Grammar Workbook: Simple Grammar for Non-Native Speakers by SIMPLE English Language School
Essential Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy
New Concept English by L. G. Alexander
Oxford Practice Grammar by Norman Coe, Mark Harrison & Ken Paterson
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus
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