Relative Pronouns

Que is the most common relative pronoun and can refer to people, things, or sometimes animals. It introduces essential information and can replace quien in many cases.

Quien (singular) and quienes (plural) refer specifically to people and are used after prepositions or in nonrestrictive clauses. They add clarity when the relative pronoun must refer to a person.

Forms like el que, la que, los que, and las que are more precise and often follow prepositions. They agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to and can appear in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

Cuya, cuyo, cuyos and cuyas show possession and agree in gender and number with the thing owned, not the owner. They link the owner directly to the thing possessed and elevate the sentence style.

Lo que and lo cual refer to an idea, a situation, or an unspecified thing. Use lo que for general or more informal contexts and lo cual in more formal writing when referring back to a specific clause.

Donde introduces relative clauses that specify a place. It can sometimes be replaced by prepositional phrases like en el que, but donde is shorter and more natural in speech.

Cuando relates to time and introduces clauses that specify a moment or period. Use it to link actions to particular times and replace more cumbersome phrases like en el que when referring to time.

Relative pronouns connect ideas and add details about people, things, places, possession, time, and more. Choosing the right pronoun keeps sentences clear and natural.