Relative Pronouns

Que is the most common relative pronoun and can refer to people, things, or ideas. It introduces essential information and works in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

Quien (and quienes) refers only to people and is used in more formal contexts or after prepositions. Use quien when you want to emphasize the person or when the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition.

Forms like el que, la que, los que, and las que add gender and number emphasis and are used after prepositions. They can replace quien in formal speech and clarify the reference when needed.

Cuya and its forms express possession and agree in gender and number with the thing owned, not the owner. Use cuyo to link a possessor to something in the relative clause and to add concise possessive meaning.

Lo que refers to an idea, situation, or unspecified thing and is used when there is no concrete noun to replace. It introduces a clause that functions as a noun and can be used in both restrictive and explanatory contexts.

Donde introduces a place-related relative clause and can sometimes be replaced by en que for added formality. Use donde to link locations to actions or to add descriptive detail about a place.

Cuando links time clauses and works as a relative pronoun for moments or periods. Use it to connect an event to a specific time and to add contextual information about timing.

Como introduces manner clauses and refers to the way something is done. It can be replaced by en que in formal contexts and is used to give examples or to describe method or style.

Spanish relative pronouns include que, quien, el que, cuyo, lo que, donde, cuando, and como, each serving different functions for people, things, possession, places, time, and manner. Choosing the right pronoun depends on whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive, whether the antecedent is a person or thing, and on formality and emphasis.