Spanish Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns and Adjectives
The Relative Pronouns are:
Sing. | Plu. | |
Quien | Quienes | (who, whom) |
El cual | Los cuales | (who, whom or which) |
La cual | Las cuales | |
Que | (that) | |
Cuyo | Cuyos | (whose, or of which (denoting |
Cuya | Cuyas | possession) |
Quien is used for persons only.
El cual and que are used for persons and things.
Examples:
- El agente á quien (or al cual) hemos escrito: The agent to whom we have written.
- ¿Son aquéllas las partidas de azúcares de las cuales me habló V. ayer? Are those the lots of sugar of which you spoke to me yesterday?
- Me acuerdo de las personas y las cosas que V. ha mencionado: I remember the people and things that you mentioned.
- El buque cuya tripulación ha desembarcado: The ship whose crew has landed.
- El comerciante á cuyo hijo hemos conocido: The merchant whose son we have known.
Que is used very often instead of quien and el cual. Que is to be preferred when the clause following is a mere complement of the principal clause (preceding), and Quien or El cual only when the following clause is considered not less in importance than the clause preceding, viz., when it introduces a new idea,[1] as:
- ¿Ha visto V. al viajante que nos visitó esta mañana? Have you seen the traveller who called on us this morning?
- He conocido al banquero quien era hombre muy juicioso y prudente: I knew the banker who was a very wise and prudent man.
- Es él (Carlos) quien me lo ha dicho: It is he (Charles) who told it to me.
After a preposition translate "whom" by quien (pl., quienes)[2], and "which" by el cual (la cual, etc.).
"Which" relating to a whole sentence is lo cual or lo que (naturally, because a whole sentence has no gender).
Instead of cuyo we may use de quien, del cual, de que, del que, as:
- El buque, la tripulación del cual, de que, or del que ha desembarcado: The ship whose crew has landed.
- El comerciante al hijo de quien, or del cual hemos conocido: The merchant whose son we have known.
"He who" is translated by aquel que, el que,[4] also quien.
"She who" is translated by aquella que, la[4] que, also quien.
"Those who" is translated by aquellos que, los[4] que, also quienes.
- El hombre á quien, or que ví: The man I saw.
Expressions as "The man I spoke to" must, of course, be rendered "The man to whom I spoke" (El hombre á quien hablé).
Expressions as "I recommend you Messrs. So-and-So than which no better firm exists," are rendered "Le recomiendo á V. la casa de los Srs. Fulanos de Tal que no la hay mejor (or de la cual, or de la que no hay otra mejor)".
Popular Phrase: seguir conjugation chart | Spanish Lessons | Conjugated Verb: idealizar - to idealize [ click for full conjugation ]