|
Relative pronouns
There is a fair amount of flexibility in the choice of relatives in Spanish, and preferences rather than rules often govern this choice.
Que
Que is invariable. It is the most ‘neutral’ of the relatives, and is used freely as a subject and object relative pronoun, as well as often being used with the ‘short’
prepositions a, con, de and en, especially when the pronoun refers to something inanimate:
el chico que me saludó
the boy who greeted me
el chico que vi ayer
the boy I saw yesterday
el acuerdo a que llegaron
the agreement they came to
la escopeta con que le amenacé
the shotgun I threatened him with
el libro de que te hablaba
the book I was talking to you about
la ciudad en que vives
the town you live in
El que/el cual, etc.
| |
Singular |
Plural |
| Masculine |
el que |
los que |
| Feminine |
la que |
las que |
| |
Singular |
Plural |
| Masculine |
el cual |
los cuales |
| Feminine |
la cual |
las cuales |
a) El que, etc. can also mean ‘he who’, ‘the one which’, etc. . El que (but none of the other forms given here) is also used as a complementizer.
b) El que/el cual etc. are preferred
- when there is a break in intonation (a comma in print) between the antecedent noun and the relative clause:
Llegó otro turista, el cual se quejó de los precios - Another tourist, who complained about the prices, arrived.
- when the relative pronoun refers to a specific person or object:
Esta es la iglesia en la que nos casamos - This is the church we got married in.
c) El que/el cual etc. are not normally used when they immediately follow their antecedent noun and there is no break in intonation (no comma in print):
El chico que conociste en México era mi hermano. (el cual or el que would sound very odd here)- The boy you met in Mexico was my brother.
d) El que/el cual (or quien(es)) must be used after a preposition other than those mentioned above, or with a and de when these have a directional meaning such as‘to(wards)’, ‘from’:
Yo escuchaba lo que decía mi tío, según el cual la empresa podría ser muy peligrosa - I was listening to my uncle, according to whom the enterprise could be
very dangerous.
A lo lejos divisé una iglesia, a la que me dirigí con paso alegre - In the distance I made out a church, to which I made my way happily.
e) See also neuter lo que, lo cual
Quien(es)
a) Quien (pl. quienes) refers only to people, and may be used in more or less the same circumstances as el que/el cual.
la chica a quien quiere - the girl he loves
Isabel quería ir a ver a su madre, quien estaba muy enferma - Isabel wanted to go and see her mother, who was very ill.
el estudiante hacia quien ibas - the student you were going towards
b) Quien(es), like el que, etc. , also has the meaning of ‘he who’, etc.
Quien no tenga dinero no puede entrar - Those who have no money cannot come in.
Cuyo (adj.)
Cuyo corresponds to English ‘whose’, ‘of which’:
el chico cuyo libro pedí prestado - the boy whose book I asked to borrow
el atentado, cuyo motivo desconocemos todavía - the outrage, the motive for which we still do not know
la niña a cuyo lado dormía un cachorrito - the girl at whose side a little puppy was sleeping
Cuyo agrees with the noun following it, not with its antecedent noun:
la empresa cuyos productos comprábamos - the firm whose products we used to buy
|
