MundoDele Spanish Grammar

Spanish Relative Pronouns: Que, Quien, El Que and Lo Que

Learn how Spanish relative pronouns connect clauses and refer back to people, things, places, ideas or complete situations. This guide explains que, quien, el que, el cual, lo que, lo cual and the possession-based relative form cuyo.

Open pronoun table Practice relative clauses
Core rule: que is the normal relative pronoun for people and things: la persona que llama and el libro que leo.
Spanish relative pronouns que, quien, el que, el cual, lo que and cuyo
Relative pronouns connect a noun or idea with a clause that gives more information.

Definition

What are Spanish relative pronouns?

Relative pronouns connect a noun, person, thing or idea with a clause that describes or identifies it. The noun or idea referred to is called the antecedent.

Person

La mujer que llama es Ana.
The woman who is calling is Ana.

Thing

El libro que leo es interesante.
The book that I am reading is interesting.

Whole idea

No entiendo lo que dices.
I do not understand what you are saying.

Two sentences: Conozco a una profesora. La profesora vive en Madrid.
One relative clause: Conozco a una profesora que vive en Madrid.

Pronoun table

Spanish relative pronouns at a glance

Relative form Main reference Spanish example English meaning Usage note
que People, animals, things and ideas El libro que leo. The book that I read. The most common relative pronoun.
quien / quienes People La persona con quien hablé. The person with whom I spoke. Common after prepositions and in non-defining clauses.
el que / la que A known person or thing La que vive aquí es Ana. The one who lives here is Ana. Agrees in gender and number.
los que / las que Several people or things Los que llegaron esperan fuera. The ones who arrived are waiting outside. Plural article forms.
el cual / la cual A stated antecedent La ciudad, la cual conozco bien. The city, which I know well. More formal or clarifying.
los cuales / las cuales Plural antecedent Los informes, los cuales revisamos ayer. The reports, which we reviewed yesterday. Formal plural forms.
lo que Unknown thing, idea or situation No sé lo que quiere. I do not know what he or she wants. No stated gendered antecedent.
lo cual A complete previous statement Llegó tarde, lo cual me sorprendió. He arrived late, which surprised me. Refers back to the whole preceding idea.
Memory line: que = basic connector · quien = person · lo que = what

The basic connector

Que

Que is the most frequent Spanish relative pronoun. It can refer to people, animals, things and ideas. It does not change for gender or number.

Antecedent Spanish example English meaning
Person La mujer que vive aquí es profesora. The woman who lives here is a teacher.
Thing El coche que compró es nuevo. The car that he or she bought is new.
Animal El perro que ves es mío. The dog that you see is mine.
Idea La idea que propones es buena. The idea that you propose is good.
Relative que has no written accent.

El libro que leo uses relative que.
¿Qué libro lees? uses interrogative qué.

People

Quien and quienes

Quien refers to one person. Quienes refers to several people. These forms are especially common after prepositions and in non-defining relative clauses.

Structure Spanish example English meaning Usage note
con quien La mujer con quien hablé. The woman with whom I spoke. One person after a preposition.
con quienes Los colegas con quienes trabajo. The colleagues with whom I work. Several people after a preposition.
quien between commas Mi hermana, quien vive en Madrid, viene mañana. My sister, who lives in Madrid, is coming tomorrow. Adds extra information.
quienes between commas Mis amigos, quienes estudian español, viajan mucho. My friends, who study Spanish, travel a lot. Plural non-defining clause.
Do not replace ordinary defining que automatically.

The normal sentence is La mujer que vive aquí es profesora.
Without a preposition or commas, que is usually more natural than quien.

Article-based forms

El que, la que, los que and las que

These forms agree with the person or thing they refer to. They can mean “the one who”, “the one that”, “the ones who” or “the ones that”.

Form Gender and number Spanish example English meaning
el que Masculine singular El que llegó tarde es mi hermano. The one who arrived late is my brother.
la que Feminine singular La que vive aquí es mi amiga. The one who lives here is my friend.
los que Masculine or mixed plural Los que estudian aprenden más. The ones who study learn more.
las que Feminine plural Las que llegaron esperan fuera. The ones who arrived are waiting outside.

The same article-based forms are also common after prepositions: con el que, en la que, por los que and de las que.

Formal and clarifying forms

El cual, la cual, los cuales and las cuales

The cual forms agree with the antecedent and are generally more formal than que. They are useful after prepositions, in non-defining clauses and when a longer sentence could otherwise be ambiguous.

Form Spanish example Typical use
el cual El proyecto, el cual empezó ayer, es importante. Masculine singular, formal clarification.
la cual La ciudad, la cual conozco bien, es hermosa. Feminine singular.
los cuales Los documentos, los cuales revisamos ayer, están listos. Masculine or mixed plural.
las cuales Las normas, las cuales cambiaron, son importantes. Feminine plural.
en el cual El contexto en el cual ocurrió. Formal structure after a preposition.
Do not overuse el cual.

In ordinary everyday clauses, que is normally simpler and more natural: El libro que leo.

Neutral reference

Lo que and lo cual

Lo que and lo cual are neutral relative expressions. They do not agree with a masculine or feminine noun.

Form Reference Spanish example English meaning
lo que An unknown thing No sé lo que quiere. I do not know what he or she wants.
lo que An idea or action Lo que necesito es tiempo. What I need is time.
lo que A complete situation Lo que pasó fue extraño. What happened was strange.
lo cual A complete previous statement Llegó tarde, lo cual me sorprendió. He arrived late, which surprised me.
lo cual Previous event or conclusion Cancelaron la reunión, por lo cual volvimos a casa. They cancelled the meeting, so we returned home.
Difference:
lo que introduces “what” or “the thing that”
lo cual normally refers back to a complete previous statement

Prepositional structures

Relative pronouns after prepositions

When the verb or expression requires a preposition, the preposition must remain in the relative clause. Spanish then commonly uses quien, article-based que forms or cual forms.

Pattern Spanish example English meaning Style note
con quien La persona con quien hablé. The person with whom I spoke. Person after a preposition.
con la que La persona con la que hablé. The person I spoke with. Common alternative.
en el que El país en el que vivo. The country in which I live. Common for things and places.
por la que La razón por la que vine. The reason why I came. Common fixed pattern.
de la cual La propuesta de la cual hablamos. The proposal about which we spoke. More formal.
para quienes Las personas para quienes trabajo. The people for whom I work. Plural people reference.
Keep the required preposition.

Say la persona con quien hablé, because the verb structure is hablar con alguien.

Essential vs additional information

Defining and non-defining relative clauses

A defining clause identifies exactly which person or thing is meant. A non-defining clause adds extra information about an already identified person or thing.

Clause type Spanish example Function Punctuation
Defining El estudiante que llegó tarde perdió la clase. Identifies which student. No commas.
Non-defining Mi hermano, que vive en Madrid, viene mañana. Adds extra information about an identified brother. Separated by commas.
Non-defining with quien Mi profesora, quien conoce el tema, explicó todo. Adds information about a person. Separated by commas.
Formal non-defining El informe, el cual revisamos ayer, está listo. Adds formal clarification. Separated by commas.
No commas: information needed to identify the noun
Commas: additional information about an already identified noun

Relative possession

Cuyo, cuya, cuyos and cuyas

These forms express possession and correspond to English “whose”. They are best treated as relative determiners because they introduce a noun.

Form Possessed noun Spanish example English meaning
cuyo Masculine singular El autor cuyo libro leí vive en Chile. The author whose book I read lives in Chile.
cuya Feminine singular La profesora cuya clase tomé es excelente. The teacher whose class I took is excellent.
cuyos Masculine plural Los alumnos cuyos exámenes corregí aprobaron. The students whose exams I corrected passed.
cuyas Feminine plural La empresa cuyas oficinas visitamos. The company whose offices we visited.
Cuyo agrees with the thing possessed.

In la profesora cuya clase tomé, cuya is feminine singular because clase is feminine singular.

Continue with: Spanish Relative Determiners .

Accent contrast

Que vs qué, quien vs quién and cual vs cuál

Relative words normally appear without accents. Interrogative and exclamatory forms carry written accents.

Relative form Interrogative form Difference
El libro que leo. ¿Qué lees? Que connects; qué asks.
La persona con quien hablé. ¿Con quién hablaste? Quien refers back; quién asks.
El tema del cual hablamos. ¿Cuál prefieres? Cual is relative; cuál asks for a choice.
La ciudad donde vivo. ¿Dónde vives? Donde connects a place; dónde asks for one.

Continue with: Spanish Interrogative Pronouns .

Mini practice

Practice Spanish relative pronouns

Complete each exercise before opening the answer.

Exercise 1: choose que or quien

  1. La mujer ___ vive aquí es médica.
  2. La persona con ___ hablé es Ana.
  3. El libro ___ compré es interesante.
  4. Mis amigos, ___ viven en Chile, vienen mañana.
Show answers

1. La mujer que vive aquí es médica.
2. La persona con quien hablé es Ana.
3. El libro que compré es interesante.
4. Mis amigos, quienes viven en Chile, vienen mañana.

Exercise 2: choose the article form

  1. ___ llegó tarde es mi hermano. — masculine singular
  2. ___ vive aquí es mi amiga. — feminine singular
  3. ___ estudian mucho aprenden más. — masculine plural
  4. ___ llegaron primero esperan fuera. — feminine plural
Show answers

1. El que llegó tarde es mi hermano.
2. La que vive aquí es mi amiga.
3. Los que estudian mucho aprenden más.
4. Las que llegaron primero esperan fuera.

Exercise 3: choose lo que or lo cual

  1. No entiendo ___ dices.
  2. ___ necesito es tiempo.
  3. Llegó dos horas tarde, ___ me sorprendió.
  4. Cancelaron el vuelo, por ___ volvimos al hotel.
Show answers

1. No entiendo lo que dices.
2. Lo que necesito es tiempo.
3. Llegó dos horas tarde, lo cual me sorprendió.
4. Cancelaron el vuelo, por lo cual volvimos al hotel.

Common errors

Common mistakes with Spanish relative pronouns

  • Confusing que and qué: relative que has no accent; interrogative qué has one.
  • Using quien for things: quien and quienes refer only to people.
  • Using quien in every clause about a person: ordinary defining clauses normally use que: la mujer que vive aquí.
  • Forgetting the preposition: say la persona con quien hablé.
  • Confusing lo que and lo cual: lo que often introduces “what”; lo cual refers back to a complete previous idea.
  • Overusing el cual: simple que is usually more natural in everyday Spanish.
  • Forgetting commas: non-defining relative clauses are separated by commas.
  • Agreeing cuyo with the owner: cuyo agrees with the possessed noun.

Frequently asked questions

Questions about Spanish relative pronouns

What are Spanish relative pronouns?

They connect a person, thing or idea with a clause that gives more information. Important forms include que, quien, el que, el cual and lo que.

What is the most common Spanish relative pronoun?

Que is the most common form. It can refer to people, animals, things and ideas.

What is the difference between que and quien?

Que can refer to people or things. Quien and quienes refer only to people and are especially common after prepositions and in non-defining clauses.

What does lo que mean?

Lo que means “what”, “the thing that” or “that which”. It refers to an unknown thing, idea or complete situation.

What is the difference between que and qué?

Relative que connects clauses and has no accent. Interrogative or exclamatory qué carries an accent.

Is cuyo a relative pronoun?

Cuyo, cuya, cuyos and cuyas function as relative determiners because they introduce a noun and agree with the thing possessed.

Practice and support

Practise relative clauses in complete Spanish sentences

Relative pronouns become easier when you practise antecedents, prepositions, commas, article agreement and the difference between que, quien, lo que and lo cual.

Grammar support

Spanish Tutoring

Work on relative clauses, prepositions, punctuation and individual grammar problems.

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