Why relative clauses matter
Relative clauses let you combine two short sentences into one longer, more natural one. Instead of saying "I have a friend. My friend speaks Spanish.", you say "I have a friend who speaks Spanish." This is the key to sounding less choppy and more fluent.
Que - the workhorse
Que is by far the most common relative pronoun in Spanish. It translates as "that", "which", or "who" depending on context, and it can refer to both people and things:
- El libro que estoy leyendo es muy interesante. - The book (that) I'm reading is very interesting.
- La chica que vive al lado es de Colombia. - The girl who lives next door is from Colombia.
- La película que vimos anoche era buena. - The film (that) we saw last night was good.
Key difference from English: In English, you can often drop "that" ("the book I'm reading"). In Spanish, que can never be omitted.
Quien / quienes - for people only
Quien (singular) and quienes (plural) refer exclusively to people. They are mainly used after prepositions:
- La persona con quien hablé era muy amable. - The person with whom I spoke was very kind.
- Los amigos a quienes invité no pudieron venir. - The friends (whom) I invited couldn't come.
- Ese es el profesor de quien te hablé. - That's the teacher I told you about.
In non-restrictive clauses (extra information set off by commas), quien can replace que for people:
- Mi madre, quien es profesora, habla tres idiomas. - My mother, who is a teacher, speaks three languages.
El que / el cual - after prepositions
After prepositions (especially longer ones), you'll often see el que, la que, los que, las que or el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales. These agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to:
- La casa en la que vivo es pequeña. - The house in which I live is small.
- El tema sobre el cual escribí es difícil. - The topic about which I wrote is difficult.
- Las razones por las que lo hice son claras. - The reasons for which I did it are clear.
Donde - for places
Donde replaces a relative pronoun when referring to a place. It's equivalent to "where" in English:
- El restaurante donde cenamos era excelente. - The restaurant where we had dinner was excellent.
- La ciudad donde nací está en el norte. - The city where I was born is in the north.
Donde is interchangeable with en el que / en la que: El restaurante en el que cenamos...
Lo que - "what" / "the thing that"
Lo que is a neuter relative pronoun. It doesn't refer to a specific noun but to an idea, concept, or unspecified thing - like "what" or "the thing that":
- Lo que más me gusta es la comida. - What I like most is the food.
- No entiendo lo que dices. - I don't understand what you're saying.
- Lo que pasó fue increíble. - What happened was incredible.
- Eso es lo que necesitamos. - That's what we need.
Cuyo / cuya - "whose"
Cuyo means "whose" and agrees with the thing possessed (not the possessor):
- El hombre cuya hija es médica... - The man whose daughter is a doctor...
- El país cuyos paisajes son hermosos... - The country whose landscapes are beautiful...
Cuyo is more common in writing and formal speech. In conversation, people often rephrase to avoid it.
Connectors for complex sentences
Beyond relative clauses, here are the essential connectors for building longer sentences at B1 level:
Adding information
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| además (de) | besides / in addition (to) |
| también | also |
| incluso | even |
| no solo... sino también... | not only... but also... |
| así como | as well as |
Contrasting
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| pero | but |
| sin embargo | however |
| en cambio | on the other hand |
| aunque | although / even though |
| a pesar de (que) | despite (the fact that) |
| mientras que | whereas |
Cause and effect
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| porque | because |
| ya que / puesto que | since / given that |
| por eso / por lo tanto | therefore / that's why |
| así que | so |
| como resultado | as a result |
Purpose
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| para (que) | in order to / so that |
| con el fin de | with the aim of |
Note: para que (different subjects) triggers the subjunctive: Te lo explico para que entiendas. (I'm explaining it to you so that you understand.) But para + infinitive (same subject) doesn't: Estudio para aprender.
Practice
Join each pair of sentences using the relative pronoun or connector in brackets:
- Tengo un amigo. Mi amigo habla cinco idiomas. [que]
- Este es el hotel. Nos alojamos en el hotel. [donde]
- No entiendo algo. Me dices algo. [lo que]
- Hablo español. También hablo francés. [no solo... sino también]
- Estudia mucho. No aprueba los exámenes. [aunque]
Answers
- Tengo un amigo que habla cinco idiomas.
- Este es el hotel donde nos alojamos.
- No entiendo lo que me dices.
- No solo hablo español, sino también francés.
- Aunque estudia mucho, no aprueba los exámenes.
Key takeaways
- Que is the default relative pronoun for people and things - and it can never be dropped in Spanish.
- Quien(es) is used for people after prepositions and in non-restrictive clauses.
- Donde replaces en el/la que for places.
- Lo que means "what" / "the thing that" for abstract ideas.
- Master the key connectors (además, sin embargo, aunque, por eso, para que) to build longer, more sophisticated sentences.