In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French, we study relative pronouns in each language.
Interrogative Pronouns vs Relative Pronouns in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian
Most interrogative pronouns can be used as relative pronouns, e.g., “Here is where I want to be,” “I will tell you when I remember,” etc. Here is a summary of some relative pronouns in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian:
| Relative pronoun | English meaning | Examples |
| que (SP)(PT) che (IT) | that who | EN: The tea that you like is here. SP: El té que te gusta está acá. PT: O chá que você gosta está aqui. IT: Il tè che ti piace è qui. |
| quien(es) (SP) quem (PT) cui (IT) | who which whom | EN: This is the person with whom I talked. SP: Es la persona con quien hablé. PT: É a pessoa com quem falei. IT: Questa è la persona con cui ho parlato. |
| cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas(SP) cujo, cuja, cujos, cujas(PT) il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui (IT) | whose | EN: This is the man whose two sons are doctors. SP: Es el hombre cuyos dos hijos son médicos. PT: Ele é o homem cujos dois filhos são médicos. IT: È l’uomo i cui due figli sono dottori. |
| el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales (SP) o qual, a qual,os quais, as quais (PT) il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali (IT) | which | EN: They are discussing an important topic, one which affects you. SP: Ellos discuten sobre un tema importante, el cual te afecta. PT: Eles discutem um tópico importante, o qual afeta você. IT: Discutono di un argomento importante, il quale ti riguarda. |
The Relative Pronoun “Chi” in Italian
In Italian, the relative pronoun “chi” can be used to refer only to a person or persons, and cannot refer to a thing or a place.
It is always singular even if it refers to multiple persons, and is often used in proverbs and general statements meaning “those who” or “whoever.”
For example, “Chi vince, detta le regole” (Whoever wins sets the rules), “Non mi piace chi giura” (I don’t like those who swear), etc.
As a general rule, if you refer to a person and follow that by a simple relative pronoun such as “who” or “that,” “che” is often used instead, e.g., “Il mio amico, che è ingegnere, me lo ha detto” (My friend, who is an engineer, told me this).
Examples
The following is a summary in the context of some examples:
| EN:This is the restaurant that opened last week. SP: Este es el restaurante que abrió la semana pasada. PT: Este é o restaurante que abriu na semana passada. IT: Questo è il ristorante che ha aperto la scorsa settimana. | Referring to a place using the simple relative pronoun “that” right after the noun. Thus, use “que” in Spanish and Portuguese, and “che” in Italian. |
| EN: This is the teacher who taught me. SP: Es el profesor que me enseñó. PT: É o professor que me ensinou. IT: Questo è l’insegnante che mi ha insegnato. | Referring to a person using the simple relative pronoun “who” right after the noun. Thus, use “que” in Spanish and Portuguese, and “che” in Italian. |
| EN: They are the players with whom I used to play. SP: Ellos son los jugadores con quienes yo jugaba. PT: São os jogadores com quem joguei. IT: Sono i giocatori con cui giocavo. | Referring to a person using the relative pronoun “whom” preceded by a preposition. Thus, use “quien(es)” in Spanish, “quem” in Portuguese, and “cui” in Italian. |
Relative Pronouns in French
In French, relative pronouns function differently from their English counterparts. Thus, it is difficult to have a direct translation. Consider the following examples of the relative pronouns “qui,” “que,” and “dont,” which can refer to persons or things:
| C’est le livre qui a remporté le prix. | This is the book that won the award. |
| C’est le livre que j’ai acheté. | This is the book that I bought. |
| C’est le livre dont je parlais. | This is the book that I was talking about. |
In the above example, the relative pronouns “qui,” “que,” and “dont” are all translated as “that.” The relative pronoun “qui” is used when referring to a subject, i.e., “the book that won the award.” The relative pronoun “que” is used when referring to an object, i.e., “the book that I bought.”
Finally, the relative pronoun “dont” is used when referring to an object of a verb or verbal expression that includes the preposition “de,” such as: “parler de” (talk about), “avoir besoin de” (to need), etc.
Similarly, the relative pronouns “qui,” “que,” and “dont” can refer to people and have different meanings:
| C’est le garçon qui jouait ici. | This is the boy who used to play here. |
| C’est le médecin que j’ai consulté. | This is the doctor whom I consulted. |
| C’est le genre de joueur dont notre équipe a besoin. | This is the kind of player that our team needs. |
| C’est l’homme dont les deux fils sont médecins. | This is the man whose two sons are doctors. |
Notice that “qui” is used when referring to a subject, i.e., “the boy who used to play here;” “que” is used when referring to an object, i.e., “the doctor I consulted;” and “dont” is used when referring to an object of a verb or verbal expression that includes the preposition “de,” in this case: “avoir besoin de” (to need), i.e., “the player that our team needs.” The relative pronoun “dont” is also used to express possession if the verb is preceded by the subject and followed by the object. In this case, it is often translated as “whose,” “of which,” or “of whom.”
The Relative Pronoun “Lequel” in French
Another relative pronoun that can also mean “that,” “which,” or “whom” is “lequel” and its gender and number variants: “laquelle,” “lequels,” and “lesquelles.” When preceded by a preposition, these pronouns are often used to refer to things more specifically. When referring to people, “qui” preceded with a preposition is often used instead, for example:
| Ce sont les joueurs avec lesquels je jouais. | They are the players with whom I used to play. |
| Je nettoierai la chaise derrière laquelle le chat joue. | I will clean the chair behind which the cat plays. |
| C’est le bâtiment dans lequel je vis. | This is the building in which I live. |
| C’est la personne à qui ils ont demandé. | This is the person whom they asked. |
Notice that “lequel” (and its gender and number variants) is treated the same way as the definite article when contracted with the preceding preposition, e.g., “C’est le projet auquel je pense” (This is the project I am thinking of).
We have previously encountered the interrogative pronoun “où,” meaning “where.” As a relative pronoun, it is used meaning “where” or “when,” referring to a certain moment of time. Here are some examples:
| C’est où je veux être maintenant. | This is where I want to be now. |
| Nous ne savons pas où aller. | We don’t know where to go. |
| C’est le moment où j’ai pris la décision. | This is the time when I made the decision. |
| Il a probablement appelé au moment où j’étais occupé. | He probably called at the time when I was busy. |
The Relative Pronoun “Lorsquel” in French
Another common pronoun that means “when’’ is “lorsque,” e.g., “Dis-moi lorsqe tu es de retour” (Tell me when you are back). Remember that “quand” can be used as an interrogative or relative pronoun, whereas “lorsque” cannot be used as an interrogative pronoun to ask questions about time.
Here is a summary of some relative pronouns in French:
| Relative pronoun | English meaning |
| que | that, which, who |
| qui | that, which, who, whom |
| dont | that, whose, of which, of whom |
| lequel (sing. m.) laquelle (sing. f.) lesquels (pl. m.) lesquelles (pl. f.) | that, which, whom |
| où | where, when |
| quand | when |
| lorsque | when |
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