Relative clauses with que
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Tomás fue intervino.
Tomás was the one who intervened.
The rule
These are relative clauses: "the book that I read," "the city where I live." Que handles most cases, but after prepositions the rules change. Getting this right lets you build longer, more natural sentences.
The pattern
Que means "that," "who," or "which." It works for people and things, whether the noun is the subject or the object. El hombre que trabaja aquí. El libro que leo.
Lo que means "what" or "the thing that," used when there is no specific noun before it. No entiendo lo que dices.
Donde is for places: la ciudad donde vivo.
After a preposition, Spanish keeps the preposition before the connector. For people, use quien or quienes: la persona con quien trabajo. For things, use el que / la que / los que / las que: la casa en la que vivo. These forms agree with the noun.
Cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas mean "whose." They agree with the thing possessed, not the owner: el autor cuyo libro leo. This form is more common in writing than in speech.
Examples
- El hombre que llega hoy es mi tíoThe man who arrives today is my uncle
- Tengo un libro que explica la historiaI have a book that explains the history
- No sé lo que quieresI do not know what you want
- Lo que me gusta es la músicaWhat I like is music
- La ciudad donde vivo es pequeñaThe city where I live is small
- La persona con quien trabajo es muy amableThe person I work with is very kind
- La casa en la que vivo tiene un jardínThe house I live in has a garden
- El autor cuyo libro leo vive en MéxicoThe author whose book I am reading lives in Mexico
Watch out
- La persona que hablo con. La persona con quien hablo.Spanish does not strand prepositions at the end of a clause.
- No entiendo lo quien dices. No entiendo lo que dices.Use lo que for "what" or an idea, not lo quien.
- El autor que su libro leo. El autor cuyo libro leo.Cuyo means "whose" and agrees with the thing possessed (libro), not the owner.
- El libro el que leí. El libro que leí.When que is the direct object, no extra article is needed.