Relative Pronouns: Que, Quien, Cuyo

Relative pronouns connect a main clause to a dependent (or relative) clause. They 'relate' back to a noun, called the antecedent. Think of them as words like 'that,' 'which,' 'who,' 'whom,' and 'whose.'

The Main Players: Que, Quien, Cuyo

• Que (that, which, who) This is the most common relative pronoun. It's your default choice and can refer to both people and things.

  • Example (thing): El coche **que** compré es rojo. (The car that I bought is red.)
  • Example (person): La mujer **que** vive al lado es abogada. (The woman who lives next door is a lawyer.)

• Quien / Quienes (who, whom) This pronoun refers only to people. It is most often used in two specific cases:

  1. After a preposition (like a, con, de, para).
     • Example: El hombre **con quien** hablé es mi tío. (The man with whom I spoke is my uncle.)
  2. In non-restrictive clauses (clauses set off by commas that add extra information).
     • Example: Mi hermano, **quien** es ingeniero, vive en Madrid. (My brother, who is an engineer, lives in Madrid.)

• Cuyo / Cuya / Cuyos / Cuyas (whose) This is a possessive relative pronoun. It functions like 'whose' to show ownership. Crucially, it must agree in gender and number with the noun it comes before (the thing being possessed), NOT the owner.

  • Example: Es el autor **cuyo libro** ganó un premio. (He's the author whose book won an award.) -> libro is masculine singular, so we use cuyo.
  • Example: La artista, **cuyas pinturas** son famosas, vive aquí. (The artist, whose paintings are famous, lives here.) -> pinturas is feminine plural, so we use cuyas.

Heads up for your reading: You might also encounter pronouns like el que, la que, and lo que. They are often used for clarity after prepositions. Don't worry about mastering them now, just recognize them as another way to link ideas.