That, What, Which, Whose: Relative Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace a noun, and relative pronouns replace a noun that was just referred to, e.g., The book that I bought yesterday, the man whom you saw.

The most common relative pronouns are que -- that, which;  quien/quienes -- who/whom (singular and plural), and donde -- where:

  • El libro que tú quieres no está aquí.
    The book that you want is not here.

    Tu amigo, a quien viste ayer, está en el hospital.
    Your friend, whom you saw yesterday, is in hospital.

    Los amigos quienes te llamaron te volverán a llamar más tarde.
    The friends who called you will call you back later.

    La playa donde damos la fiesta estaba muy limpia.
    The beach where we gave the party was very clean.


Another kind of pronoun is "the one/s that/which". It is a combination of the definite article el, la, los or las, with que or cual. Cual as a relative pronoun is generally restricted to literature and formal documents:

  • Ese libro, el que tú quieres, no está aquí.
    That book, the one that you want, is not here.

    Tus amigos, los que te llamaron, te llamarán luego.
    Your friends, the ones that called you, will call later.


When referring to an abstract idea, use lo que:

  • No entiendo lo que estás diciendo.
    I don't understand what you are saying.


Cuyo is the relative pronoun whose, and takes the same gender and number endings as regular adjectives:

  • Mi amigo, cuya casa está al lado, tiene un perro grande.
    My friend, whose house is next door, has a big dog.

    Mis primas, cuyos amigos son alemanes, están estudiando alemán.
    My cousins, whose friends are German, are studying German.
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