Portuguese grammar · Intermediate (B1)
Relative pronouns
How to join sentences with que, quem, o que, onde, o qual and cujo, and why the preposition goes before the relative pronoun.
Que: who, which, that
A “relative pronoun” joins two sentences by referring back to a noun: “the book that I read”. The most common one is . It is used for people and things, as subject or object: (the woman who lives next door), (the book I read).
English often leaves “that” out; Portuguese never does: “the film we saw” is .
- Conheci um rapaz que fala cinco línguas.I met a guy who speaks five languages.
- O bolo que você fez estava ótimo.The cake you made was great.
- Essa é a música que eu mais gosto.This is the song I like most. · careful Portuguese:
Quem, o que, onde
refers to people after a preposition: (the person I spoke to). On its own it means “the person who” or “whoever”: (Whoever arrives first opens the door).
means “what” in the sense of “the thing that”: (I didn't understand what he said). It also refers back to a whole idea: (He didn't call, which worried me).
is for places: (the town where I was born). is also correct: .
- Essa é a amiga com quem viajei.This is the friend I travelled with.
- Faça o que você achar melhor.Do what you think is best.
- O restaurante onde a gente jantou fechou.The restaurant where we had dinner has closed.
The preposition comes first
English can put a preposition at the end: “the friend I travelled with”. Portuguese always puts it before the relative pronoun: . The preposition comes from the verb: → ; → .
In relaxed speech Brazilians often drop the preposition (). This is common, but in writing and careful speech keep it.
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| the person I spoke to | |
| the company I work for | |
| the subject we talked about | |
| the book I need | |
| the friends I live with |
O qual, a qual: formal
, , and mean the same as , but they agree with the noun and are more formal. They are used mainly after longer prepositions such as , , , and , and they contract like articles: , , .
- O projeto sobre o qual falamos foi aprovado.The project we talked about has been approved.
- A razão pela qual escrevo é simples.The reason why I am writing is simple.
- Há vários problemas, entre os quais o preço.There are several problems, among them the price.
Cujo: whose
means “whose”. It agrees with the thing that is owned, not with the owner, and no article follows it: (the author whose book I read), (the neighbour whose children study here). belongs to writing; in speech Brazilians usually say it another way: (the author who wrote that book).
- É um escritor cujos livros foram traduzidos para vinte línguas.He's a writer whose books have been translated into twenty languages.
- A empresa, cuja sede fica em Recife, abriu uma filial no Rio.The company, whose head office is in Recife, has opened a branch in Rio.