Spanish grammar · Intermediate (B1)
Relative pronouns: que, quien, lo que, donde
How to join ideas with que, quien, lo que, donde and el que: the person who…, the thing that…, what…, the place where…
Que: who, which, that
is by far the most common relative word. It works for people and things, and unlike English “that”, it can't be left out: (the book I bought).
- La chica que lleva gafas es mi hermana.The girl who's wearing glasses is my sister.
- Es un dulce que se come en enero.It's a sweet that people eat in January.
Quien and el que after a preposition
After a preposition (, , , , …), use / for people, or for people and things. alone isn't used after a preposition for people.
also appears in sentences like (they're the ones who bring the presents).
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| my friend Ana, who I live with | |
| the person who gets the figure | |
| the day when the Kings arrive | |
| the company I work for |
Lo que: what, the thing that
means “what” when it isn't a question: (What I like most is the parade). means “everything (that)”. In a question, “what” is , with an accent.
- No te imaginas lo que nos pasó.You can't imagine what happened to us.
- Leía todo lo que encontraba.I read everything I could find.
Donde: where
(no accent) introduces a place: (the village where I was born). With an accent, is a question word:
- Es el bar donde nos conocimos.It's the bar where we met.
- Dejan los zapatos en el salón, que es donde los Reyes ponen los regalos.They leave their shoes in the living room, which is where the Kings put the presents.
El que, la que: the one who
Without a noun before it, / means “the one who” or “the one that”, and / means “those who”: (whoever finds the bean pays for the roscón).
- ¿Quién es el que lleva gafas?Who's the one wearing glasses?
- Los que quieran pueden venir.Anyone who wants to can come.