A restrictive relative clause identifies which member or subset is meant; a nonrestrictive relative adds a parenthetical comment about a referent already identifiable. Catalan marks the contrast through meaning, intonation, and—crucially in writing—commas. The commas are not decorative: adding them can change who satisfies the description.
English makes the same broad distinction, but its school rule about “that” versus “which” does not transfer. Catalan que can introduce either type. Reference and punctuation do the central work.
One form, two structures
Compare these two sentences:
Els tècnics que havien revisat l'ascensor van signar l'informe.
The technicians who had inspected the lift signed the report. (only that subset)
Els tècnics, que havien revisat l'ascensor, van signar l'informe.
The technicians, who had inspected the lift, signed the report. (all the relevant technicians)
Without commas, que havien revisat l'ascensor narrows the set of technicians: perhaps others did not inspect it. With commas, els tècnics already identifies the group and the relative presents the inspection as additional information about all of them.
| Property | Restrictive | Nonrestrictive |
|---|---|---|
| reference | helps identify a subset | antecedent already identifiable |
| speech | integrated into one intonation unit | set off by pauses |
| writing | no delimiting commas | paired commas, or one at a boundary |
| typical information | needed to select the referent | supplementary comment |
| usual mood | indicative or subjunctive, depending on commitment | normally indicative because the comment is asserted |
The bracketed structures differ:
Restrictive: [NP els tècnics [Relative que havien revisat l'ascensor]]
Nonrestrictive: [NP els tècnics], [Parenthetical relative que havien revisat l'ascensor], ...
In the first, the relative is inside the noun phrase that establishes reference. In the second, it comments on a noun phrase whose reference is already established.
Definite antecedents can still be restrictive
The definite article does not automatically make a following relative nonrestrictive. Els clients que han reservat means “the clients who booked”: the relative selects them from a larger set.
Les comandes que arribin abans de les sis sortiran avui.
The orders that arrive before six will go out today.
Les comandes, que ja són al magatzem, sortiran avui.
The orders, which are already in the warehouse, will go out today.
The first sentence defines a time-based subset and uses subjunctive arribin because the qualifying orders are not yet known. The second identifies all relevant orders and asserts their location with indicative són. This shows why punctuation and mood interact but are not the same distinction. The next page on mood in relative clauses develops that contrast.
Proper names and personal pronouns are already highly identifiable, so their relatives are normally nonrestrictive:
La Sònia, que coneix molt bé el barri, ens ha recomanat aquesta fleca.
Sònia, who knows the neighborhood very well, recommended this bakery to us.
A restrictive relative after a proper name is possible only under a marked contrast between bearers, versions, or temporal facets: La Barcelona que recordo ja no existeix means “The Barcelona I remember no longer exists.” It selects one conceptual version of Barcelona and therefore has no commas.
Relative choice and syntactic role
Invariant que is the ordinary relative for subjects and direct objects in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses:
He retornat el llibre que em vas deixar.
I have returned the book that you lent me. (restrictive; que is the direct object of deixar)
Aquest llibre, que em vas deixar al juny, encara té la teva nota a dins.
This book, which you lent me in June, still has your note inside. (nonrestrictive)
After a preposition, use a prepositional relative such as a qui, amb qui, de què, en què, or an article-bearing form of el qual. In careful standard Catalan, do not strand the preposition or replace the relative dependency with a redundant clitic.
La metgessa amb qui vaig parlar tornarà dilluns.
The doctor I spoke with will return on Monday.
La doctora Serra, amb la qual vaig parlar ahir, tornarà dilluns.
Dr. Serra, with whom I spoke yesterday, will return on Monday. (formal)
Amb la qual is (formal) and especially useful when an inflected article clarifies the antecedent. In everyday speech, amb qui is usually lighter for people. Forms of el qual are not a universal replacement for English “which”; their distribution is strongest after prepositions and in nonrestrictive prose.
Do not use plain qui as an ordinary subject relative after an expressed antecedent: neutral Catalan has la veïna que viu a dalt, not la veïna qui viu a dalt. Qui is natural after a preposition (la veïna amb qui parlo) and in free relatives (qui arribi primer).
Gaps, clitics, and left-dislocated topics
Inside a standard relative, the relative element fills a syntactic role and normally leaves a gap. If que is the direct object, do not repeat that object with a clitic:
Aquest és el document que vam enviar ahir.
This is the document that we sent yesterday.
By contrast, a left-dislocated topic outside a relative is resumed by a clitic:
Aquest document, el vam enviar ahir.
This document, we sent it yesterday. (topic construction)
These sentences may point to the same document, but their constituent structures differ. In el document que vam enviar, que connects the noun to an object gap. In aquest document, el vam enviar, aquest document is a detached topic and el occupies its object position. Treating every initial phrase as the grammatical subject misses both analyses.
Colloquial Catalan sometimes uses resumptive patterns such as la noia que li vaig donar el paquet for standard la noia a qui vaig donar el paquet. Such “analytical relatives” are common in speech in several areas but are avoided in monitored formal prose. Use the preposition-bearing relative in a reference grammar or formal document.
Neutral and reordered information
The neutral sentence keeps the relative beside its antecedent:
Ahir vaig entrevistar la candidata que havia treballat a Brussel·les.
Yesterday I interviewed the candidate who had worked in Brussels. (neutral integrated order)
Catalan can front the larger object as a topic, but then the main clause needs a clitic:
La candidata que havia treballat a Brussel·les, la vaig entrevistar ahir.
The candidate who had worked in Brussels, I interviewed her yesterday. (topic-first)
The fronted phrase includes its restrictive relative; la resumes the whole object. This is not a passive and does not make la candidata the subject. Catalan commonly manages known information with clitic left dislocation instead of an English-style passive.
Attachment and genuine ambiguity
Vaig saludar el germà de la Júlia que viu a Reus.
I greeted Júlia's brother who lives in Reus. (potentially ambiguous attachment)
Who lives in Reus—the brother or Júlia? Agreement does not help because both are singular. If the brother is meant, write Vaig saludar el germà de la Júlia, que viu a Reus only if the whole noun phrase already uniquely identifies him; even then prosody may not fully solve the semantic ambiguity. The clearest rewrites name the referent: La Júlia viu a Reus, i vaig saludar el seu germà or Vaig saludar el germà de la Júlia; ell viu a Reus. Do not expect a comma to repair every attachment problem.
A natural dialogue
—Has avisat els veïns que tenen criatures petites? —Sí, només aquests; la resta ja coneix l'horari.
—Have you notified the neighbors who have small children? —Yes, only those; the rest already knows the schedule.
—I els veïns del tercer? —Els veïns del tercer, que acaben d'arribar, encara no saben res.
—And the neighbors on the third floor? —The neighbors on the third floor, who have just arrived, still know nothing.
The first relative restricts the addressees to one subset. In the second reply, els veïns del tercer is already identifiable, and the comma-delimited relative explains why that entire group remains uninformed.
Regional and register guidance
The restrictive/nonrestrictive meaning and comma contrast hold across Central, Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese standards. Variation is most visible in spoken relative strategies, especially resumptive or general-purpose que. Use preposition + qui/què/el qual in (formal) IEC- or AVL-oriented writing when the relative has a prepositional role.
In (academic) prose, el qual can reduce ambiguity, but excessive use sounds heavy. In (informal) conversation, intonational pauses carry a distinction that writing must represent with punctuation.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying the English that/which rule.
❌ Els ordinadors els quals tenen la pantalla trencada són al fons.
Unnatural as a neutral restrictive subject relative—do not mechanically translate English which with els quals.
✅ Els ordinadors que tenen la pantalla trencada són al fons.
The computers that have a broken screen are at the back.
2. Using commas around information that selects a subset.
❌ Els passatgers, que porten equipatge especial, han d'anar al taulell dos.
Wrong if only passengers with special baggage must go there—the commas incorrectly include everyone.
✅ Els passatgers que porten equipatge especial han d'anar al taulell dos.
Passengers carrying special baggage must go to desk two.
3. Omitting commas around a true parenthetical.
❌ El meu únic germà que viu a Perpinyà vindrà demà.
Misleading if I have only one brother—the no-comma version suggests a contrast among brothers.
✅ El meu únic germà, que viu a Perpinyà, vindrà demà.
My only brother, who lives in Perpignan, will come tomorrow.
4. Using qui as a direct-object relative without a preposition.
❌ La clau qui vaig perdre era la del magatzem.
Incorrect—plain qui cannot represent the inanimate direct object here.
✅ La clau que vaig perdre era la del magatzem.
The key that I lost was the warehouse key.
Correction task
Punctuate Els membres que ja havien votat van marxar in two ways and explain the difference. With no commas, only the members who had voted left. With commas, every relevant member had voted and all left:
Els membres, que ja havien votat, van marxar.
The members, who had already voted, left.
Key Takeaways
- Restrictive relatives select a referent or subset and have no delimiting commas.
- Nonrestrictive relatives add an asserted parenthetical and are set off by pauses and commas.
- Catalan que serves both types; English “that versus which” is not the Catalan rule.
- Standard relative gaps normally exclude a redundant clitic, while left-dislocated topics require resumption.
- When a relative could attach to more than one noun, rewrite explicitly instead of relying on punctuation alone.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
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- Relative-Clause DependenciesC1 — Build Catalan relative clauses with gaps, prepositional relatives, free relatives, and carefully delimited resumptive strategies.
- Relative QueB1 — Use invariant unstressed que to build Catalan subject and direct-object relative clauses without omission, agreement, or stranded prepositions.
- Prepositional Relatives with Què, Qui, and El QualB1 — Choose què, qui, or the agreeing forms of el qual after Catalan prepositions and avoid stranded or resumptive alternatives.
- Apposition and Noun-Noun StructuresB2 — Learn how Catalan places two noun phrases side by side to identify, classify, or add information, with the punctuation and agreement each structure requires.