Relative Pronoun Che: The Universal Relativizer

If Italian had a single relative pronoun, it would be che. This little word is the most frequent relativizer in the language: it does the work that English splits across who, whom, that, which for both subject and direct-object roles. Che is invariable — it never changes form. It refers to people (la donna che parla) and things (il libro che leggo). It introduces both subject clauses (l'uomo che è arrivato) and direct-object clauses (il film che ho visto). Whether the antecedent is masculine or feminine, singular or plural, you write che. Always.

There is one — and only one — restriction: che cannot follow a preposition. After a, di, da, in, su, per, con, senza, tra/fra, you must use cui (or, in formal style, il quale). Once you have absorbed this single rule, the relative pronoun system in Italian is dramatically simpler than the equivalent in English, where a learner has to navigate "who" vs "whom" vs "that" vs "which," and where preposition placement (with whom, who...with) is its own minefield.

This page covers the two main functions of che (subject and direct object), the never-after-a-preposition rule, the participle-agreement question in compound tenses, the distinction between che as a relative pronoun and che as a conjunction, and the most common errors English speakers make when this one word has to do so much.

1. Che as subject of the relative clause

In a relative clause where the antecedent is the subject of the clause's verb, use che.

In all five sentences, the antecedent (la ragazza, il libro, le persone, l'uomo, il bambino) is the subject of the verb in the relative clause (parla, è, vivono, ha vinto, piange). English sometimes uses who for people and that/which for things; Italian uses che for both, no exceptions.

2. Che as direct object of the relative clause

When the antecedent is the direct object of the relative clause's verb, you again use che — and the verb of the relative clause has its own subject elsewhere in the clause.

In English, the relative pronoun is often dropped in object position ("The book I'm reading," "The people I saw"). Italian never drops it. Il libro leggo is wrong — you must say il libro che leggo.

This is one of the most common transfer errors English speakers make: they hear "the book I'm reading" and try to translate it word-for-word, leaving out the relative pronoun. In Italian, the che is grammatically obligatory whenever a relative clause modifies a noun, regardless of whether English would express it.

3. The single restriction: che never follows a preposition

This is the only place where che falls down. After any preposition (a, di, da, in, su, per, con, senza, tra/fra, davanti a, dietro a, sotto, sopra, oltre, attraverso...), the relative pronoun must be cui (the everyday form) or il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali (the formal form).

The mechanical rule: see a preposition before the relative pronoun → write cui (or il quale), never che. There is no version of Italian where di che, a che, in che, su che, con che introduces a relative clause referring back to a noun.

(Note: the question word che — "what" — does follow some prepositions in interrogative use, e.g. In che senso? "In what sense?", A che ora? "At what time?". That che is interrogative, not relative; it does not refer back to a noun. The two functions are spelled the same but operate in different syntactic environments.)

For the full system of cui, see Cui: The Prepositional Relative. For the formal alternative il quale, see Il quale: The Formal Relative.

4. Participle agreement with che as direct object

When che is the direct object and the verb of the relative clause is in a compound tense (passato prossimo, trapassato, etc.), traditional Italian grammars allow — and historically required — agreement of the past participle with the antecedent.

In modern usage, this agreement is largely optional and is increasingly skipped — most native speakers say i libri che ho letto without varying the participle. Some careful writers, especially in formal prose, still apply it. Both are accepted; the unmarked masculine singular is the safer default for a learner.

The agreement rule does remain mandatory for direct-object clitics lo / la / li / le (independent of relative clauses): L'ho letto (I read it m.), L'ho letta (I read it f.), Li ho letti (I read them m.), Le ho lette (I read them f.). With relative che, the rule is loosening.

5. Distinguishing relative che from conjunction che

The word che has another life: as the conjunction introducing a complement clause after verbs of saying, thinking, feeling, and after impersonal expressions. Both spellings are identical; what tells them apart is their syntactic role.

Conjunction che ("that" — declarative or volitive):

Relative che ("who, that, which" — refers back to a noun):

How to tell them apart in real time:

• The relative che has a noun antecedent immediately before it — il libro che, la donna che, le persone che. Cut the relative clause off and the antecedent stands alone as a noun phrase.
• The conjunction che follows a verb of saying/thinking/feeling, or an impersonal expression. There is no noun antecedent the che refers back to; it introduces a whole clause as the verb's content.

In practice, a sentence like Marco mi ha detto che il film che ho visto era bellissimo has both: the first che is the conjunction (introducing what Marco said), the second che is the relative (referring back to il film).

6. The "il fatto che" pattern

A specific construction worth memorizing: il fatto che + verb (often subjunctive) = "the fact that..." Here che introduces a clause that complements the noun fatto ("fact"). It functions on the boundary between relative pronoun and complementizer, and grammar books treat it both ways.

The il fatto che construction triggers the subjunctive in the dependent clause when the speaker treats the fact subjectively (with reaction, emotion, or evaluation). When the fact is treated as plain reality, the indicative is acceptable too: Il fatto che è qui... ("The fact that he is here..."). The subjunctive is the more frequent choice in modern usage.

7. Other common contexts for relative che

7.1 With ecco

The combination ecco + noun + che is a common construction for "here is X (who/that)..."

7.2 With cleft constructions

The cleft è X che + clause ("it is X who/that...") is used for emphasis:

7.3 With abstract antecedents — quello che, ciò che

When the antecedent is an abstract concept rather than a specific noun, Italian uses quello che or ciò che ("what, the thing that"):

These are not "bare" relative clauses — they include their own antecedent (quello, ciò). The relative pronoun is still che, doing the same subject/direct-object work.

8. The English speaker's simplification

If you are coming from English, the che system is dramatically simpler than what you left behind. English distinguishes:

• who for human subjects ("the woman who spoke")
• whom for human objects ("the woman whom I saw" — increasingly archaic)
• that for either ("the woman that spoke," "the book that I read") — the workhorse
• which for non-human ("the book which I read")

Italian collapses all four into che, with no distinction by humanness, animacy, or subject/object role. The single thing you must remember is the preposition restriction. That's a real simplification, and once you internalize it, you can build relative clauses faster than you could in English.

9. Avoiding the redundant pronoun trap

A very common transfer error: Italian learners sometimes add a redundant direct-object pronoun inside the relative clause, especially when translating from a language that allows or requires it (like spoken Spanish, Portuguese, or some English dialects).

The reason: che absorbs both the subject and the direct-object role. Adding a clitic creates a doubled function and breaks the syntax. Resist the urge.

A separate construction does exist where a clitic legitimately appears in a relative clause: when the clitic refers to a different element, not the antecedent itself. For example, Il libro che mi hai dato — mi (to me) refers to the indirect object, not to il libro. That's perfectly fine. The error is only adding a direct-object clitic that duplicates the function of che.

10. Common mistakes

Key takeaways

1. Che is invariable: the same form covers masculine and feminine, singular and plural, people and things.

2. Che works as both subject and direct object of the relative clause. La donna che parla (subject), il libro che leggo (direct object).

3. Che cannot follow a preposition. After a, di, da, in, su, per, con, senza, tra/fra, use cui (or il quale in formal style).

4. Italian does not drop the relative pronoun. Where English says "the book I'm reading," Italian must say il libro che leggo.

5. Participle agreement with che as direct object in compound tenses is optional in modern Italian. I libri che ho letto (modern, no agreement) and i libri che ho letti (traditional, with agreement) are both accepted; the invariable form is more common.

6. Don't add a redundant direct-object clitic inside the relative clause. Il libro che lo leggo is wrong; il libro che leggo is right.

7. Distinguish relative che from conjunction che. The relative has a noun antecedent immediately before it; the conjunction follows a verb of saying/thinking or an impersonal expression.

For the prepositional relative pronoun, see Cui. For the formal alternative, see Il quale. For participle agreement in compound tenses, see Compound Tense Participle Agreement.