Relative Pronoun Que (The Most Common) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Que is the most common relative pronoun in Portuguese and the one you will use dozens of times a day. It links a noun (the antecedent) to a clause that describes or identifies it — the equivalent of English that, which, who, whom all rolled into a single invariable word. "The book *that I bought," "the woman who called," "the film which we saw" — all three English relatives correspond to Portuguese *que. Because English distinguishes these and sometimes lets you drop them entirely ("the book I bought"), English speakers often underuse or misuse que. In Portuguese, the relative pronoun is obligatory — you cannot leave it out — and the same form covers almost every basic case.

What a relative pronoun does

A relative pronoun does two jobs at once. First, it stands in for a noun inside the clause (as subject or object). Second, it connects that clause to the main sentence. Think of it as a bridge between two ideas:

O homem [está ali]. O homem [viu o acidente]. → O homem *que viu o acidente está ali. (The man [is there]. The man [saw the accident]. → The man *who saw the accident is there.)

The shared noun (o homem) is mentioned once, in the main clause. Inside the relative clause, que takes its place. This is the core move — every relative clause works this way.

O homem que viu o acidente está ali.

The man who saw the accident is over there.

A rapariga que conheci ontem é portuguesa.

The girl I met yesterday is Portuguese.

O livro que comprei no aeroporto é fascinante.

The book I bought at the airport is fascinating.

Que works for people, things, and concepts

Unlike English, which hesitates between who (for people) and which/that (for things), Portuguese que is completely indifferent to whether the antecedent is human or not. The same word covers all three.

O professor que te ensinou matemática agora vive em Coimbra.

The teacher who taught you maths now lives in Coimbra.

A casa que comprámos tem três quartos.

The house we bought has three bedrooms.

A ideia que tiveste é genial.

The idea you had is brilliant.

Os miúdos que jogam no parque são os meus vizinhos.

The kids who are playing in the park are my neighbours.

Beginners sometimes reach for quem to refer to people, by analogy with English who. In Portuguese, quem has a much narrower job — it mostly appears after prepositions (a quem, de quem, com quem). For a plain relative clause with no preposition, use que, even when the antecedent is a person. This is one of the first instincts you need to retrain coming from English.

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If in doubt, and there is no preposition involved, use que. It is the default, it works for people and things alike, and it is almost never wrong in a basic relative clause.

Que as subject of the relative clause

When que represents the subject of the verb inside the relative clause — the one doing the action — it sits right after the antecedent, and the verb follows immediately.

Tenho uma amiga que fala cinco línguas.

I have a friend who speaks five languages.

O comboio que parte às seis já está na plataforma.

The train that leaves at six is already on the platform.

Preciso de alguém que saiba programar.

I need someone who knows how to code.

Os cães que ladram muito não mordem.

Dogs that bark a lot don't bite. (proverb)

Notice the last example: in que saiba programar, the verb is in the subjunctive (saiba from saber) because the antecedent alguém is indefinite — I'm looking for someone whose existence I'm not yet sure of. This is a separate topic covered in the subjunctive pages, but it shows how relative clauses interact with mood.

Que as direct object of the relative clause

When que represents the direct object inside the relative clause — what the action falls upon — the structure still begins with que, but the subject of the relative clause now appears after it, typically followed by the verb. English famously lets you drop the relative in this case ("the book I bought"); Portuguese never does.

O livro que li ontem era fantástico.

The book (that) I read yesterday was fantastic.

A canção que tu ouviste na rádio é nova.

The song you heard on the radio is new.

Aquele filme que vimos no cinema foi muito longo.

That film (that) we saw at the cinema was very long.

Os bolos que a minha avó faz são os melhores do mundo.

The cakes (that) my grandmother makes are the best in the world.

Portuguese speakers routinely write the subject of the relative clause right after que: que tu ouviste, que a minha avó faz, que os miúdos comeram. English speakers sometimes instinctively skip que altogether ("the book I bought" → "o livro comprei"). This is ungrammatical in Portuguese. The relative pronoun is always explicit.

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English lets you drop that when it's the object: "the book I bought". Portuguese never allows this. "O livro comprei" is wrong. Always keep que: "O livro que comprei".

Restrictive vs non-restrictive clauses — the comma rule

Portuguese, like English, distinguishes two kinds of relative clauses:

Restrictive — the clause identifies which one you mean. Essential information. No commas.
Non-restrictive — the clause adds extra information about an already-identified antecedent. Separated by commas.

The practical impact: in writing, the comma signals the difference. In speech, there is a slight pause before a non-restrictive clause. The meanings are genuinely different — a restrictive clause narrows the noun, a non-restrictive one adds a parenthetical.

Os alunos que estudaram passaram no exame.

The students who studied passed the exam. (restrictive — only those who studied passed)

Os alunos, que estudaram, passaram no exame.

The students, who (all) studied, passed the exam. (non-restrictive — all the students studied, and all of them passed)

The first sentence implies that some students didn't study and didn't pass. The second implies every student studied, and every student passed. One comma, two very different meanings.

Tenho um primo que vive no Brasil.

I have a cousin who lives in Brazil. (restrictive — one of several cousins; this one lives in Brazil)

O meu pai, que vive no Brasil, vem visitar-nos em agosto.

My father, who lives in Brazil, is coming to visit us in August. (non-restrictive — I only have one father; the clause adds info)

A minha mulher, que é médica, trabalha no hospital de Santa Maria.

My wife, who is a doctor, works at Santa Maria hospital. (non-restrictive — I have one wife)

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If the antecedent is unique (o meu pai, a minha mulher, o presidente de Portugal), the clause is almost always non-restrictive — use commas. If the antecedent is one of several (um primo, os alunos, a casa), the clause usually narrows it down — no commas.

Que cannot follow most prepositions

Here is the one place where que hits its limit. After most prepositions, European Portuguese speakers avoid plain que and switch to another relative. This is the opposite of English, where "the thing that I'm talking about" is fine and "the thing about which I'm talking" feels stilted.

With a person after a preposition → quem: "o amigo *a quem escrevi"*
With anything after a preposition, more formally → o qual / a qual: "o livro *sobre o qual falámos"*
For place → onde: "a cidade *onde vivo"*

There is one exception: with short prepositions a, com, de, em, por, Portuguese speakers do routinely use que when the antecedent is a thing or concept:

O assunto de que falámos foi resolvido.

The matter we talked about was resolved.

A ideia em que pensei a noite toda.

The idea I thought about all night.

A caneta com que escrevo é muito antiga.

The pen I write with is very old.

O problema a que te referes já não existe.

The problem you're referring to no longer exists.

These preposition + que combinations feel natural with things, but native speakers tend to prefer a quem over a que when the antecedent is a person. Full treatment of these patterns is on the o qual and quem pages.

O filme de que te falei está agora nas salas.

The film I told you about is now in cinemas.

A rapariga a quem dei o livro é a minha prima.

The girl I gave the book to is my cousin. (with person — quem preferred)

Word order in the relative clause

Portuguese has flexible word order, but inside a relative clause a few conventions tighten things up.

Subject after que is common: because que itself often carries the grammatical role (subject or object), the explicit subject noun often moves just after que, then the verb follows:

O bolo que a Ana fez estava delicioso.

The cake Ana made was delicious.

A carta que o meu irmão escreveu chegou hoje.

The letter my brother wrote arrived today.

Subject pronouns are usually omitted because Portuguese is pro-drop — "o livro que comprei" (not "o livro que eu comprei," though the longer version is not wrong, just redundant):

O livro que comprei é caro.

The book I bought is expensive.

As músicas que ouves são todas portuguesas?

Are the songs you listen to all Portuguese?

Que + é que — the extended form

In spoken and written Portuguese, especially in questions and emphatic structures, you will often hear que é que ("that is that") — a pattern more associated with interrogatives, but also used to mark emphasis in relatives. This is cleft-sentence territory:

Foi a Ana que fez o bolo.

It was Ana who made the cake. (cleft sentence)

É este livro que eu quero ler.

It's this book that I want to read. (cleft)

Foi ontem que eles chegaram.

It was yesterday that they arrived.

In these cleft sentences, que behaves like a relative pronoun even when there is no traditional noun antecedent — "foi ontem que..." treats ontem as the antecedent. Don't worry about the theoretical classification; just recognize that "foi X que..." is a natural Portuguese way to put emphasis on X.

O que — "what" as a relative

When there is no explicit antecedent noun — the English equivalent being what (meaning that which) — Portuguese uses o que:

Não entendo o que ele está a dizer.

I don't understand what he is saying.

Faz o que quiseres.

Do what you want.

Diz-me o que aconteceu.

Tell me what happened.

O que me disseste ontem mudou tudo.

What you told me yesterday changed everything.

Here o que is short for aquilo que ("that which"), with o as a neuter demonstrative. Don't confuse this with the interrogative o que in direct questions ("O que é isto?" — "What is this?"), which is a separate construction. The distinction is that the relative o que appears inside a larger sentence; the interrogative o que starts one.

Sabes o que ele fez?

Do you know what he did? (relative — inside a larger sentence)

O que ele fez?

What did he do? (interrogative — starting a direct question)

Summary table: when to use que

Role in relative clause	Antecedent	Use	Example
Subject	person or thing	que	o homem que fala
Direct object	person or thing	que	o livro que li
After short preposition (a, de, em, com, por)	thing	prep + que (or prep + o qual)	o tema de que falámos
After short preposition	person	prep + quem	o amigo a quem escrevi
After most other prepositions (sobre, contra, para, etc.)	any	prep + o qual	o problema sobre o qual falámos
No explicit antecedent, "what"	—	o que	o que ele disse
Place	place	onde	a cidade onde vivo
Possession	any	cujo/a/os/as (formal)	o aluno cujo livro perdi

Comparison with English

English has a tangled system of relative pronouns: who for subjects who are people, whom for objects who are people (largely dying), which for things, that for either, and the option to drop the relative altogether when it is the object. Portuguese is far simpler: que covers almost every case, it cannot be dropped, and you only switch to another relative when a preposition gets involved or when you want to be precise about a person, a place, or possession.

English	Portuguese	Note
who (subject, person)	que	"the man who came" — o homem que veio
whom (object, person)	que	"the man I saw" — o homem que vi
which (subject, thing)	que	"the book that is on the table" — o livro que está na mesa
that (object, thing)	que	"the book I read" — o livro que li
[dropped]	que (obligatory)	"the book I read" — o livro que li, never just o livro li

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The single biggest transfer error from English is dropping que. Train yourself to always insert it. In Portuguese, que is the glue that holds the clause together — you cannot leave it out.

Common mistakes

❌ O livro comprei ontem é caro.

Incorrect — que is obligatory, cannot be dropped.

✅ O livro que comprei ontem é caro.

The book I bought yesterday is expensive.

❌ O homem quem vi no parque.

Incorrect — in a plain (preposition-less) relative clause, use que for both people and things, not quem.

✅ O homem que vi no parque.

The man I saw in the park.

❌ A minha mãe que vive em Lisboa vem visitar-nos.

If you only have one mother, this should be non-restrictive with commas.

✅ A minha mãe, que vive em Lisboa, vem visitar-nos.

My mother, who lives in Lisbon, is coming to visit us.

❌ O tema sobre que falámos.

With 'sobre' (a longer preposition), European Portuguese prefers 'sobre o qual'.

✅ O tema sobre o qual falámos.

The topic we talked about.

❌ Não sei que dizer.

Non-standard in EP when no antecedent — use 'o que' for 'what'.

✅ Não sei o que dizer.

I don't know what to say.

Key takeaways

Que is the default relative pronoun, covering both people and things, as both subject and object of the relative clause.
It is invariable — no gender or number agreement.
It cannot be dropped, unlike English that in object position.
Restrictive clauses (essential info) have no commas; non-restrictive clauses (extra info) use commas around the clause.
With short prepositions (a, de, em, com, por), que works with things but quem is preferred with people.
With longer prepositions (sobre, contra, para, entre), switch to o qual or, for people, quem.
For "what" with no antecedent, use o que.
For place, use onde. For possession, use cujo.