Relative Clauses: Complete Guide

A relative clause takes two sentences that share a noun and stitches them together using a relative pronoun — que, quien, el cual, lo que, cuyo, donde, and a few others. This master reference covers every Spanish relative pronoun, when to use each one, how commas change the meaning, and when to slip into the subjunctive. If you can't decide between que and quien, or el cual and el que, start here.

The key insight: Spanish has several relative pronouns where English mostly makes do with "who", "which", and "that". The different forms exist to mark formality, to refer back unambiguously, and to fit the grammar after prepositions.

1. Que — The Workhorse

Que is the most common relative pronoun by far. It can refer to people or things, both singular and plural, in restrictive clauses (no commas), and it works as both subject and direct object.

Unlike English, Spanish never drops the relative pronoun. Where English can say "the book I read", Spanish requires el libro *que leí*.

Que can also appear after short prepositions (a, con, de, en) when referring to things:

In many of these cases contemporary speakers actually prefer el que / el cual (see below). For the full list, see relative que.

2. Quien / Quienes — People Only

Quien (singular) and quienes (plural) refer only to people. They appear in two main contexts:

• After a preposition: the cleanest way to refer to a person after a, de, con, para, por, sin, etc.
• In non-restrictive clauses (set off by commas), as a stylistic alternative to que.

Don't use quien in a restrictive clause without a preposition — use que instead:

• Right: La mujer que vive al lado es abogada.
• Wrong: La mujer quien vive al lado es abogada.

See relative quien.

3. El que / La que / Los que / Las que — Emphatic and Post-Prepositional

The forms el que, la que, los que, las que function as an emphatic replacement for que. They're used:

• After prepositions (especially longer ones like por, para, sobre, durante, sin), particularly when the antecedent is a thing.
• To focus attention on one referent out of several — like English "the one that".
• In non-restrictive clauses, as a more formal alternative.

The gender and number agree with the antecedent noun. See el que and el cual.

4. El cual / La cual / Los cuales / Las cuales — Formal

The el cual series is the most formal and most unambiguous of the relatives. It's most at home after long prepositions, in non-restrictive clauses, and in written Spanish. In everyday speech you'll hear it rarely; in a legal document or a newspaper editorial, it's common.

A key advantage of el cual: when there are multiple possible antecedents, it can make clear which one you mean, because it agrees in gender and number with its antecedent:

Here la cual makes clear that "la hija" is the speaker, not el presidente. If you said quien me dijo, the reference would be ambiguous.

5. Lo que — The Neuter ("What, That Which")

Lo que is a neuter relative that doesn't refer to any specific noun but to an idea, action, or situation. It corresponds to English "what" in sentences like I know what you mean.

You can think of lo que as meaning "the thing that" — the grammatical head is the neuter article lo, and que is the actual relative pronoun. See relative lo que.

6. Lo cual — Refers to a Whole Clause

Lo cual is similar to lo que, but it specifically refers back to an entire previous clause rather than to an implied noun. Think of it as "which" referring to the whole thing that was just said.

In each example, lo cual refers back to the entire previous idea — "arriving late", "not calling me", "raising prices" — not to any single noun. In many contexts lo que can be swapped in with only a slight shift in formality.

7. Cuyo / Cuya / Cuyos / Cuyas — "Whose"

Cuyo is the relative possessive — "whose" or "of which". It agrees with the thing possessed, not with the possessor, and it always comes directly before the noun it modifies.

Cuyo is fairly formal and belongs mostly to written Spanish. In speech, native speakers often rephrase to avoid it (el escritor que ganó el premio con su libro). Never use cuyo in a direct question — for "whose?" as a question word, use ¿de quién?. See cuyo and cuyo in clauses.

8. Donde / Adonde — "Where"

Donde works as a relative adverb referring to places. Use adonde (or a donde) when direction/movement is implied.

You can substitute en el que / en la que for donde and al que / a la que for adonde, but donde is usually smoother. See relative donde.

9. Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive — The Comma Rule

This is one of the most important distinctions in Spanish punctuation.

Restrictive (no commas)

A restrictive clause narrows down the noun — it answers "which one(s)?". Remove it and the sentence loses essential information.

Here we're picking out only the studying students. Without que estudian, the sentence would mean all students pass.

Non-restrictive (with commas)

A non-restrictive clause adds extra information about an already-identified noun. Remove it and the core meaning survives.

Here all the students study, and we're noting that as additional information.

The comma changes the meaning. See restrictive relatives and non-restrictive relatives.

10. Subjunctive in Relative Clauses

A relative clause uses the subjunctive when the antecedent is:

• Unknown — you're looking for someone or something, but you don't know if they exist.
• Hypothetical — anyone who meets the criteria, whoever.
• Negative or nonexistent — there is no such person/thing.

With known, existing antecedents, use the indicative.

See subjunctive in relative clauses.

11. Choosing Between Relatives After a Preposition

After a preposition, you have several options. Here's a quick guide:

See relatives with prepositions.

12. Master Cheat Sheet

13. Putting It Together

Summary

• Que is the default relative pronoun for people and things in restrictive clauses.
• Quien/quienes refers only to people, typically after prepositions or in non-restrictive clauses.
• El que / la que / los que / las que is an emphatic, gender-agreeing alternative that also works after prepositions.
• El cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales is the most formal and disambiguating form.
• Lo que is the neuter "what, that which"; lo cual refers to a whole preceding clause.
• Cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas means "whose" and agrees with the possessed noun.
• Donde and adonde are relative adverbs for places.
• Commas change meaning: restrictive clauses narrow down the noun; non-restrictive clauses add extra info.
• The subjunctive appears in relative clauses when the antecedent is unknown, hypothetical, or negative.

Master this system and complex Spanish sentences become much easier to build and parse.