Connecting ideas with che
To describe a specific person, animal, or thing by adding more information about them, use the relative pronoun che (who, whom, which, or that).
In Italian, che is incredibly versatile and never changes its form. Whether the noun it refers to is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural, you will always use the exact same word.
Che as the subject
Often, che acts as the subject of the action that follows it. In English, we typically use "who" for people and "that" or "which" for animals and objects. In Italian, che covers all of these.
| The farmer who works on the farm is tired. | Il contadino che lavora nella fattoria è stanco. |
| The hens that eat in the field are small. | Le galline che mangiano nel campo sono piccole. |
| The pig that is eating the apple is very fat. | Il maiale che mangia la mela è molto grasso. |
Che as the direct object
Che can also act as the direct object of the phrase that follows it.
In English, we often drop the word "that" when it is an object (for example, we might simply say "the wheat you eat" instead of "the wheat that you eat"). In Italian, you cannot skip this word; you must always include che to connect the ideas.
| The cow that you see on the farm gives a lot of milk. | La mucca che vedi nella fattoria dà molto latte. |
| We cultivate the wheat that you eat every day. | Coltiviamo il grano che mangi ogni giorno. |
| The tomato that the farmer gathers touches the earth. | Il pomodoro che il contadino raccoglie tocca la terra. |
