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### The relative pronoun *cui*

In English, we often end a relative clause with a preposition (for example, "the news I am writing *about*"). In Italian, the preposition must always come *before* the relative pronoun. When a relative pronoun follows a preposition, you cannot use *che*; instead, you must use the invariable pronoun **cui** (whom/which).

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### Talking about topics with *di cui*

Many Italian verbs, such as **parlare** (to talk) or **scrivere** (to write), use the preposition **di** to mean "about." To say "about which" or "about whom," combine **di** with **cui**.

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### Directing actions with *a cui*

Similarly, verbs that direct an action toward someone or something use the preposition **a** (to). Use **a cui** to mean "to whom" or "to which." Notice how this works with verbs like **scrivere** (to write to) or expressions like **fare un'intervista** (to do an interview with/to).

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### Reporting the news

You will use these relative pronouns frequently when discussing media, sources, and politics. Always look at the verb in the relative clause to know whether you need **di cui**, **a cui**, or another preposition.

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Relative pronouns with prepositions (cui)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (il, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
the topic (m)	l'argomento
whom / which	cui
the news	la notizia
The topic we are talking about is important news.	L'argomento di cui parliamo è una notizia importante.
the politician	il politico
the interview (f)	l'intervista
The politician I am interviewing arrives tomorrow.	Il politico a cui faccio l'intervista arriva domani.
the source	la fonte
reliable	affidabile
The source I am talking about is definitely reliable.	La fonte di cui parlo è sicuramente affidabile.
the daily newspaper	il quotidiano
The news I am writing about is in the daily newspaper.	La notizia di cui scrivo è nel quotidiano.
to confirm	confermare
The daily newspaper we are writing to confirms the topic.	Il quotidiano a cui scriviamo conferma l'argomento.
to publish	pubblicare
The daily newspaper publishes the interview the politician is talking about.	Il quotidiano pubblica l'intervista di cui parla il politico.
The source I am asking for the information confirms everything.	La fonte a cui chiedo l'informazione conferma tutto.
I would talk about the politician I am reading about today.	Parlerei del politico di cui leggo oggi.
The politician I am answering often goes on television.	Il politico a cui rispondo va spesso in televisione.
The director publishes a reliable piece of news we often talk about.	Il direttore pubblica una notizia affidabile di cui parliamo spesso.

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