Learn Italian: I dipendenti per i quali compriamo il caffè sono stanchi. - The employees for whom we buy coffee are tired.

I dipendenti per i quali compriamo il caffè sono stanchi.

The employees for whom we buy coffee are tired.

Breakdown of I dipendenti per i quali compriamo il caffè sono stanchi.

Questions & Answers about I dipendenti per i quali compriamo il caffè sono stanchi.

Why do we use per i quali here instead of just per cui?

Both are grammatically correct and mean "for whom". cui is invariable, while the forms of il quale change to match the gender and number of the noun they refer to. Here, i quali matches the masculine plural i dipendenti. Using i quali is often slightly more formal and helps avoid ambiguity.

How do I know to use i quali rather than il quale, la quale, or le quali?

You look at the noun the pronoun refers back to. In this sentence, it refers to i dipendenti (the employees), which is masculine and plural. Therefore, you need the masculine plural relative pronoun: i quali.

Why is there an il before caffè when the English translation just says "coffee"?

In Italian, definite articles like il are generally required before nouns used in a general sense, including mass nouns like food and drink. While English simply says "we buy coffee", Italian requires the article: compriamo il caffè.

Why does the adjective stanchi end in an "-i"?