Breakdown of L'errore, il quale ha provocato il fallimento, è evidente.
essere
to be
avere
to have
il quale
who, which, whom (formal relative pronoun; agrees with its noun)
l'errore
the mistake (m)
Questions & Answers about L'errore, il quale ha provocato il fallimento, è evidente.
Why use il quale here instead of the standard che?
While che is the standard relative pronoun for subjects, il quale is a formal, stylistic alternative. In written Italian or careful speech, it adds a touch of elegance. It is also highly useful for avoiding ambiguity when a sentence has multiple nouns, though here it simply elevates the formal tone of the sentence.
How do we know to use il quale instead of la quale or i quali?
Why are there commas around the relative clause, and could we remove them?
The commas make this a non-defining relative clause, meaning it adds extra information about an already-identified error. If you removed the commas, it would become a defining clause, specifying exactly which error is obvious out of several possibilities. Note that il quale is used much more frequently in non-defining clauses (with commas) than in defining ones where you would almost always just use che.
I've learned that fallimento means bankruptcy. Does it also mean failure in a general sense?