Linking clauses (que)

When giving a witness account, you will often need to connect details about a suspect. To link two ideas and describe someone or something without starting a new sentence, use the relative pronoun que.

There is a witness who knows the thief.
Hay un testigo que conoce al ladrón.
The man who wears glasses has a black beard.
El hombre que usa lentes tiene una barba negra.

People and Things

In English, we usually use "who" for people and "that" or "which" for things. In Spanish, it is much simpler: que covers all of these! It is used for both people and objects, and it never changes form to match gender or number.

The suspect who is escaping is the thief.
El sospechoso que escapa es el ladrón.
The witness notices the tattoo that the man has.
El testigo nota el tatuaje que tiene el hombre.

Never drop "que"

In English, we sometimes drop the connecting word entirely (for example, "You are the witness the guard needs"). In Spanish, you can never leave out que.

You are the witness that the guard needs.
Eres el testigo que el guardia necesita.
Do you see the car that the suspect is driving?
¿Ves el carro que maneja el sospechoso?