Breakdown of Hay un testigo que conoce al ladrón.
un
a, an (masculine)
haber
to be (there is / there are)
al
to the
conocer
to know (people, places)
Questions & Answers about Hay un testigo que conoce al ladrón.
Why do we use que for "who" in this sentence instead of quien?
In Spanish, que is the most common relative pronoun and can mean "who", "that", or "which". It is used for both people and things. While quien also means "who", it is mostly used after prepositions (like in con quien, meaning "with whom"). When linking a person directly to an action, as in un testigo que conoce (a witness who knows), que is the standard choice.
Why is the word conoce used here for "knows" instead of sabe?
Where does al come from before ladrón?
The word al is a mandatory combination of the preposition a and the masculine article el. The a here is the "personal a", which Spanish requires when the direct receiver of an action is a specific person (like the thief). So, a plus el ladrón shrinks into the single word al ladrón.
If the witness were a woman, would the word change to ?