Question 1

The English translation says "who", so why does the Spanish sentence use que instead of quien?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, que is the most common relative pronoun. It can mean "that", "which", or "who". Even though we are talking about a person (el hombre), que is perfectly correct and is actually the most natural choice here to link the ideas. While quien (who) exists, it is mostly used in formal writing or right after a preposition, like con quien (with whom).

Question 2

I thought usa meant "uses". Why does it translate to "wears" here?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, the verb usar (to use) is very commonly used to mean "to wear" when talking about everyday clothing, accessories, makeup, or glasses (lentes). You can also use the verb llevar to mean "to wear", so el hombre que lleva lentes would also be completely correct!

Question 3

Why isn't there an article before lentes? Shouldn't it be usa unos lentes?

Accepted Answer

When talking about wearing a general category of clothing or accessories, Spanish often drops the article. Saying usa lentes is just like saying "wears glasses" in English. You only add an article if you are talking about specific glasses, like usa los lentes de sol (he wears the sunglasses).

Question 4

How do we know which verb belongs to which part of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The main subject of the sentence is el hombre. The phrase que usa lentes is just a descriptive clause linked by que. If you temporarily remove it, the main sentence skeleton becomes clear: el hombre tiene una barba negra (the man has a black beard). The verb usa belongs to que, which refers back to the man.

El hombre que usa lentes tiene una barba negra.

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