RELATIVE PRONOUNS – SOME BASIC CONCEPTS I. Combining

RELATIVE PRONOUNS – SOME BASIC CONCEPTS
I. Combining two sentences. Replace the “repeated” concept with a connecting word or phrase called
a relative pronoun.
Comimos las galletas.
Las galletas estaban en el platillo.
Comimos las galletas que estaban en el platillo.
La mujer es una estrella de películas.
Entrevisté a la mujer.
La mujer a quien entrevisté es una estrella de películas.
II. Essential information? Look at the two situations. Which one requires both sentences to be
understood clearly?
#1
Juan habló con una mujer.
#2
Juan habló con una mujer.
La mujer era rubia.
La mujer era rubia.
In situation #1, we see only one woman, so we don’t need the second statement to identify which
woman we are talking about. “La mujer era rubia” is not essential.
In situation #2, we see three women, so we need more information (the second statement) to be able
to identify which woman we are talking about. “La mujer era rubia” is essential.
Non-essential / Non-restrictive clause
Juan habló con una mujer.
La mujer era rubia.
Juan habló con una mujer, que era rubia.
Notice the comma! We
can leave off the clause
and still be understood.
Essential / Restrictive clause
Juan habló con una mujer.
La mujer era rubia.
Juan habló con una mujer que era rubia.
No comma! We must
include the clause in order
to be understood.
que
quien (es)
el/la cual
los/las cuales
el/la que
los/las que
cuyo/a/os/as
lo que
lo cual
donde
Refers to persons
Refers to things
Restrictive clauses (no commas)
Non-restrictive clauses (commas) when speaking (informal usage)
Invariable (no plural form)
Refers to persons
Restrictive clauses (no commas) when preceded by a preposition
Non-restrictive clauses (commas)
Refers to persons
Refers to things
Agrees in gender and number with the antecedent
Non-restrictive clauses (commas): alternative to que/quien(es)
Also used to avoid ambiguity when there are two antecedents of
different genders
An alternative to el/la/los/las cual(es) after a preposition
Agrees in gender and number with the antecedent
Refers to possession
Agrees in gender and number with the antecedent
Never used as a question word! Use ¿De quién?
Refers to an entire clause
Neuter (neither masculine nor feminine)
Invariable (no plural form)
Refers to location
Invariable (no plural form)