B1 Spanish grammar
Spanish Relative Pronouns: Que, Quien, El Que, and Donde
Relative pronouns connect a noun to information that identifies or describes it. Que is most general; quien, el que, and donde appear in more specific structures.
Spanish relative pronouns: Use que for people and things
Que can act as subject or object in a relative clause and does not change for gender or number.
La mujer que vive aquí es médica.Quick check
Choose the Spanish translation.
This is the book that I bought.
Use quien after prepositions or for parenthetical people
Quien and quienes refer only to people and commonly follow a preposition or appear in non-defining clauses.
Ana, con quien trabajo, vive cerca.Use article relatives and donde
El que and its forms clarify gender or follow prepositions; donde links a place to an event.
La casa en la que vivo está cerca del lugar donde trabajo.Build the sentence
1 / 10
Translate into Spanish
The woman who lives here is a doctor.
Choose the opening of the sentence.
Common mistakes
La mujer quien vive aquí es médica.
La mujer que vive aquí es médica.
Without a preposition or commas, que is the natural general relative.
El proyecto con quien trabajo
El proyecto en el que trabajo
Quien cannot refer to a thing.
La casa quien vivo
La casa en la que vivo
The relationship requires en plus a thing-relative form.
Ready to practise Spanish relative pronouns?
Complete an eight-question round and save skill-level progress for future review.
Relative pronouns FAQ
What does relative pronouns cover?
Relative pronouns connect a noun to information that identifies or describes it. Que is most general; quien, el que, and donde appear in more specific structures.
What is the first rule to remember?
Que can act as subject or object in a relative clause and does not change for gender or number.
What is another important B1 pattern?
Quien and quienes refer only to people and commonly follow a preposition or appear in non-defining clauses.
How can I practise Spanish relative pronouns?
Complete the focused round, review each correction, and repeat the lesson when its skills become due again.