Five-minute Spanish Lessons - Lesson 12.

Relative Pronouns (4).

Who, which, that / el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales, quien, quienes, que, el que, la que

Now let's look at non-identifying relative clauses (also called non-defining or non-restrictive relative clauses).

This is where we do not identify the antecedent (the noun the relative pronoun refers to) but add complementary information. The difference is important to note as the meaning can change depending on the punctuation of the relative clause:

Taxi drivers who drink are a danger on the roads.

Los conductores de taxi que beben son un peligro en la carretera.

Identifying relative clause.

Taxi drivers, who drink, are a danger on the roads.

Los conductores de taxi, que beben, son un peligro en la carretera.

Non-identifying relative clause.

The first sentence states that the only dangerous taxi drivers are those who drink. The second is insulting and says all taxi drivers drink!

Note that in Spanish and English a non-identifying clause must have commas separating it from the rest of the sentence. In English, in non-identifying clauses, only who can be used with reference to people and only which with reference to things and abstract nouns, ie.: non-human antecedents; that is not possible.

In Spanish, que, quien or el cual (plus other variations: la cual, los cuales, las cuales) can be used in non-identifying clauses when referring to people and all the above except for quien when the referring to an object or abstract noun. No accent is placed on these relative pronouns. Here are some examples:

My father, who is much better now, has started jogging again.

Mi padre, que / quien / el cual / está mucho mejor, ha vuelto a hacer footing.

The old, rusty car, which they found in the ditch, had been there for weeks.

El viejo coche oxidado, que / el cual encontraron en la cuneta, llevaba allí varias semanas.

The bells, which were restored last year, now chime every quarter.

Las campanas, que / las cuales fueron restauradas el año pasado, tocan todos los cuartos.

After prepositions, Spanish also uses el que / la que / los que / las que also for human or non-human antecedents. (Que by itself after prepositions is only used in the few exceptions I talked about in the lesson relative pronouns 3.) In colloquial Spanish, these are preferable to el cual and its variants. Note how in English, the prepositions come at the end - this is impossible in Spanish:

Una amiga, con la que / con quien pasé un fin de semana, me ha escrito.

A friend, who I spent a weekend with, has written to me.

Dos chicos de Sevilla, por los que / por quienes se enteró Juan del partido de fútbol, le dieron una entrada gratis.

Two lads from Seville, who he found out about the football match from, gave him a free pass.

Yo fui por el vino, con el cual no tardé en despachar la salchicha.

I went for the wine, which I didn't take long to finish the sausage off with.

However, learners of Spanish should note that el cual and its variants are used frequently in the following situations. These relative pronouns are reserved for more formal Spanish. And it is often used after según (according to):

El Alcalde de Paysmuga, según el cual la presencia de tanta basura no causa problemas, tiene sus días contados en el ayuntamiento.

The Mayor of Paysmuga, according to whom the presence of so much rubbish is not a problem, is on borrowed time in the Town Hall.

Note the necessary yet formal whom when who falls after a preposition.

El cual is, in fact, fairly common after long prepositions of more than one syllable or more than one word: para / mediante / a pesar de / detrás de etc:

Las lluvias torrenciales, a pesar de las cuales pude llegar a mi trabajo, han dejado las carreteras inundadas.

The torrential rain, despite which I still managed to get to work in, left the roads flooded. (formal English)

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