Relative Words
Used
Between Clauses
Elizabeth Navedo Arbeláez
S00069808
Contrastive Analysis of English and Spanish
ENGL 360
Professor: Dr. Evelyn Lugo Morales
Functions of the Connectors
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Both Spanish and English have words that work between
clauses as connectors, linking one clause to another.
Sometimes the connector or relator work as a coordinator, which
means, that it unites two clauses which otherwise would function
as independent clauses
Example: I know that you see me
Yo sé que me ves.
On other occasions the connector works as a relative pronoun; it
has an antecedent (a word to which it refers) in the main clause
of the sentence.
Example: She is the girl who(m) I saw
Ella es la muchacha que vi.
Subordinating Conjunctions
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In English the subordinating conjunction that is used to
connect two clauses.
Without the subordinating conjunction, both clauses will
work totally independent, as two separate sentences.
Example: I hope that you will come
I hope
you will come
In Spanish the subordinating conjunction que is never
left out however, in English in can be omitted.
Subordinating Conjunction THAT
Relator Expressed
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I know that you see me.
He thinks that we live here.
They believe that I know you.
She said that she could do it.
Please remember that I need it.
Relator Suppressed
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I know you see me.
He thinks we live here.
They believe I know you.
She said she could do it.
Please remember I need it.
Relative Pronouns
English
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which, that, who, whom
who, whom
which, that, who, whom
the one(s) who/which/that
what, which
whose
Spanish
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que
quien, quienes
el/la cual, los/las cuales
el/la que, los/las que
lo que, lo cual
cuyo, cuya, cuyos/as
Relative Pronouns in Spanish
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Que is the most used relative pronoun in Spanish.
It can have as its antecedent both people and things of
either gender and number.
Example: Ella es la persona que vi.
She is the person (who[m]) I saw.
Quien and quienes refer only to people. They
substitute for que only when they are preceded by a
preposition.
Example: Ellos son los jóvenes con quienes hablé.
They are the youn men with whom I spoke.
Relative Pronouns in Spanish
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El cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales are used to make
their antecedents absolutely clear.
They also occur after a compound preposition (encima de), or
after the prepositions por and sin.
Example: El esposo de Elena, el cual estaba presente…
Elena’s husband, who was present ….
El que, la que, los que, las que are used when the articles
el, la, los, and las are the only antecedent expressed.
These relative pronouns are used to suppress a noun
between the article and the relator que.
Example: La que (la chica que) lo dijo …
The one who said it …
Relative Pronouns in Spanish
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Lo que or lo cual can be used to refer a previous mentioned
ides or to a genderless abstraction.
Lo que is equivalent to the relative pronoun what.
Example: Ya sé lo que quieres.
I already know what you want.
Cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas are the equivalent in English whose
(relative possessive pronoun).
Example: Los niños, cuyas manos están cubiertas de tierra …
The children, whose hands are covered with dirt …
Relative Pronouns in English
The relative’s antecedent
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… is non-personal when the relative is the subject of its own clause:
Example: This is the letter that/which came in the mail.
… is non-personal when the relative is the object of its own clause:
Example: This is the letter (that/which) you wanted to read.
… is personal when the relative is the subject of its own clause.
Example: You are the woman who/that screamed at me.
… is personal when the relative is the object of its own clause:
Example: You are the woman (who[m]/that) they attacked.
… is non-personal when the relative is the object of a preposition.
Example: This is the table under which I found it.
This is the table (which/that) I found it under.
… is personal when the relative is the object of a preposition.
Example: This is the man about whom I spoke.
This is the man (who[m]/that) I spoke about.
Relative Pronouns in English
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The English relatives the one(s) who, the one(s)
that, the one(s) which, and their suppressions,
represent nominalizations as their Spanish
equivalents el que, la que, los que, las que,.
They can be used with all the structures and their
variations.
Practice Exercise
Translate the English sentences into Spanish.
Note that Spanish does not allow the great variety of versions that English permits, nor does it allow any
suppression of the relative words.
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I want to see the person who owns that car.
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Does she want to buy the book my father wrote?
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We went to the bank which opened yesterday.
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Let’s say something nice to that Puerto Rican girl.
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Are they going to read the letter my mother spoke about?
Practice Exercise
Translate the English sentences into Spanish.
Note that Spanish does not allow the great variety of versions that English permits, nor does it allow any
suppression of the relative words.
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I don’t know the woman who he gave the money to.
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Where is the building under which they discovered it?
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I’m trying to find the gold watch which I lost at their party.
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Do you see the children that are on that bus?
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Do you know the students about whom the professor spoke?
Reference
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Hill, S. & Bradford, W. (2000). Bilingual grammar of
English and Spanish (Revised Ed. Landham, MD:
University of America Press.