Relative Pronouns: 'Que' & 'Quien'
Spanish: Cambridge International GCSE, topic 11.8.11
'Que' and 'Quien'
'Que' is the shortest and most simple way of saying that or who. It is used when you need a simple link to talk about either people or things. 'Quien' is only used to talk about people.
'Que'
- 'Que' can mean that, who or whom, it depends on the sentence.
- El hombre que pronunció el discurso.
- The man that gave the speech.
- Mi hermana que vive en Nueva York.
- My sister who lives in New York.
'Quien'
- 'Quien' is only used to talk about people.
- It is also used after a preposition rather than 'que'.
- If 'quien' matches with a plural word it changes to 'quienes'.
- Mi madre, quien es profesora, va a España hoy
- My mum, who is a teacher, is going to Spain today.
- El hombre con quien hablo.
- The man, with whom I speak.
- Las personas quienes me conocen bien.
- The people who know me well.
Test yourself on Relative Pronouns: 'Que' & 'Quien'
Which of these is NOT correct?
How do you say 'the women with whom I speak' in Spanish?