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How to use Italian relative pronouns?

By: Miriam Muccione Fri Jul 26 2024
Italian
Pronouns

Relative pronouns allow us to combine two sentences into a single by replacing a noun, a pronoun, or a phrase that was previously mentioned. In Italian, there are four relative pronouns: chi, che, cui, and il quale. Depending on the context, you would translate them with the English words “that,” “which,” “who,” “whom,” and “whose.” We use them to translate phrases like “The man who is wearing the yellow hat” into Italian!

Did you know that in Italian, unlike in English, relative pronouns cannot be omitted? In this article we’ll look first at the rules for relative pronouns in Italian, and then we’ll look at each of the relative pronouns one at a time and discuss the differences between them. Let’s check them out!

Table of Contents

    How do relative pronouns work in Italian?

    We use relative pronouns in Italian all the time because they allow us to combine two sentences that have something in common into a single one.

    Let’s say you want to combine these two sentences into a single one:

    Sentence 1:

    Il gatto si chiama Harley.

    The cat is called Harley.

    Sentence 2:

    Il gatto dorme sul divano.

    The cat sleeps on the sofa.

    To combine them you would replace the element the two sentences have in common with a relative pronoun. In this case, both sentences have the noun il gatto(the cat) in common, as it is the subject of both sentences. So, if we replace the subject of sentence 2 with a relative pronoun, this would be the result:

    main clauserelative clause

    Il gatto che dorme sul divano si chiama Harley.

    The cat that sleeps on the sofa is called Harley.

    • In this example above, the relative pronoun che refers to the noun that immediately precedes it: il gatto(the cat). Il gatto is called the antecedent of che and it is essential to spot it when you are trying to understand the noun/pronoun/phrase a relative pronoun refers to.

    • In addition, the relative pronoun che introduces a relative clause (che dorme sul divano), which is a subordinate clause that gives us additional information about the antecedent (il gatto); it informs us that the cat we are talking about is the one that sleeps on the sofa.

    Now, let’s check out the different Italian relative pronouns! The pronoun you use and how you’ll use it to build a relative clause will depend on the nouns/pronouns/phrase they replace, and the role that the relative pronoun itself plays in a clause. Because they replace nouns, pronouns, and other phrases, relative pronouns can hold the same variety of grammatical functions that nouns can; they can be the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, or the object of a preposition.

    What are the Italian relative pronouns?

    There are four relative pronouns in Italian: che, chi, cui, and il/la quale.

    If we focus on the form, in Italian we find they can be divided into two types:

    • invariable → their form does not change

      • chi

      • che

      • cui

    • variable → their form changes according to the gender and number of the element they replace

      • il quale / i quali

        (masc., sing.), (masc. pl.)

      • la quale / le quali

        (fem., sing.), (fem. pl.)

    Let’s focus on each relative pronoun, beginning from the most common one: che(that, who)!

    The invariable relative pronoun ‘che’ (that/who)

    The relative pronoun che is invariable and...

    • it replaces animate beings (i.e. people and animals), things, or abstract nouns

    • it can act as either the subject or the direct object of the relative clause.

    Examples:

    L’uomo che è entrato è mio fratello.

    The man that entered is my brother.

    che stands for the subject
    (the man entered)

    Le penne che ho comprato ieri sono verdi.

    The pens that I bought yesterday are green.

    che stands for the direct object
    (I bought the pens)

    Tip

    Note that in the first example the antecedent uomo(man) is a masculine/singular noun, while in the second example the noun penne(pens) is feminine/plural. Regardless of the gender/number of the antecedent, che stays the same!

    Important

    When the antecedent of che is an entire sentence, in Italian you need to add the definite article il(the). In this case, che becomes il che(which), like in the following example:

    Mio figlio si è laureato a pieni voti, il che mi rende molto orgoglioso.

    My son graduated with flying colors, which makes me very proud.

    → il che = mio figlio si è laureato a pieni voti (antecedent)

    The invariable relative pronoun ‘chi’ (he/she/those who)

    The relative pronoun chi is invariable and...

    • it refers only to people

    • it does not have an antecedent, instead it replaces both the antecedent and the relative pronoun in a few special cases:

      • Chi is used instead of a demonstrative pronoun + relative pronoun, like colui/colei che (he/she who) and coloro che(who).

      • Chi is used instead of an indefinite pronoun + relative pronoun, like qualcuno que(someone who).

    • it requires a verb in the third person singular

    • it can be introduced by a preposition

    Examples:

    Sentence with che
    Sentence with chi
    prepositiondemonstrative pronounrelative pronoun

    Un saluto a coloro che ci ascoltano da casa.

    Greetings to those who listen to us from home.

    prepositionrelative pronoun

    Un saluto a che ci ascolta da casa.

    Greetings to those who listen to us from home.

    → Notice that the verb, ascolta, is in the third person singular, even though intuitively it stands for more than one. Think of it like: “greetings to whoever is listening to us…”
    indefinite pronounrelative pronoun

    Conosco qualcuno che può aiutarvi.

    I know someone who can help you.

    relative pronoun

    Conosco chi può aiutarvi.

    I know who can help you.

    Tip

    Chi often appears in Italian proverbs and idioms. For example:

    Chi nasce tondo non può morire quadrato.

    He who is born round cannot die square.

    → An English equivalent of this Italian proverb could be “you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.”
    Important

    The relative pronoun chi is different from the interrogative pronoun chi in meaning and use but they have exactly the same forms. As a relative pronoun, chi means “he/she/those who,” but as an interrogative pronoun chi just means "who/whom?"

    Note their respective use in the following examples:

    Relative pronoun:

    Chi mi conosce sa che adoro la pizza.

    (Those) who know me know that I love pizza.

    Interrogative pronoun:

    Chi ti ha contattato per il nuovo lavoro?

    Who contacted you for the new job?

    The invariable relative pronoun ‘cui’ (whom/which)

    The relative pronoun cui is invariable and...

    • it is used as an indirect object often introduced by a preposition

    • it can replace animate beings (i.e. people and animals) and things

      • People:

        La donna con cui Marco parla è sua madre.

        ​​The woman Marco talks to is his mother.

      • Animals:

        Il cane per cui ho comprato il collare è di Erica.

        The dog I bought the collar for is Erica’s.

      • Things:

        L’autobus su cui è salito va a Roma.

        The bus he got on goes to Rome.

    Important

    When you want to connect two sentences that have an element in common expressing ownership/relationship, where “whose” may be used in English, you omit the preposition before cui and use the definite article instead.

    il, i, la, le + cui = possessive ("whose")

    When using definite article + cui, the article has to agree with the possessed noun, while cui stays the same. For example:

    feminine singular

    Riccardo, la cui sorella ha una sciarpa rossa, è un mio amico del liceo.

    Riccardo, whose sister wears a red scarf, is a friend of mine from high school.

    In the sentence above, cui (the relative pronoun) refers back to Riccardo, but la (the definite article) agrees with sorella (the possessed noun).

    The variable relative pronoun ‘il quale’ (who/that/whom)

    The relative pronoun il quale is variable and...

    • it can be used instead of che (only when it's the subject) or cui

    • it sounds more formal

    • it can function as a subject, direct object, and also as an indirect object, often introduced by an articulated preposition (preposition combined with the definite article)

    • it changes form depending on the gender and number of the antecedent:

      Antecedent
      Relative Pronoun

      masculine singular

      il quale

      masculine plural

      i quali

      feminine singular

      la quale

      feminine plural

      le quali

    Examples:

    • Let’s say we start with this sentence:

      Ho incontrato il Signor Rossi, che ti manda i suoi saluti.

      I met Mr. Rossi, who sends his regards to you.

      To sound more formal, we can replace che with il quale (since il Signor Rossi, the antecedent, is masculine singular) and the sentence becomes:

      Ho incontrato il Signor Rossi, il quale ti manda i suoi saluti.

      I met Mr. Rossi, who sends his regards to you.

    • Let’s say that, instead, we start with this sentence:

      Marta e Francesca sono le colleghe con cui sono andata in vacanza.

      Marta and Francesca are the colleagues I went on vacation with.

      Here, we’ll replace cui with le quali instead, since the antecedent, Marta e Francesca is feminine plural. The resulting sentence is:

      Marta e Francesca sono le colleghe con le quali sono andata in vacanza.

      Marta and Francesca are the colleagues I went on vacation with.

    Tip

    Since il quale forms with the definite articles il / la / le + quale/i, when il quale is used instead of a simple preposition + cui(whom, which), you will often need to combine the simple prepositions (a, da, su, de, in) with the definite article to form articulated prepositions.

    Example:

    Ho appena finito di leggere il romanzo del quale ti ho parlato ieri.

    I just finished reading the novel I told you about yesterday.

    → del = de + il

    To sum up

    • In Italian, relative pronouns follow their antecedent and they cannot be omitted.

    • We have four main relative pronouns in Italian: che, chi, cui, and il quale.

    • Che, chi, and cui are invariable.

      • Use che when its antecedent is either the subject or the direct object of the sentence.

      • Use chi instead of colui/colei che(he/she who) or coloro che(those who).

      • Use cui as an indirect object, often introduced by a simple preposition: con(with), per(for), a(to), etc.

    • Il quale depends on the gender and number of the antecedent i quali, la quali, le quali, which makes it a variable relative pronoun.

    Ready to practice Italian relative pronouns? 💪 🧠 Click the link!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    What are the prepositions of time in Italian~Articulated prepositions TableHow to use Italian relative pronouns?~Activities

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