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!
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:
Sentence 2:
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 meaning 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:
In this example above, the relative pronoun che refers to the noun that immediately precedes it: il gatto meaning 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 qualiTranslation: (masc., sing.), (masc. pl.)
- la quale / le qualiTranslation: (fem., sing.), (fem. pl.)
Let’s focus on each relative pronoun, beginning from the most common one: che meaning 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:
che stands for the subject
(the man entered)
che stands for the direct object
(I bought the pens)
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 meaning he/she who and coloro che meaning who.
Chi is used instead of an indefinite pronoun + relative pronoun, like qualcuno que meaning 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. Translation: Greetings to those who listen to us from home. | prepositionrelative pronoun Un saluto a che ci ascolta da casa. Translation: 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. Translation: I know someone who can help you. | relative pronoun Conosco chi può aiutarvi. Translation: I know who can help you. |
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.Translation: The woman Marco talks to is his mother.Animals:
Il cane per cui ho comprato il collare è di Erica.Translation: The dog I bought the collar for is Erica’s.Things:
L’autobus su cui è salito va a Roma.Translation: The bus he got on goes to Rome.
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 qualemasculine plural
i qualifeminine singular
la qualefeminine plural
le quali
Examples:
Let’s say we start with this sentence:
Ho incontrato il Signor Rossi, che ti manda i suoi saluti.Translation: 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.Translation: 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.Translation: 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.Translation: Marta and Francesca are the colleagues I went on vacation with.
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 meaning he/she who or coloro che meaning those who.
Use cui as an indirect object, often introduced by a simple preposition: con meaning with, per meaning for, a meaning 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.
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