Relative pronouns refer to a previous referent.
Relative pronouns are those that refer to a previous referent and that allow the introduction of a subordinate clause , in which they are included. Before moving forward with the definition, it is interesting to determine the etymological origin of the two different parts that give it its form:
- Pronoun comes from the Latin pronomen . This word means “in place of a name” and is composed of the prefix pro- , which can be translated as “in front”, and the noun nomen , which is equivalent to “name” .
- Relative , on the other hand, also comes from Latin. More exactly, we can say that it comes from relativus , which is equivalent to “having a relationship” . In this case, it is also the result of the sum of three elements: the prefix re- ( “reiteration” ), the verb ferre ( “to carry” ) and the suffix -ivo . The latter is used to indicate a relationship, whether active or passive.
Characteristics of relative pronouns
Pronouns are terms that lack a fixed referent . Their determination depends on the link they have with other words, named previously in the sentence. In this way, a pronoun can replace a noun.
There are many types of pronouns. Relative pronouns are used to link ideas and include them in a certain sentence. The thing that the pronoun adds is in a subordinate position with respect to the antecedent.
Who, that, which, whose, how much, as y where son los pronombres relativos que se emplean en nuestra language. Veamos a continuación cómo funcionan estos pronombres en diferentes contextos.
Relative pronouns are used in different contexts.
Some examples
In the expression “Juan knows who was responsible for this disaster” , the relative pronoun quien links a certain piece of information that Juan knows with the responsibility of another subject in a certain matter .
“The journalist who interviewed me was surprised to learn the story” is another expression that uses a relative pronoun. In this case, the pronoun used is que and it allows us to associate a journalist with a story he or she wrote.
“Dogs whose owners are responsible can live more than fifteen years”, “The place where we spent our holidays was a paradise”, “The rain, like divine punishment, made everything more complicated” y “I will collaborate as much as I can so that everything is resolved as soon as possible” son otros examples de oraciones que incluyen pronombres relativos.
To these pronouns we must also add those who, the one who, those who, those that, the one that, what, the one which, the one which, those which, the ones which, which, whose, whose or whose . These are used based on the following premises:
- Both quien and quién are only used to refer to people.
- That can be used for both people and objects.
- Which , in turn, is used to raise ideas or concepts.
- Which (la cual) is determined to be used to indicate a certain formality.
- Where , is a relative pronoun of place and can also be substituted by en que , en el cual and en los cuantos .