Italian All-in-One For Dummies (128 page)

Italian has a set of relative pronouns that have counterparts in English, such as
che/il quale/la quale
(
who; whom
) or
i quali
/
le quali
(
who; whom
[plural]). But Italian also has a set of combined relative pronouns. They convey (but don't spell out) a demonstrative pronoun, such as
quello
(
that
) or
colui
(
the one
), and a relative pronoun, such as
che
(
who
), to form the combined pronoun
chi
(
who
), which means
colui che
(
the one who
). Turn to the later section, “
Economy of speech: Combined pronouns
” to see more on this subject.

Dealing with your average relative pronouns

Italian has two sets of (non-combined) relative pronouns: invariable and variable.

Invariable relative pronouns don't change their endings to match the words they replace in gender and number (for once!). An example is
che
(
who; whom
), which can refer to a singular, plural, masculine, or feminine person or thing, as in
Le bambine che hai visto al parco sono le mie sorelle
(
The little girls you saw in the park are my sisters
).

Variable relative pronouns are formed of two words: the relative word
quale
and the definite article.
Quale
changes in number, but not in gender:
quale, quali.
It always takes the definite article, which conveys both gender and number —
il, la, i, le
(
the
) — to form the pronoun
il quale
(and its variations) meaning
who, whom, which.
For example,
La bambine le quali hai visto al parco sono le mie sorelle
(
The little girls you saw in the park are my sisters)
.

When you use the variable set, you coordinate the pronoun with the word in the preceding clause that the pronoun replaces. You change the ending of the pronoun in number and the article in both gender and number. For example, in the sentence
La gatta della quale ti avevo parlato è morta
(
The female cat about whom I talked to you died
),
la gatta
is feminine singular, as is the relative pronoun
della quale.

You also have to contend with the pronoun
cui,
which never changes and can't be used as a subject or a direct object. You can use it in only two ways:

Accompanied by the definite
il, la, i, le
(
the
), which conveys both gender and number to form the pronoun
il cui
(and its variations). In this form,
il cui
means
whose.

Hai visto quel film il cui titolo ora non ricordo?
(
Did you see that movie whose title I can't remember right now?
)

Accompanied by a preposition but without an article, as in
da cui
(
by/from whom
).

Table 7-4
illustrates the functions of the variable and invariable relative pronouns.

When it comes to deciding which pronoun to use, if you use a relative pronoun as a subject or a direct object, you can choose between the invariable form
che
or the variable form
il quale.

Choose the word
che
when it's very clear to whom you're referring, as in
Ho visto Giovanna che andava in palestra
(
I saw Giovanna, who was going to the gym
).

Choose the variable form
il quale
(or one of its forms) when you want to avoid ambiguity. If you say
Ho incontrato il figlio della signora Maria, che ti manda tanti saluti
(
I met Maria's son, who sends you his greetings
), in Italian nothing makes you really certain who sent you greetings, whether
Maria
or
il figlio.
But if you say
Ho incontrato il figlio della signora Maria, il quale ti manda i saluti,
you know for sure that you're talking about
il figlio,
which is masculine singular, because
il quale
is masculine singular as well.

When you use a preposition with the relative pronoun because you want to convey an indirect object, you can choose between
cui
(plus article
or
preposition) or
quale
(plus preposition
and
article). When in English

You use
of
or
about
before a relative pronoun, use
di + cui
in Italian.

Non possiamo fare la vacanza di cui ti ho parlato.
(
We can't take the vacation which I spoke to you about.
)

(But remember that the formula
Non
possiamo fare la vacanza della quale ti ho parlato
is perfectly correct and used all the time.)

You use the pronoun
whose,
meaning that someone already mentioned possesses a certain trait or that something already mentioned has a certain characteristic, in Italian use
il cui (la cui, i cui, le cui).