Os Pronomes Relativos
The connectors that join clauses around a shared noun. Portuguese uses que (universal — like English that/which/who), quem (people, especially after prepositions), o qual / a qual (formal, with prepositions), cujo (whose), and onde (where). Mastering them is the difference between short, choppy Portuguese and the long, flowing sentences of Eça de Queirós.
A relative pronoun joins a noun to a clause that describes or modifies it. Portuguese uses a small but rich set:
- que — the universal relative (that, which, who, whom)
- quem — for people, especially after prepositions
- o qual / a qual — formal alternative to que, used with prepositions
- cujo / cuja — possessive (whose)
- onde — for places (where)
Mastering these is the difference between short, choppy Portuguese (“This is the book. I read it yesterday.”) and the long, breathing sentences of Saramago (“This is the book that I read yesterday, which my brother had given me, whose pages I underlined in pencil, where I found the line I now repeat to myself.”).
Que — the universal relative
Que is the most versatile relative pronoun in Portuguese. It can refer to people or things, can be subject or object, and works in most contexts.
As subject of the relative clause
O homem que mora aqui é simpático. — The man who lives here is friendly. O livro que está na mesa é meu. — The book that is on the table is mine.
As direct object
O livro que comprei ontem. — The book that I bought yesterday. A pessoa que vi. — The person whom I saw.
After certain prepositions (for things)
O assunto de que falamos. — The subject we’re talking about. A caneta com que escrevo. — The pen I’m writing with.
Note: de que, com que, em que, a que are standard. But for people after prepositions, quem is preferred.
Que cannot be dropped
Unlike English, Portuguese never drops the relative pronoun. O livro que li (the book I read) — the que must be there.
English: The book I read was good. (no relative pronoun shown) Portuguese: O livro que li era bom. (must use que)
This is a key difference from English style.
Quem — for people, especially with prepositions
When the antecedent is a person and the relative comes after a preposition, quem is the natural choice:
A pessoa com quem trabalho. — The person I work with. O amigo a quem escrevi. — The friend to whom I wrote. O homem para quem trabalhamos. — The man we work for.
Without preposition
Quem can also be used as subject in restrictive clauses, though que is more common:
Quem chegou tarde foi castigado. — Whoever arrived late was punished. (Quem here is “whoever”) Conheço o homem que chegou. — I know the man who arrived. (que is more typical here)
Quem meaning “whoever”
Quem alone (no antecedent) means “whoever” or “the one who”:
Quem ama, ama para sempre. — Whoever loves, loves forever. Quem chegou primeiro, ganhou. — Whoever arrived first, won.
This is a poetic, proverbial register.
O qual / a qual — formal alternative
O qual (and its forms a qual, os quais, as quais) is a more formal relative pronoun. It’s especially used:
After prepositions, for clarity
O livro do qual te falei. — The book I told you about. (do + qual contraction) A casa na qual vivemos. — The house in which we live. Os amigos com os quais viajei. — The friends with whom I travelled.
When que would be ambiguous
If two nouns could be the antecedent and que is unclear, o qual (with gender + number agreement) helps pinpoint the right one:
A irmã do meu amigo, a qual conheci ontem… — My friend’s sister, whom (she — feminine) I met yesterday…
Here a qual makes it clear we’re talking about a irmã, not o amigo.
O qual vs. que — register
- Que is conversational and standard.
- O qual is formal, literary, legal.
In everyday speech, you’d say o livro de que te falei. In legal writing, o livro do qual te falei is more typical.
Contractions
O qual contracts with de, em, a:
| de + o qual | do qual | | de + a qual | da qual | | em + o qual | no qual | | em + a qual | na qual | | a + o qual | ao qual | | a + a qual | à qual |
A questão da qual falávamos. — The question we were talking about. O quarto no qual ele dormia. — The room he was sleeping in.
Cujo / cuja — possessive relative (whose)
Cujo means whose in English. It agrees with the noun that follows it (the thing possessed), not the possessor.
O homem cujo carro foi roubado. — The man whose car was stolen. (cujo agrees with carro — masculine) A mulher cuja casa visitámos. — The woman whose house we visited. (cuja agrees with casa — feminine) Os escritores cujos livros leio. — The writers whose books I read. (cujos agrees with livros) As crianças cujas mães trabalham. — The children whose mothers work. (cujas agrees with mães)
Key rule: agrees with the possession, not the possessor
This is the trap. English speakers want cuja to agree with the person:
❌ O homem cuja carro — wrong (carro is masculine, so cujo) ✅ O homem cujo carro — right
The cujo/cuja matches the noun immediately after it.
Cujo without article
Note: cujo is rarely preceded by an article. O homem cujo carro, not o homem o cujo carro.
Onde — for places
Onde is the relative pronoun for places.
A casa onde nasci. — The house where I was born. O lugar onde nos conhecemos. — The place where we met. A cidade onde vivo. — The city where I live.
With movement
When motion is involved (to/from a place), Portuguese uses aonde (to) or donde (from). In casual speech these often collapse to just onde:
O sítio aonde vou. — The place I’m going to. A cidade donde venho. — The city I come from.
In modern Portuguese, especially BP, onde covers all three meanings (place, to place, from place).
Quando — for time
Quando (when) functions as a relative pronoun for time:
O dia quando nos conhecemos. — The day when we met. A hora quando partimos. — The hour when we left.
Though often em que is preferred over quando:
O dia em que nos conhecemos. — The day on which we met. (more common)
Restrictive vs. non-restrictive clauses
Like English, Portuguese distinguishes:
- Restrictive (no commas) — defines which one
- Non-restrictive (with commas) — adds extra info
O homem que mora aqui é meu vizinho. — The man who lives here is my neighbour. (restrictive — which man) O meu vizinho, que mora aqui, é simpático. — My neighbour, who lives here, is friendly. (non-restrictive — extra info)
Both use que. The commas mark the distinction.
Compound antecedents — special cases
When the antecedent is a sentence or abstract concept (not a noun), use o que:
Ele chegou tarde, o que me irritou. — He arrived late, which annoyed me. Disse-me a verdade, o que apreciei. — He told me the truth, which I appreciated.
O que here means “that fact” or “which (in general)”.
Reading rhythm — long Portuguese sentences
Portuguese relative clauses allow long, breathing sentences. A single sentence can chain multiple relatives:
A cidade onde nasci, que sempre considerei o meu lar, com quem partilho a minha história, cujas ruas conheço de cor, é Lisboa. — The city where I was born, which I always considered my home, with whom I share my history, whose streets I know by heart, is Lisbon.
Four relatives in one sentence. The reader threads the antecedent (a cidade) through four modifiers without losing it.
What you don’t need to do
You don’t need to drop relative pronouns like English does. O livro li is wrong; o livro que li is right.
You don’t need to use o qual in casual contexts. Que covers most cases.
You don’t need to memorise cujo forms — they just agree with the following noun like any adjective.
You don’t need to distinguish onde, aonde, donde in casual speech. Onde covers all three.
Common confusions
- Que is the universal relative. Use it unless you need something more specific.
- Quem for people after prepositions. A pessoa com quem trabalho, not a pessoa com que trabalho.
- Cujo agrees with the possession, not the possessor. O homem cujo carro (because carro is masculine).
- O qual is formal. Use que in conversation; o qual in literary writing.
- Don’t drop the relative. Every Portuguese relative clause keeps its que or other relative.
- O que for abstract antecedents (the whole previous statement). Ele mentiu, o que me chocou.
Where you’ll meet it in the library
Relative pronouns are in every Portuguese paragraph over ten words:
- O Retrato de Dorian Gray (B2+) — Wilde’s Portuguese rendering chains relatives constantly: que Basil pintou, onde Dorian o guardava, com quem convivia, cujo nome era Basil.
- Madame Bovary (B2+) — Flaubert’s psychological prose uses relatives to nest Emma’s observations: que nunca teria, com quem casou, onde vivia, que lia.
- O Conde de Monte Cristo (B2+) — Dumas’s revenge plot generates relatives at every turn: que o tinham traído, onde ficou catorze anos, com quem partilhou, do qual ouvira falar, cuja lealdade dera por certa.
Where you'll see this in books.
O retrato que Basil pintou estava escondido. O quarto onde Dorian o guardava era trancado. As pessoas com quem convivia ignoravam o seu segredo. A vida que levava era falsa. O artista cujo nome era Basil acabaria por morrer.
Emma sonhava com uma vida que nunca teria. As pessoas que conhecia eram simples. O homem com quem casou não compreendia os seus desejos. A cidade onde vivia era pequena. Os livros que lia eram a sua única consolação.
Dantès jurou vingar-se dos homens que o tinham traído. A prisão onde ficou catorze anos era a Castelo de If. O abade com quem partilhou a cela ensinou-lhe tudo. O tesouro do qual ouvira falar mudou a sua vida. Mercedes, cuja lealdade dera por certa, casara com outro.