Relative clause in the Spanish language

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The Spanish relative clauses , oración de relativo, are introduced by a series of pronouns ( relative pronouns ) or (relative) adverbs. A relative clause ( Latin relativus "referring to something, regarding") is usually placed directly after the corresponding reference word in the main clause. The use of the words introducing the relative clause is to a large extent also an expression of the linguistic style or results from the context , the individual nuance and ultimately the social environment.

Explanation

Except for the relative pronoun cuyo , all Spanish related pronouns are interrogative pronouns , a fact that distinguishes them from the German language. Only the accent , acento agudo , which is common in Spanish , is omitted from the interrogatives.

In general, the relative clause belongs to the group of subordinate clauses and is usually used to indicate a property of an individual. The relative clause is often an attribute clause that takes on the function of an attribute in the superordinate clause, that is, the relative pronoun relates the following relative clause to a noun of the superordinate clause (main clause). The antecedent to which the relative pronoun refers is also antecedent , antecedent , called. Otherwise, a relative clause can itself have the same status as a noun group in the sentence (free relative clause). There are also special forms in which the relative clause does not refer to a single word in the main clause, but to the entire preceding clause. Then the relative clause takes on the function of a further subordinate clause, with which mostly a reflection or a comment on the preceding clause is expressed.

Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clause

First, the group of relative clauses can be divided into two forms of the subordinate clause:

  • necessary relative clause or restrictive relative clause , oración especificativa o restrictivo
  • unnecessary relative clause or non-restrictive relative clause , oración explicativa

In the case of necessary or restrictive relative clauses, the explanations in the subordinate clause are essential for understanding the main clause . They cannot therefore be left out. There is no comma here in Spanish . These relative clauses are also spoken without a break.

It is different with the unnecessary or explicit relative clause. Here the explanations are not absolutely necessary for an understanding of the main clause. They could be omitted and therefore need to be marked with two commas in Spanish . If the relative clauses to the main clauses have the function of an attribute - and this applies to most relative clauses - the part of speech for which they have a more detailed definition is usually a noun. This noun is called the reference word of the relative clause.

relative pronoun

The relative pronouns or adverbs necessary to introduce the subordinate clauses fulfill two functions in the Spanish language as well as in German: On the one hand, they replace nouns, adverbs, pronouns, and, on the other hand, they combine a main clause with a subordinate clause: They introduce the so-called relative clause.

Relative pronouns in the broadest sense take on attributive functions. Although the relative pronoun refers to a single or several preceding nouns (antecedents) in the nominative, genitive, indirect object (dative in case terminology) or direct object (accusative in case terminology), it is always in the third person . For example for one thing: que ; Nominative que ; Genitive de que ; Dative a que ; Accusative que .

Classification:

  • pronombres relativos : que, el que (la que, lo que, los que, las que), cual (la cual, lo cual, los cuales, las cuales), quien (quienes)
  • determinantes relativos posesivos : cuyo (cuya, cuyos, cuyas)
  • adverbios relativos : cuanto (cuanta, cuantos, cuantas), cuando, donde, como.

The relative pronouns can be preceded by prepositions , sobre , con , delante , enfrente , etc. Unlike in German, the prepositions do not require a specific case. In Spanish, only the number and gender of the object to which the preposition refers have to be adjusted. The relative pronoun can also take the place of the subject or object in the relative clause or it can come after a preposition.

Relative pronouns fulfill two functions in Spanish, as in German: On the one hand, they replace nouns, adverbs and pronouns. On the other hand, they combine a main clause with a subordinate clause: They introduce the so-called relative clause. Relative clauses mostly refer to a noun, which is then called a reference word. Relative pronouns take on attributive functions .

From a semantic point of view, a relative pronoun refers to an antecedent, the front part of the sentence or the reference subject in the sentence. Antecedents are used to denote the element on the left in the sentence that is called by an element on the right, such as the reference word for a relative pronoun. - example: 

 La casa en que vivo es mía. Das Haus, in dem ich wohne, gehört mir.

The relative pronouns functionally replace nouns, pronouns, but also adverbs and connect two sentences, a main and a subordinate clause . This avoids repetitions and resumption of sentence elements in the following sentence.

The relative pronouns that are formed with an article not only have a masculine, but also a feminine and a respective plural form. The neuter lo que is an exception . Relative pronouns never have an accent , while morphologically similar question pronouns or interrogative pronouns , pronombres interrogativos , such as quién , cuál , cuánto etc., are provided with an acute accent, acento agudo . But interrogative pronouns can also introduce a subordinate clause.

Pronombres relativos, determinant relativo posesivo, adverbios relativos  
Pronombres relativos que ( the / the / that ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative) Remarks
Singular masculine que de que a que que Use with prepositions; informal, more informal
Singular feminine que de que a que que with persons, things without prepositions;
Plural masculine que de que a que que
Plural feminine que de que a que que
Pronombres relativos el / la / lo que (der, what / die, what / das, what ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine el que del que al que el que Use with prepositions; formal, more official;
Singular feminine la que de la que a la que la que in people with prepositions;
Singular neutral lo que de lo que a lo que lo que
Plural masculine go que de los que a los que go que
Plural feminine read que de las que a las que read que
Pronombres relativos el / la / lo cual ( which / which / which ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine el cual del cual al cual el cual Use with prepositions; more formal;
Singular feminine la cual de la cual a la cual la cual in people with prepositions;
Singular neutral lo cual de lo cual a lo cual lo cual
Plural masculine los cuales de los cuales a los cuales los cuales
Plural feminine las cuales de las cuales a las cuales las cuales
Pronombres relativos quien ( the / who / that , which / which / which ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine quien de quien a quien quien
Singular feminine quien de quien a quien quien in people with prepositions;
Plural masculine quienes de quienes a quienes quienes
Plural feminine quienes de quienes a quienes quienes
Determinant relativo posesivo cuyo ( whose, whose ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine   cuyo    
Singular feminine   cuya    
Plural masculine   cuyos    
Plural feminine   cuyas    
Adverbios relativos cuanto / cunta (everything that ... ) genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine cuanto   a cuanto cuanto
Singular feminine cuanta   a cuanta cuanta
Singular neutral cuanto   a cuanto cuanto
Plural masculine cuantos   a cuantos cuantos
Plural feminine cuantas   a cuantas cuantas
Preposición ( a, de, en, por, acerca de, con ) + Pronombres relativos el / la / lo que genus Nominative Genitive indirect object (dative) direct object (accusative)
Singular masculine con el que      
Singular feminine con la que      
Singular neutral con lo que      
Plural masculine con los que      
Plural feminine con las que      

Que

Que has the character of a universal relative pronoun and can be expressed in German with der, die, das . Used in relation to people and objects , things or things; it assumes an immediately preceding noun. Mostly used when there is no preposition or when only short, monosyllabic prepositions or forewords are used.

Alternatives to que are only el cual or quien / quienes in commenting relative clauses, as are the relative pronouns to the indefinite pronouns todo and todos . - Examples with que : 

 Un idioma que hablan 400 millones Eine Sprache, die 400 Millionen sprechen;
 La guerra que perdimos Der Krieg, den wir verloren;
 Eso que ves allá arriba Das, was du da oben siehst;
 Varios señores que conversaban en inglés Mehrere Herren, die sich auf Englisch unterhielten;
 Sus piezas de teatro, que aún no han sido publicadas Seine Theaterstücke, die noch nicht veröffentlicht worden sind.
  • que is often used after the prepositions de , en and con . - Examples:
 La taquilla a que nos dirigimos Der Schalter, zu dem wir gingen;
 Los libros con que aprendí español Die Bücher, mit denen ich Spanisch lernte.
  • If the adversary is a spatial expression, donde is often used instead of the preposition + que . - example:
 El lugar donde estuvo el Edén Der Ort, an dem sich der Garten Eden befand.
  • If the adversary is a time expression, en que or que is used. - Examples:
 Ese fue el día en que todos fuimos americanos Das war der Tag, an dem wir alle Amerikaner waren;
 Ahora que estamos solos Jetzt, da wir allein sind
  • The most common Spanish for 'the way how' is el modo / la manera / la forma en que . - Examples:
 Ya nadie habla del modo en que se hizo del puesto Niemand spricht mehr über die Art und Weise, wie er riss an sich die Stelle;
 Está preocupada por la manera en que la miran Sie ist darüber besorgt, wie sie gesehen wird
 Es vergonzosa la forma en que nos trataron Es ist beschämend, wie sie uns behandelten.

El que

el que , la que , los que , las que are pronouns of generalization or indicative reference, they can be expressed with which, which . It refers to people or objects, with or without a preceding noun. Usually used after prepositions por , de , para and especially after polysyllabic prepositions . In the non-necessary or non-restrictive relative clauses, it can be used for clarification, e.g. the gender of the reference word instead of que or quien . - Examples: 

 El que espera, desespera Wer wartet, verzweifelt;
 los que partieron ayer die(jenigen, die) gestern abreisten;
 Su hermana es la que está sentada a su lado Seine Schwester ist die, die neben ihm sitzt.
  • el que , la que , los que , las que are after prepositions. - Examples:
 Un privilegio al que no quiere renunciar Ein Privileg, auf das er nicht verzichten will;
 Decisiones de las que depende nuestro futuro Entscheidungen, von denen unsere Zukunft abhängt.

A + el que as a direct object

In the case of a personal or animated relational word, a + el que , i.e. al que, is used as a direct object (in the case of accusative object) . Also applies to la que , los que , las que . - Examples: 

 El terrorista al que querían eliminar Der Terrorist, den man beseitigen wollte;
 Tres perritos a los que se logró rescatar Drei kleine Hunde, die man retten konnte.
Statt el que kann in gehobenerem Stil el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales oder, personenbezogen, quien, quienes gebraucht werden. – Beispiele:
 Su madre, a la cual él adoraba, murió bastante joven Seine Mutter, die er anbetete, starb ziemlich jung;
 Se trata de dos médicos a quienes usted no conoce Es handelt sich um zwei Ärzte, die Sie nicht kennen.

A + el que as an indirect object

The form a + el que can also be used as an indirect object (dative object in the case terminology) . - example: 

 Los mudéjares son los musulmanes a los que tras la Reconquista se les permitió quedarse en su lugar de residencia Die Mudejares sind die Muslime, denen nach der Reconquista das Verbleiben an ihrem Wohnort erlaubt wurde.
  • Instead of el que , el cual , la cual , los cuales , las cualess and, in relation to a person, quien , quienes can be used in a more sophisticated style . - Examples:
 Los políticos a los cuales pagamos para que administren nuestros impuestos Die Politiker, denen wir zahlen, damit sie unsere Steuern verwalten;
 Esta es la escritora a quien dieron el premio Das ist die Schriftstellerin, der sie die Urkunde für besondere Verdienste gaben.

Preposition + el que

Also applies to la que , los que , las que . Can be used for people and things, but also as a prepositional object and addition. - example: 

 Estas son las barcas con los que puedes remar. Das sind die Boote, mit denen du rudern kannst.

Lo que

Can be reproduced with something in the German language . Refers to the entire (main) sentence content or neuter , such as todo or esto .

  • lo que follows the neuter todo . - example:
 Eso es todo lo que sé Das ist alles, was ich weiß.
  • lo que is a neuter used to designate something that is or should remain unknown. - Examples:
 Nunca somos lo que parecemos Wir sind nie, was wir zu sein scheinen;
 Lo que dice la Biblia Was die Bibel sagt.
  • lo que is part of an advanced relative clause that relates to the content of the previous sentence. - example:
 Los colombianos se pusieron a bailar una cumbia, lo que desde luego animó considerablemente la fiesta Die Kolumbianer tanzten eine Cumbia, was die Feier natürlich sehr belebte.

Preposition + lo que

Establishes a reference to the previous sentence or fact. This also applies to circumstances in which the presence of an event argument cannot simply be assumed, i.e. which have only developed an implicit reference. - example: 

 ¿Te acuerdas lo que te conté de mi amiga? Kannst du dich daran erinnern, was ich dir von meiner Freundin erzählte?

El cual

Is reproducible in the German language with the one who . It refers to both people and things; with and without a preceding noun. They are used after the prepositions por , de , para and especially after long and compound prepositions .

  • el cual , la cual , los cuales , las cuales belong primarily to the written language. - Examples:
 Las matemáticas son el alfabeto con el cual Dios ha escrito el universo Die Mathematik ist das Alphabet, mit dem Gott das Universum geschrieben hat;
 Un dispositivo por medio del cual se controla el flujo de agua Eine Vorrichtung, mittels derer der Wasserfluss kontrolliert wird.
  • el cual , la cual , los cuales , las cuales are used solely to supplement the text in a commentary relative clause. - example:
 Compuso tres óperas neorrománticas, las cuales se estrenaron años después de su muerte Er schrieb drei neuromantische Opern, welche erst Jahre nach seinem Tod uraufgeführt wurden.

Lo cual

Lo cual refers to the entire content of the preceding sentence; it is used as a continuation of the text in a commenting relative clause, as that which can be reproduced. - Examples: 

 Nació en Ginebra y se educó en Múnich y Londres, lo cual explica su poliglotía Er wurde in Genf geboren und ging zur Schule in München und London, was seine Mehrsprachigkeit erklärt;
 Estas palabras se usan delante de los nombres, a causa de lo cual se las llama preposiciones Diese Wörter erscheinen vor den Nomen, weshalb sie Präpositionen genannt werden.

If lo cual refers to the entire preceding main clause, the following substitute forms are possible: y esto , cosa que or lo cual .

Quien

To be reproduced in German with der , das , who . It refers exclusively to people with or without preceding nouns. Mostly after monosyllabic prepositions.

Alguien que or nadie que

Instead of alguien que or the negation of nadie que , i.e. someone who or nobody, quien can be inserted into the sentence construct. - Examples: 

 No hay alguien que pueda ayudame Gibt es nicht jemanden, der mir helfen kann. Hierfür: No hay quien pueda ayudame.

Cuyo

cuyo , cuya , cuyos , Cuyas translate whose , whose , wherein the congruence of the Spanish Possessivrelativa with the subsequent noun occurs. Since it is used to designate the ownership structure, its gender and number are based on the (following) property, and not, as in German, on the (preceding) genu-numeral properties of the owner. - Examples: 

 Una asociación cuyo objetivo es defender al fumador pasivo Eine Vereinigung, deren Ziel die Verteidigung des Passivrauchers ist;
 Carlos V, en cuyo imperio no se ponía el sol Karl V., in dessen Reich die Sonne nicht unterging.

Cuanto

cuanto , cuanta , cuantos , cuantas : These forms are traditionally known as adverbios relativos ( relative adverbs ), but they have uses in which they function as quantifying pronouns and are declined. Then they are used to describe the number and quantity of people and objects, things. In its neutral appearance, cuanto , a lot is described without reference to a preceding noun. Variable in gender and number, it is often used with todo , toda , todos , todas or tanto , tanta , tantos , tantas .

Adverbs introducing relative clauses

  • Donde ("where, where") is used to characterize a place with or without reference to a preceding noun. Other forms are combinations with a preposition, such as adonde , de donde and por donde .
  • Cuando ("if, as") is used to describe events in time with or without reference to a preceding noun.
  • Como ("like") is used with or without reference to a preceding noun.

Relative clauses and subjunctive

A relative clause is used to provide additional explanations for a noun or pronoun . For this, however, no new sentence is started; rather, a relative clause is an introduced subordinate clause ( attribute clause ), the introductory word for this is the relative pronoun. Which mode is used in relative clauses, i.e. indicativo or subjuntivo , is only significant for the restrictive relative clauses. If the relative clause is used to describe or verbalize an event that is very likely to be true, then the indicativo mode is used .

But if the relative clause refers to a content of which one cannot know whether it actually exists, then the subjuntivo mode is used in Spanish . So if something indeterminate, which does not exist with certainty, is stated, the being of which is desired, questionable, uncertain, possible, restricted, negated, questioned, the relative clauses are hypothetical, to the reference word and main clause, and are set in the mode of the subjuntivo . However, the subjunctive is required in the negative main clause with a following relative clause. - Example with the Presente de subjuntivo from poder : 

* No tengo amigas que puedan ayudarme Ich habe keine Freundinnen, die mir helfen können.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The relative clause. La oración de relativo. Justo Fernández López
  2. ↑ also restrictive, classifying / determining or specifying relative clause
  3. ^ Holger Siever: Translate Spanish into German. A work book. Narr study books, Gunter Narr, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8233-6391-0 , pp. 117–128.
  4. ↑ also explicative, appositive, explicit, explanatory, coloring or qualifying relative clause
  5. ^ Hans-Georg Beckmann: New Spanish grammar. dnf-Verlag, Göppingen 1994, ISBN 3-9803483-3-4 , p. 337.
  6. ^ Hispanoteca. Relative pronoun (PDF; 21 KB)
  7. ^ Antoon van Bommel, Kees van Esch, Jos Hallebeek: Estudiando español. Basic grammar. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2009, ISBN 978-3-12-535499-9 , p. 64 f.
  8. ↑ Asunción Martínez Arbelaiz: Otro caso de prescriptivismo: los pronombres de relativo tras preposición. Actas del XV congreso internacional de ÁSELE, (2004), pp. 566-572.
  9. ↑ Gines Lozano Jaén: Cómo enseñar y aprender sintaxis. Modelos, teorías y prácticas según el grado de dificultad. Cátedra, Madrid 2013, ISBN 978-84-376-3032-8 , p. 230
  10. ^ Antoon van Bommel, Kees van Esch, Jos Hallebeek: Estudiando español. Basic grammar. Ernst Klett Sprachen, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-12-535499-9 , p. 64 f.
  11. ^ Hans-Georg Beckmann: New Spanish grammar. dnf-Verlag, Göttingen 1994, ISBN 3-9803483-3-4 , p. 297
  12. ↑ Gines Lozano Jaén: Cómo enseñar y aprender sintaxis. Modelos, teorías y prácticas según el grado de dificultad. Cátedra, Madrid 2013, ISBN 978-84-376-3032-8 , p. 230
  13. ^ J. de Bruyne: Spanish grammar. 2nd Edition. Niemeyer, Tübingen 2002. p. 211
  14. ↑ Horst Combe: The use of the Spanish subjuntivo in relative clauses. Dissertation, University of Tübingen (2010)