{"id":37796,"date":"2025-09-28T06:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T21:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/?p=37796"},"modified":"2026-04-21T07:50:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:50:59","slug":"italian-relative-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-relative-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Relative Pronouns: Che, Cui, Il Quale, Whose"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Italian relative pronouns come in three main flavours: che<\/em> (subject or direct object, never changes, no preposition), cui<\/em> (all indirect complements, always with a preposition), and il quale<\/em> (formal twin of cui<\/em>, agrees in gender and number). Plus il cui<\/em> for whose<\/em>, chi<\/em> for the one who<\/em>, quanto<\/em> and coloro che<\/em> for quantity and formal groups, and the hidden da + infinito<\/em> construction that translates the English to do, to read, to sell<\/em>. You cannot drop the relative pronoun in Italian the way you can in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

🔍 What you will master.<\/strong> How to pick between the Italian relative pronouns che, cui, il quale, il cui, chi and the da + infinito shortcut without second-guessing. By the end you will also know how to translate whose, how to handle prepositions, when to switch from indicative to subjunctive inside a relative clause, and the seven slips English speakers make most often.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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Italian relative pronouns at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we go case by case through the Italian relative pronouns, here is the quick map. If you remember only this table, you already have 80% of the job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronoun<\/th>Role<\/th>Preposition?<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
che<\/strong><\/td>subject or direct object<\/td>no<\/td>Il libro che<\/strong> leggo.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
cui<\/strong><\/td>any indirect complement<\/td>yes, almost always<\/td>La casa in cui<\/strong> vivo.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
il\/la\/i\/le quale\/i<\/strong><\/td>same as cui<\/em>, more formal<\/td>yes, articulated<\/td>La casa nella quale<\/strong> vivo.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
il\/la\/i\/le cui<\/strong><\/td>possession (= whose)<\/td>no<\/td>L’amico il cui<\/strong> cane abbaia.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
chi<\/strong><\/td>the one who, whoever (people, indefinite)<\/td>rarely<\/td>Chi<\/strong> dorme poco, vive poco.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
coloro che \/ colui che<\/strong><\/td>those who, the one who (formal)<\/td>no<\/td>Coloro che<\/strong> hanno firmato.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
quanto \/ quelli che<\/strong><\/td>everything \/ everyone that<\/td>no<\/td>Fai quanto<\/strong> puoi.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
da + infinito<\/strong><\/td>implicit relative (“to do, to read”)<\/td>no<\/td>Un libro da<\/strong> leggere.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n
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🔍 One rule you cannot break.<\/strong> In Italian, the relative pronoun is never omitted. “The book I read” is always “il libro che<\/strong> leggo”, never “il libro leggo”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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Che: the workhorse (subject and direct object)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Che<\/em> is the most common Italian relative pronoun, and probably one of the most common words in the language full stop. It is invariable. It does not care about gender or number. It does not take an article, does not take a preposition, and covers both subject<\/em> and direct object<\/em> positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n