AP Spanish Relative Pronouns: Practice Test & Review

By SpanishGram

Relative pronouns connect a noun to the clause that describes it. Spanish uses que, quien, el que, el cual, cuyo, and lo que, and the choice depends on the antecedent — person or thing — and on the structure of the clause: restrictive or non-restrictive, with or without a preposition, with or without a stated antecedent. The AP exam tests this in reading passages, where a relative clause often carries the key information, and in the written free-response tasks, where a connector that links ideas cleanly is part of what the rater scores.

This page gives you a five-part practice quiz: an evaluation set to see where you stand, three practice sets to drill the contrast, and a challenge set to confirm mastery. Every question is built around a sentence feature that forces exactly one relative pronoun: a specific antecedent, a required preposition, a non-restrictive clause marked by commas, a possessive relationship, or a free relative with no antecedent. If you get stuck, scroll down for the full grammar guide.

Ready? Start with the evaluation set below.

Grammar Guide

This guide explains the relative pronouns in Spanish. The quiz above drills the contrast. The guide is for review and reference.

The Rule

A relative pronoun connects a noun, called the antecedent, to the clause that describes it. The choice of pronoun depends on three things: whether the antecedent is a person or a thing, whether the clause is restrictive or non-restrictive, and whether a preposition is involved. Que is the default and works for both people and things in restrictive clauses. Quien is used for people after a preposition and in non-restrictive clauses. El que and el cual are used after prepositions or in non-restrictive clauses when the form needs to agree with the antecedent. Cuyo marks possession. Lo que refers to an idea or situation when there is no stated antecedent.

Que: Restrictive, Thing or Person

Antecedent	Example	Translation
Thing	El libro que leí es interesante.	The book that I read is interesting.
Person	La persona que me ayudó es mi vecina.	The person who helped me is my neighbor.
Plural thing	Los libros que compramos son de la biblioteca.	The books that we bought are from the library.
Plural person	Los estudiantes que estudian mucho aprueban.	The students who study a lot pass.

Quien / Quienes: People After a Preposition or Non-Restrictive

Use	Example	Translation
After a preposition (singular)	El hombre con quien hablé es mi jefe.	The man I spoke with is my boss.
After a preposition (plural)	Los amigos con quienes viajé son de Chile.	The friends I traveled with are from Chile.
Non-restrictive clause	Mi vecina, quien vive al lado, es pintora.	My neighbor, who lives next door, is a painter.

El Que / El Cual: After a Preposition or Non-Restrictive

Use	Example	Translation
After a preposition, thing	La empresa para la que trabajo es multinacional.	The company I work for is multinational.
After a preposition, thing	El tema del cual hablamos es complicado.	The topic we are talking about is complicated.
Non-restrictive clause	La novela, la cual ganó el premio, es larga.	The novel, which won the prize, is long.

Cuyo: Possession

Agreement	Example	Translation
Masculine singular	La chica cuyo padre es médico estudia conmigo.	The girl whose father is a doctor studies with me.
Masculine plural	El estudiante cuyos padres son médicos quiere ser doctor.	The student whose parents are doctors wants to be a doctor.
Feminine singular	La familia cuya casa visitamos es muy amable.	The family whose house we visited is very kind.
Feminine plural	El alumno cuyas notas son excelentes recibió un premio.	The student whose grades are excellent received a prize.

Lo Que: No Antecedent, Idea or Situation

Use	Example	Translation
The thing that (subject)	Lo que me molesta es el ruido.	What bothers me is the noise.
The thing that (object)	No entiendo lo que dices.	I don’t understand what you are saying.
Fixed expression	Lo que pasa es que no hay tiempo.	What’s happening is that there is no time.

Fixed Expressions

Expression	Meaning	Pronoun
lo que pasa es que…	what’s happening is that…	Lo que
lo que más me gusta…	what I like most…	Lo que
por lo que…	for which…	Lo que
a lo que…	to what…	Lo que
con lo que…	with which…	Lo que

Common Mistakes

1. Quien in a restrictive clause without a preposition.
✗ La persona quien me ayudó es mi vecina.
✓ La persona que me ayudó es mi vecina.
In a restrictive clause with no preposition, que is the standard form, even for a person.

2. Que after a preposition with a person.
✗ El hombre con que hablé es mi jefe.
✓ El hombre con quien hablé es mi jefe.
After a preposition with a person antecedent, quien is required.

3. Cuyo not agreeing with the noun it modifies.
✗ La chica cuya padre es médico…
✓ La chica cuyo padre es médico…
Cuyo agrees with the noun that follows it (padre: masculine singular), not with the antecedent (chica).

4. Que instead of lo que when there is no antecedent.
✗ No entiendo que dices.
✓ No entiendo lo que dices.
When there is no stated antecedent and the pronoun refers to an idea, lo que is required.

Quick Decision Chart

Ask yourself	Answer	Pronoun
Is there a stated antecedent?	Yes, restrictive clause	Que
Is the antecedent a person after a preposition?	Yes	Quien / quienes
Is the antecedent a thing after a preposition?	Yes	El que / el cual
Is the clause non-restrictive and set off by commas?	Yes	Que, quien, or el cual
Does it mark possession?	Yes	Cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas
Is there no stated antecedent?	Yes	Lo que

Two Sentences That Show the Difference

El hombre con quien hablé es mi jefe.
The man I spoke with is my boss.
After a preposition with a person antecedent, quien is required.

La empresa para la que trabajo es multinacional.
The company I work for is multinational.
After a preposition with a thing antecedent, la que (agreeing with empresa) is the clean form.

TagsAP AP GRAMMAR