Relative Pronouns *que* and *quem* in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese que is the everyday relative pronoun for both people and things: a mulher que chegou (“the woman who arrived”) and o filme que vimos (“the film that we saw”). Use quem mainly for people after a preposition: o amigo com quem viajei (“the friend I travelled with”). Neither form changes for gender or number.

Overview

A relative pronoun links a noun to a relative clause (a short clause that identifies or describes that noun). Instead of saying Conheço a médica. A médica trabalha aqui (“I know the doctor. The doctor works here”), you can connect the ideas: Conheço a médica que trabalha aqui (“I know the doctor who works here”). The noun being described—a médica in this example—is called the antecedent (the earlier word that the pronoun refers back to).

At A2, the most useful rule is simple: choose que in most relative clauses. It can refer to a person, animal, object, place, or idea, and it can do the job of English “who,” “whom,” “which,” or “that.” Portuguese does not make the English distinction between “who” for people and “which” for things here.

Quem has a narrower role. When it refers back to a stated noun, that noun normally denotes a person and quem normally follows a preposition such as com, de, a, para or por. English often puts that preposition at the end—“the colleague I spoke to”—but standard Portuguese places it before the relative pronoun: a colega com quem falei.

How It Works

The basic choice

Form	What it can refer to	Usual pattern	English equivalents
que	people, animals, things, places, ideas	noun + que + clause	who, whom, which, that
preposition + quem	people (or personified beings)	person + preposition + quem + clause	preposition + whom; who … preposition

Both pronouns are invariable: their form never changes to match masculine, feminine, singular, or plural nouns.

• o rapaz que chegou — the boy who arrived
• as raparigas que chegaram — the girls who arrived
• a pessoa com quem falei — the person I spoke with
• os colegas com quem falei — the colleagues I spoke with

The verbs still agree with their own subjects. In os estudantes que vieram, que stands for plural os estudantes, so the verb is plural: vieram. In o estudante que veio, it is singular: veio. The pronoun itself does not change.

Que as the subject of the relative clause

The subject is the person or thing that performs the action. When the earlier noun performs the verb inside the relative clause, use:

noun + que + verb

• O homem que fala é o meu pai. — The man who is speaking is my father.
• Os estudantes que vieram sentaram-se aqui. — The students who came sat here.
• Tenho um relógio que não funciona. — I have a watch that does not work.

Do not add another subject pronoun after que. The word que already represents the subject inside that clause.

Que as the object of the relative clause

An object is the person or thing affected by the action. When the earlier noun receives the action, the pattern is:

noun + que + subject + verb

• O livro que estou a ler é bom. — The book that I am reading is good.
• A receita que a Ana escolheu é fácil. — The recipe that Ana chose is easy.
• As fotografias que vimos eram antigas. — The photographs that we saw were old.

English can omit an object relative pronoun: “the book I’m reading.” Portuguese normally keeps que: o livro que estou a ler, not o livro estou a ler.

A useful test is to split the sentence into two. Comprei o livro que recomendaste comes from Comprei o livro + Tu recomendaste o livro. Because o livro is the object of recomendaste, que is also the object in the joined sentence.

When a preposition is required

Some Portuguese verbs and expressions require a preposition. Keep that preposition before the relative pronoun:

• gostar de → o filme de que gostei
• precisar de → a informação de que preciso
• morar em → a casa em que moro
• falar com → a pessoa com quem falei

With things and ideas, use preposition + que. With people, preposition + quem is usually the clearest and most natural choice at this level.

Antecedent	Recommended form	Example
thing or idea	preposition + que	o assunto de que falámos
person	preposition + quem	a professora de quem me lembro

The choice of preposition comes from the verb or meaning, not from que or quem themselves. Compare a colega com quem trabalhei (“the colleague I worked with”) and a colega para quem escrevi (“the colleague I wrote to”).

English preposition stranding does not transfer directly

English commonly says “the person I spoke to,” leaving the preposition at the end. In careful Portuguese, do not copy that order:

• a pessoa com quem falei — the person I spoke with
• o cliente para quem enviei a mensagem — the client I sent the message to
• o amigo de quem te falei — the friend I told you about

This is one of the most important habits for an English-speaking learner: learn the Portuguese verb together with its preposition, then carry that preposition into the relative clause.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
O homem que fala é o meu pai.	The man who is speaking is my father.	Que refers to a person and is the subject.
O livro que estou a ler é bom.	The book that I’m reading is good.	Que is the object; estou a ler is common in Portugal.
A pessoa com quem falei trabalha aqui.	The person I spoke with works here.	Quem follows com.
Os estudantes que vieram fizeram perguntas.	The students who came asked questions.	The plural verb agrees with os estudantes.
Esta é a música que ouvimos ontem.	This is the song that we listened to yesterday.	No preposition is required with ouvir.
Conheces a mulher que dirige o café?	Do you know the woman who runs the café?	Que can refer to a woman; it has no gender.
A bicicleta que comprei é usada.	The bicycle that I bought is second-hand.	Portuguese keeps the object pronoun que.
O apartamento em que vivemos é pequeno.	The apartment in which we live is small.	A thing after the required preposition em.
O projeto de que te falei começa amanhã.	The project I told you about starts tomorrow.	Falar de requires de.
A médica em quem confio está de férias.	The doctor whom I trust is on holiday.	Confiar em + a person gives em quem.
Este é o colega para quem enviei o documento.	This is the colleague I sent the document to.	Purpose or recipient expressed by para.
A senhora a quem entreguei as chaves agradeceu.	The woman to whom I gave the keys thanked me.	More careful/formal wording with a quem.
As razões por que saí são pessoais.	The reasons why I left are personal.	Por que can mean “for which.”
Quem chegar primeiro pode escolher.	Whoever arrives first may choose.	Quem has no stated antecedent here.

Common Mistakes

Choosing quem simply because the noun is a person

• Wrong: A mulher quem chegou é médica.
• Right: A mulher que chegou é médica.
• Why: A human antecedent does not automatically require quem. With no preposition, ordinary identifying clauses use que.

Changing que for gender or number

• Wrong: As pessoas ques trabalham aqui.
• Right: As pessoas que trabalham aqui.
• Why: Relative que is always invariable. Only the article, noun, and relevant verb forms show gender or number.

Dropping an object que as in English

• Wrong: O filme vimos ontem foi excelente.
• Right: O filme que vimos ontem foi excelente.
• Why: English permits “the film we saw,” but standard Portuguese requires the relative pronoun.

Leaving the preposition at the end

• Wrong: A pessoa que falei com é simpática.
• Right: A pessoa com quem falei é simpática.
• Why: Standard Portuguese places the required preposition before the relative pronoun.

Forgetting the verb’s preposition

• Wrong: O assunto que falámos era difícil.
• Right: O assunto de que falámos era difícil.
• Why: When the meaning is “talk about,” the construction is falar de. The preposition remains in the relative clause.

Repeating the noun with a pronoun

• Wrong: O rapaz que ele trabalha aqui é meu primo.
• Right: O rapaz que trabalha aqui é meu primo.
• Why: In this meaning, que is already the subject of trabalha. Adding ele creates an unnecessary second subject.

Usage Notes

The core pattern works across Portuguese varieties

The basic distinction between que and preposition + quem applies in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. Other parts of the sentence may vary. For example, “the book I’m reading” may be o livro que estou a ler in Portugal and o livro que estou lendo in Brazil. The relative pronoun remains que.

In informal Brazilian speech, you may hear constructions that repeat a pronoun or leave a preposition later in the clause. These are real spoken patterns, but learners should first master a pessoa com quem falei and o livro de que preciso, which are appropriate in careful speech and writing throughout the Portuguese-speaking world.

Commas change the kind of information

A relative clause can identify exactly which person or thing you mean, or it can add extra information. Compare:

• Os alunos que estudaram passaram. — The students who studied passed. (This identifies a group; perhaps not all students studied.)
• Os alunos, que estudaram muito, passaram. — The students, who studied hard, passed. (The clause adds information about the already identified students.)

The second type is set off by commas in writing and pauses in speech. This difference exists in English too, although punctuation is not always handled equally carefully in informal writing.

Relative que versus question words

Relative que points back to an antecedent: o livro que comprei. Interrogative forms ask a question: O que compraste? (“What did you buy?”) and Quem chegou? (“Who arrived?”). The stressed standalone form quê takes an accent in contexts such as Compraste o quê? (“You bought what?”). These question patterns are related in form but are not relative clauses.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master all of these patterns at A2, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Quem without a stated antecedent

Quem can stand on its own with the meaning “the person who,” “whoever,” or “anyone who”:

• Quem espera sempre alcança. — Those who wait eventually succeed.
• Quem quiser pode participar. — Anyone who wants to may take part.
• Não sei quem telefonou. — I don’t know who called.

The first two are free relative clauses: quem contains the idea of an unspecified person as well as linking the clause. The last is an indirect question (“who called”), so it works differently from a pessoa com quem falei.

O que can refer to a whole idea

When there is no single noun antecedent and the meaning is “what” or “the thing that,” Portuguese often uses o que:

• Não percebi o que disseste. — I didn’t understand what you said.
• Ele perdeu o comboio, o que atrasou a viagem. — He missed the train, which delayed the journey.

In the second example, o que refers to the entire preceding situation, not just o comboio. Do not confuse this unit with simple que after a noun.

Longer and more formal alternatives

Portuguese also has o qual, a qual, os quais, as quais (“which/who”), especially after prepositions, in formal writing, or where a longer form makes the reference clearer: a proposta sobre a qual conversámos. Unlike que and quem, these forms agree in gender and number. They belong to a later stage of study, along with cujo (“whose”) and onde (“where”).

A preposition combined with an article may contract before these forms: pelo qual, na qual, dos quais. With basic que and quem, however, focus first on transparent combinations such as de que, em que, com quem and para quem.

Practice Tips

1. Join sentence pairs. Start with Vi um filme. O filme ganhou um prémio. Then combine them: Vi um filme que ganhou um prémio. Decide whether the repeated noun is the subject or object inside the second clause.
2. Build verb-and-preposition cards. Record gostar de, precisar de, confiar em, falar com and escrever para. Turn each into a relative phrase: o livro de que gostei, a pessoa em quem confio.
3. Use a two-step check. First ask, “person or thing?” Then ask, “does the Portuguese verb require a preposition?” If there is no preposition, que is usually right; with a person after a preposition, choose quem.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — helps you identify the subject inside a relative clause and make the verb agree correctly.
• Next steps: Relative Pronouns: onde, cujo — expands the system to place, possession, and more formal relative structures.