Advanced Relative Pronouns in Italian

In Brief

Italian uses chi for an unspecified person (“whoever” or “the person who”), ciò che and quello che for an unspecified thing or idea (“what”), and il che to comment on an entire preceding statement (“which”). For possession, cui combines with an article—il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui—and the article agrees with the thing possessed, not with its owner.

Overview

At B1, relative pronouns such as che and cui let you attach a relative clause (a clause that identifies or describes someone or something) to a noun: la collega che lavora qui (“the colleague who works here”), il progetto di cui parliamo (“the project we are talking about”). At B2, you learn to build relative expressions without a stated noun and to refer back to a complete fact rather than to one noun.

This matters because English uses what, whoever, whose, and which in several different ways. Italian divides those jobs among distinct constructions. Compare Quello che dici è vero (“What you say is true”) with Hai detto la verità, il che mi ha rassicurato (“You told the truth, which reassured me”). The first expression fills the role of a noun; the second comments on the previous event as a whole.

These forms are common in conversation, news, essays, and professional writing. Quello che is especially frequent in speech, while ciò che, il che, and possessive il cui often give writing a more compact or formal tone.

How It Works

Free relative clauses: a relative without a stated noun

A free relative clause contains its own implied antecedent (the person or thing being referred to). In Chi cerca trova, no noun appears before chi: the meaning is “the person who seeks” or “whoever seeks.”

Form	Refers to	Usual English meaning	Example
chi	an unspecified person or people	whoever; anyone who; the person who	Chi arriva prima aspetta fuori.
ciò che	an unspecified thing, fact, or idea	what; that which	Non capisco ciò che intendi.
quello che	an unspecified thing, fact, or idea	what; the thing that	Quello che proponi è ragionevole.
tutto ciò che / tutto quello che	the whole of an unspecified set	everything that	Ricordo tutto quello che hai detto.

Chi: “whoever” or “the person who”

Chi is normally used for people and is grammatically singular in general statements:

• Chi + singular verb: Chi vuole può entrare. — “Anyone who wants to may come in.”
• Preposition + chi: Parlo con chi conosce già il problema. — “I am speaking with someone who already knows the problem.”
• Two roles in two clauses: Do il libro a chi ne ha bisogno. — “I give the book to whoever needs it.”

The preposition before chi belongs to its role in the main clause. In con chi lavoro, con is required because you work with someone. The relative clause then has its own verb and structure.

Do not put chi after a stated antecedent (the noun described by a relative clause). Italian says la persona che mi ha chiamato, not la persona chi mi ha chiamato. Once the noun is present, use che, cui, or another ordinary relative form.

Ciò che and quello che: “what”

English what can mean “the thing that.” In that use, Italian normally chooses ciò che or quello che:

• Ciò che conta è il risultato. — “What matters is the result.”
• Quello che mi preoccupa è il costo. — “What worries me is the cost.”

Here, che introduces the relative clause, while ciò or quello supplies the general meaning “that thing.” Ciò che is invariant and often sounds concise, abstract, or written. Quello che is neutral and extremely common in speech as well as writing. With an abstract meaning, it normally remains masculine singular: quello che penso, even when no masculine noun is understood.

A preposition can come before the whole expression when required:

• Non è quello a cui pensavo. — “It is not what I was thinking of.”
• Dipende da ciò che decideranno. — “It depends on what they decide.”
• Concentrati su quello che puoi controllare. — “Focus on what you can control.”

Notice that a cui, not a che, appears when the verb inside the relative clause is pensare a. This is the same preposition rule used with ordinary cui.

When quello points to an identifiable person or set rather than an abstract “what,” it can change form: quella che parla (“the one who is speaking”), quelli che hanno prenotato (“those who booked”). In that pattern, quello/quella/quelli/quelle is a demonstrative pronoun (a form meaning “that one/those”), and che starts an ordinary relative clause.

Il che: referring to a whole statement

Il che does not replace a noun. It refers back to the fact, event, or situation expressed by the preceding clause:

È arrivato tardi, il che mi ha sorpreso.
“He arrived late, which surprised me.”

The implied meaning is questa cosa / questo fatto (“this fact”). For that reason, il che is fixed: it does not become la che or i che. A comma, dash, or full stop usually separates it from the statement it comments on.

A preposition may precede il che if the new clause requires one:

• Ha accettato subito, per il che gli siamo grati. — “He accepted immediately, for which we are grateful.”
• More naturally in much modern prose: Ha accettato subito, cosa di cui gli siamo grati. — “He accepted immediately, something for which we are grateful.”

Forms such as per il che are correct but can sound formal or literary. Plain il che as the subject or object of the following clause is much more broadly useful.

Possession with il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui

Possessive cui corresponds roughly to English whose. The construction has this order:

owner/antecedent + article + cui + possessed noun + relative clause

In la donna il cui figlio conosco, la donna is the owner and figlio is the possessed noun. The article agrees in gender and number with figlio, not with donna.

Possessed noun	Form	Example	English
masculine singular	il cui	lo scrittore il cui romanzo ha vinto	the writer whose novel won
feminine singular	la cui	lo scrittore la cui opera ha vinto	the writer whose work won
masculine plural	i cui	la società i cui uffici sono a Roma	the company whose offices are in Rome
feminine plural	le cui	il progetto le cui fasi sono descritte qui	the project whose stages are described here

There is no second article before the possessed noun: la cui sorella, not la cui la sorella. Unlike English whose, this construction can refer naturally to people, organizations, objects, places, and abstract matters.

Italian can often express the same relationship with di cui, but the sentence structure changes:

• Ho incontrato la donna il cui figlio lavora con te.
• Ho incontrato la donna di cui il figlio lavora con te.

Both can mean “I met the woman whose son works with you,” though il cui figlio is the more compact possessive-relative pattern. It is particularly useful in careful writing. A looser alternative often sounds more natural in conversation: Ho incontrato la donna; suo figlio lavora con te.

Cui with specification and required prepositions

Outside the possessive article pattern, cui normally follows a preposition. Choose that preposition from the verb, adjective, or noun in the relative clause—not by translating English word for word.

Relationship	Italian pattern	Example
talking about	parlare di → di cui	il tema di cui parliamo
thinking about	pensare a → a cui	la proposta a cui penso
working with	lavorare con → con cui	la collega con cui lavoro
relying on	contare su → su cui	l'aiuto su cui contiamo
reason for which	per cui	il motivo per cui sono qui

Di cui often marks specification: it links the antecedent to a content, topic, or defining relationship—la questione di cui discutiamo (“the issue we are discussing”). Possession is one possible di relationship, but not every di cui means “whose.”

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Chi cerca trova.	He who seeks finds.	Proverb; chi has no stated antecedent.
Chi non è d'accordo può dirlo.	Anyone who disagrees may say so.	General, unspecified people.
Inviteremo chi ci ha aiutato.	We will invite whoever helped us.	Chi is the object of inviteremo.
Lavoro con chi conosce bene il mercato.	I work with people who know the market well.	The main clause requires con.
Quello che dici è vero.	What you say is true.	Neutral and common in speech.
Ciò che conta non si vede subito.	What matters is not immediately visible.	Ciò che has a more abstract tone.
Ti racconterò tutto quello che è successo.	I will tell you everything that happened.	Frequent pattern with tutto.
Non è quello a cui mi riferivo.	That is not what I was referring to.	Riferirsi a requires a cui.
È arrivato tardi, il che mi ha sorpreso.	He arrived late, which surprised me.	Il che refers to the entire first clause.
Hanno cancellato il volo, il che ha creato molti problemi.	They canceled the flight, which caused many problems.	Comment on a whole event.
La donna il cui figlio conosco vive qui.	The woman whose son I know lives here.	Il agrees with figlio.
È un'autrice le cui opere sono tradotte in molte lingue.	She is an author whose works are translated into many languages.	Le agrees with plural opere.
Visitiamo una città la cui storia risale all'epoca romana.	We are visiting a city whose history dates back to Roman times.	The owner need not be a person.
Questo è il motivo per cui ho rifiutato.	This is the reason why I refused.	Fixed, very common motivo per cui pattern.

Common Mistakes

Using chi after a noun

• Wrong: La persona chi mi ha scritto vive a Torino.
• Right: La persona che mi ha scritto vive a Torino.
• Why: Chi already includes an unspecified human antecedent. After the stated noun la persona, use ordinary relative che.

Translating English “what” as che alone

• Wrong: Che hai detto mi preoccupa.
• Right: Quello che hai detto mi preoccupa.
• Also right: Ciò che hai detto mi preoccupa.
• Why: When “what” means “the thing that,” Italian needs quello/ciò + che. Che cosa? is used for a direct question, not for this free relative clause.

Using il che for one specific noun

• Wrong: Ho letto il libro, il che mi hai consigliato.
• Right: Ho letto il libro che mi hai consigliato.
• Why: The recommended object is the noun libro, so use che. Use il che only when the following clause comments on the whole previous fact: Ho letto il libro, il che mi ha fatto piacere.

Making possessive cui agree with the owner

• Wrong: La donna la cui figlio conosco.
• Right: La donna il cui figlio conosco.
• Why: The article agrees with the possessed noun figlio (masculine singular), not with its owner donna.

Doubling the article

• Wrong: L'azienda i cui gli uffici sono chiusi.
• Right: L'azienda i cui uffici sono chiusi.
• Why: I is already the article belonging to uffici. Do not add gli.

Dropping a required preposition before cui

• Wrong: Il progetto cui stiamo lavorando è complesso.
• Right: Il progetto a cui stiamo lavorando è complesso.
• Why: Italian says lavorare a un progetto, so the relative construction retains a.

Usage Notes

Quello che is usually the safest conversational equivalent of English “what” when it means “the thing that.” Ciò che is fully normal but tends to occur more in explanatory, formal, or written language. In set combinations such as tutto ciò che, it remains common and not excessively formal.

Il che is useful when you want to evaluate or explain a preceding statement without repeating it. It is common in organized speech and writing, but repeated use can make prose heavy. Alternatives include cosa che (“something that/which”), a new sentence beginning with Questo, or a direct conjunction: Hanno cancellato il volo, quindi siamo rimasti a casa.

Possessive il cui/la cui/i cui/le cui is precise and economical, especially in journalism, academic prose, descriptions, and formal correspondence. In spontaneous conversation, speakers often split the information into two clauses or use di cui. That does not make the possessive construction obsolete; it simply carries a more carefully structured tone.

Punctuation changes the information structure. A comma often introduces a non-defining relative clause—extra information rather than identification: Marta, il cui ufficio è al secondo piano, oggi lavora da casa. Without commas, the relative clause may help identify which person or thing is meant.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Chi with the subjunctive

A subjunctive is a verb form often used when something is uncertain, desired, or not presented as a known fact. Chi can introduce such an indefinite person:

• Chiunque voglia partecipare deve iscriversi. — “Anyone who wishes to participate must register.”
• Non so chi possa aiutarti. — “I do not know who may be able to help you.”

The second sentence contains an indirect question, not a free relative: chi means “who,” and non so introduces uncertainty. The form looks similar, so identify its function from the meaning. Chiunque makes the “whoever/anyone who” meaning explicit and often pairs with the subjunctive when the person is not identified.

Quanto as an alternative meaning “all that”

In elevated or compact prose, quanto can equal tutto ciò che:

• Farò quanto posso. — “I will do all I can.”
• Quanto hai scritto è corretto. — “What you wrote is correct.”

This use is worth recognizing, but tutto quello che is generally easier and more conversational.

Avoiding ambiguity with whole-clause reference

English which may point either to the nearest noun or to the whole previous clause. Italian can make the distinction clearer:

• Ha venduto la casa, che aveva bisogno di lavori. — The house needed work.
• Ha venduto la casa, il che mi ha sorpreso. — The fact that the house was sold surprised me.

This contrast is one of the strongest reasons to master il che: it prevents the reader from attaching the comment to the wrong noun.

Layered possession

Possessive cui can appear inside longer noun phrases: un'azienda i cui principali clienti vivono all'estero (“a company whose main clients live abroad”). The article still agrees with the head noun—the central noun of the phrase—so i agrees with plural clienti, not with principali or azienda. Keep the owner, cui, and the possessed noun close together; an overloaded phrase can become hard to read even when it is grammatical.

Practice Tips

1. Sort English prompts by meaning before translating. Label each as “person without a noun” (chi), “thing without a noun” (quello che/ciò che), “whole previous fact” (il che), or “possession” (il cui forms). This prevents one-to-one translation from English who/what/which/whose.
2. Build possessive pairs. Start with la scrittrice + il romanzo and combine them as la scrittrice il cui romanzo.... Repeat with feminine and plural possessed nouns until article agreement becomes automatic.
3. Keep a preposition notebook for verbs. Record chunks such as pensare a → a cui, parlare di → di cui, and contare su → su cui. Then rewrite ordinary sentences as relative clauses.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Pronouns — review che, preposition + cui, and relative clauses with a stated antecedent before using these advanced patterns.