Relative pronouns- I need help
My question is this:
I have been reading a lot about relative pronouns from a few different sources and there seems to be a lot of rules.Would the following be good rules to follow when speaking:
"When the relative pronoun refers to a person and is in the direct object position, either "que" or "a quien" may be used."
"When the relative pronoun occurs after a preposition and refers to a person, "quien(es)" must be used."
el/la/los/las que can refer to people and things.When the relative pronoun used with a preposition use el/la/los/las que there a loads,loads more that I haven't included
I am a beginner in Spanish would I be able to get by using the following general rules:
for people directly after a verb use - a quien(es) for people after a preposition use - quien(es) e.g. con quien for things directly after a verb use - que for things after a prepostion use - el/la/los/las que
my main concern is to have a few relatively simple rules of thumb that will guide me when I am speaking.I cannot memorize rules about commas,distance between antecedent, or that el cual is more common in formal oratory and written Spanish.Are my rules OK?
4 Answers
Cool thank you.I don't really have a lot of opportunities to speak Spanish as I've just recently returned to Ireland.Can you recommend a good book for the basics of Spanish,something that allows you to build your own sentences. I prefer learning in a way that allows me to deconstruct language and then build it back up in a different sentence.
A lot of the elementary books I've found at my local library are too concerned with:
where is the Library can I order two orange juices please I am 22 years old
No offense to the publishers,but I find learning kind of books boring and when I'm not stimulated I don't learn.To make a long question short, are there any fun enjoyable online courses or books that you would recommend getting.
Thanks for you help.
gsdfsggs said:
Lol - I'd say you just need to talk and not worry too much about that.
I cannot agree more. Stop worrying so much about getting the grammar right and just start talking. Use que and lo/la que and don't worry about the rest. With time and listening to native speakers speak in real conversation some things just click without you even thinking about them.
PS: I think this applies to almost all grammar other than sentence order (which can affect meaning). You are going to make 1000s of mistakes learning Spanish. Better to get started making mistakes than not talk because you are worried about getting the grammar right.
One more thought. How many of your friends speak in truly grammatically correct English all the time. My bet is none of them do. When speaking we use many shortcuts and sentence fragments, slang and idiomatic expressions. Native Spanish speakers do the same. So perfect grammar is not needed to communicate. And really that is what language is about: communicating.
Lol - I'd say you just need to talk and not worry too much about that.
However:
Que is used most of the time.
Quien refers to people - however Que also refers to people. I use Que most of the time. Maybe you should try posting a few sentences with quien to see if you are using it correctly. To be honest, you can probably spend you're time more effectivley learning other stuff until you get better. I think you have the basic idea already.
You're right - you don't really need lo cual etc. to get by in spoken spanish.
Tim
I love the idea of watching cartoons to learn unfortunately the characters were speaking a little fast. Do you know of any childrens books I can read for beginners.Y'know the kind of books you read when your first learning how to read as a kid,with sentences like:
Ben and Lad can jump.Ben and Lad can jump high.
Ben was angry with lad because.... etc,etc
I appreciate all the help
