LingoflyRelative clauses: el lloc on…, el dia que…
A defining clause hooks onto the noun with a linking word. The general one is que: el llibre que llegeixo — the book I am reading. For example: “El lloc on vam conèixer-nos ja no existeix” — The place where we met no longer exists. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A defining clause hooks onto the noun with a linking word. The general one is que: el llibre que llegeixo — the book I am reading.
For a place — on: el lloc on vam conèixer-nos — the place where we met. Both pronoun orders are correct; speech more often says on ens vam conèixer.
For a time — que, or the sturdier en què: el dia que va arribar — the day he arrived. Also l'any en què va néixer — the year he was born.
The linking word stands right after its noun. Pull "el lloc" and "on" apart and the listener is lost. For a possessor, use el/la qual after a preposition: la noia el pare de la qual és metge — the girl whose father is a doctor. In speech, que plus a possessive is simpler: la noia que son pare és metge. That version is spoken, not written.
Table
| link | attaches to | example |
|---|---|---|
| que | a thing or a person | el llibre que llegeixo |
| on | a place | el lloc on vam conèixer-nos |
| que / en què | a time | el dia que va arribar |
By example
- La pel·lícula que vam veure era en catalàThe film we watched was in Catalan
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Relative clauses: how does it work in Catalan?
A defining clause hooks onto the noun with a linking word. The general one is que: el llibre que llegeixo — the book I am reading.
What does it look like in a Catalan example sentence?
“El lloc on vam conèixer-nos ja no existeix” — The place where we met no longer exists. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.