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quī, quae, quod: who, which, that

The relative pronoun, its agreement rule, and the question words quis and quid.

LatinIntermediate Latin · PronounsAbout 4 min: 2 reading, 2 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Decline quī, quae, quod
  • Make a relative agree with its antecedent in gender and number but take its case from its own clause
  • Use quis, quid and quī, quae, quod in questions
Latin Level 2: verbs and the other declensions: lesson 19 of 35
  1. Intermediate Latin · Verbs: the present system
  2. sum: I am, I was, I shall be 3 min
  3. The present of amō and moneō 4 min
  4. The imperfect: was doing 4 min
  5. The future: will do 3 min
  6. The dative with adjectives 3 min
  7. The present of regō and audiō 4 min
  8. The imperfect of regō and audiō, and verbs that take the dative 3 min
  9. The future of regō and audiō 3 min
  10. capiō, and giving orders 3 min
  11. Intermediate Latin · The passive voice
  12. The passive: being done to 3 min
  13. The passive of regō, audiō and capiō; passive infinitives 3 min
  14. Synopses, and the ablative of "from" 3 min
  15. Intermediate Latin · The perfect tenses
  16. fuī, fueram, fuerō: the perfect tenses of sum 3 min
  17. The perfect active: did, have done 5 min
  18. Had done, will have done: pluperfect and future perfect active 3 min
  19. amātus sum: the perfect passive 4 min
  20. Principal parts, prepositions, and yes-or-no questions 5 min
  21. possum, "I can", and the infinitive 3 min
  22. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  23. quī, quae, quod: who, which, that 4 min
  24. Intermediate Latin · The third declension
  25. rēx, rēgis: the third declension 4 min
  26. hostis, urbs, mare: i-stems 4 min
  27. vīs and iter; gender in the third declension 4 min
  28. omnis, ācer, pār: third-declension adjectives 3 min
  29. Intermediate Latin · The fourth and fifth declensions
  30. manus, cornū: the fourth declension 3 min
  31. Rōmae, domī, Athēnīs: place and the locative 4 min
  32. diēs, rēs: the fifth declension and the ablative of time 3 min
  33. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  34. ego, tū, sē: personal and reflexive pronouns 4 min
  35. ipse, "himself", and īdem, "the same" 3 min
  36. hic, iste, ille: this and that 4 min
  37. aliquis, quīdam, quisque: someone, a certain, each 3 min
  38. Intermediate Latin · Comparison
  39. clārior, clārissimus: comparing adjectives 4 min
  40. melior, optimus: irregular comparison, plūs, and "by how much" 3 min
  41. clārē, fortiter: adverbs and their comparison 4 min
  42. Intermediate Latin · Numerals
  43. ūnus, duo, trēs: numerals, "of" the whole, and "for how long" 5 min
  44. Intermediate Latin · Deponent verbs
  45. hortor, sequor: deponent verbs 3 min

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Pairs with D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Ginn, 1909), Lesson XXXVIII ("The Relative Pronoun and the Interrogative Pronoun"), §§ 219–227

What it is

A relative pronoun (who, which, that) joins a clause to a noun, its antecedent: the men who were taken.

Singular:

Masc.Fem.Neut.
Nom.quīquaequod
Gen.cuiuscuiuscuius
Dat.cuicuicui
Acc.quemquamquod
Abl.quōquāquō

Plural:

Masc.Fem.Neut.
Nom.quīquaequae
Gen.quōrumquārumquōrum
Dat.quibusquibusquibus
Acc.quōsquāsquae
Abl.quibusquibusquibus

Most endings are those of is, ea, id. Cuius has two syllables (KOO-yoos); cui has one.

The rule: the relative agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but its case comes from its job in its own clause.

  • Rōmānī virōs quī captī sunt interfēcērunt. → The Romans killed the men who were taken. (quī: masculine plural like virōs, nominative as subject of captī sunt)
  • Rōmānī fēminam quae capta est interfēcērunt. → … the woman who was taken.

Questions. "Who? what?" is the interrogative pronoun quis, quid (singular quis, cuius, cui, quem, quō; neuter quid; plural like quī). "Which …? what …?" before a noun is the adjective quī, quae, quod:

  • Quis est vir? → Who is the man?
  • Quī vir eōs dūcit? → What man is leading them?

Quick check

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  1. "the girl whom we saw": which form is "whom"?

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    quam. Feminine singular (like puella), accusative (object of vīdimus).

Why it matters

Relative clauses let you build longer, real sentences: the town which the Romans had taken, the boy whose fields are large. The agreement rule is how you find the antecedent in a long Latin sentence.

Worked example

Puer cuius agrī magnī sunt in lūdō labōrat. → The boy whose fields are large works at school.

  • Antecedent: puer (masculine singular)
  • cuius: masculine singular to match puer; genitive because it means "whose" in its own clause

Common mistake

Copying the antecedent's case: wrong: virōs quōs captī sunt. Virōs is accusative in the main clause, but inside its own clause the relative is the subject, so it is nominative: quī captī sunt.

Key terms

relative pronoun
who, which, that: quī, quae, quod
antecedent
the noun the relative refers to
quis, quid
who? what? (pronoun)
quī, quae, quod (question)
which …? what …? (adjective)
interficiō, interficere, interfēcī, interfectus
kill
fēmina, -ae
woman

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.

FrontBack
relative pronounwho, which, that: quī, quae, quod
antecedentthe noun the relative refers to
quis, quidwho? what? (pronoun)
quī, quae, quod (question)which …? what …? (adjective)
interficiō, interficere, interfēcī, interfectuskill
fēmina, -aewoman

Practice

Quick quiz

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. "the towns which the Romans took": which form is "which"?

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    quae. Neuter plural (like oppida), accusative (object of took): quae.

  2. "the farmers to whom we gave a reward": "to whom"

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    quibus. Masculine plural, dative.

  3. "Who is coming?"

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    Quis venit?. The pronoun is quis; quī is the adjective before a noun.

Sort it

Relative ("who/which", joining a clause) or interrogative ("who?/what?", asking)?

  1. Puer quī venit

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    Relative. The boy who is coming.

  2. Quis venit?

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    Interrogative. Who is coming?

  3. Quid vidēs?

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    Interrogative. What do you see?

  4. oppidum quod cēpērunt

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    Relative. The town which they took.

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

You are a patient Latin tutor. Use the classical pronunciation only, never the Church one: c is always k, g is always hard, v sounds like w, ae like the ai in aisle, and long vowels are held longer. Speak slowly. Use only these Latin words: quī, quae, quod, cuius, cui, quem, quam, quōs, quās, quibus, quis, quid, puer, puella, oppidum, venit. Say English phrases like 'the girl whom we saw', 'the boy who is coming' or 'who is coming?', and I will say them in Latin with the right pronoun. Then ask me why I chose that case. Do 8 phrases. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Speak English except for the Latin itself.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. This course teaches the classical pronunciation (see lesson 1); AI voices may mix it with the Church (Italian-style) one, so ask for classical and check against lesson 1. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

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In short

  • quī, quae, quod: who, which, that.
  • Gender and number from the antecedent; case from its own clause.
  • quis, quid: who? what? (pronoun).
  • quī, quae, quod before a noun: which …? what …?

Mastery check

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Check yourself

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  1. Give the dative singular of quī.

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    cui.

  2. In fēminae quās vīdimus, why is quās accusative?

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    It is the object of vīdimus in its own clause.

  3. Translate Quid fēcistī?

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    What have you done? / What did you do?

Further reading

  • D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners, Lesson XXXVIII, §§ 219–227. Public domain; Project Gutenberg.