A relative pronoun introduces a clause that is related to the main sentence through the noun or pronoun the relative pronoun refers to. In English, relative pronouns are who/whom, which, and that. In these sentences, the relative pronoun is in boldface, the noun or pronoun it refers to in the main sentence is in italics, and the relative clause is underlined.

• I see the boy who won the race.
• He who hesitates is lost.
• Julia was the woman whom Marcus loved.

As the third sentence shows, the relative pronoun is sometimes implied in English. This doesn't happen in Latin; in Latin the relative pronoun is always used.

• Julia was the woman Marcus loved.

Note that who, whom, and which, when used to ask questions in English, are not relative pronouns; they are interrogatives. A relative pronoun will always refer to a noun or pronoun in the main sentence, even if that noun or pronoun is only implied.

The relative pronoun is quī, quae, quod, and is declined as below. You'll notice that it is declined similarly to the numerals unus and duo and the demonstratives like ille and hic, but it has a few irregularities of its own.

The relative pronoun takes its case from the relative clause it introduces, but it matches its antecedent (the noun or pronoun it relates to) in gender, number, and person. For example:

• I saw the boy who carried the grain. - Puerum qui frumentum portavit vidi.

The relative pronoun, quī, matches its antecedent, puerum, in gender (masculine) and number (singular), and is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the relative clause “who carried the grain.” Often it helps to look at the relative clause as if it were a complete sentence on its own, to help see what the case of the relative pronoun should be. (This is one area where it helps to have a good understanding of English grammar. If you have a good handle on “who/whom” in English, getting it right in Latin will be easy. On the other hand, learning to get it right in Latin will make “who/whom” a breeze.) Some more examples:

• I saw the girl whose horse was white. - Puellam cuius equus erat albus.

The relative pronoun, cuīus, matches puellam in gender and number (feminine singular), and has the genitive case because of its use in the relative clause (“whose horse was white” = “the horse of whom was white”).

• They whom we keep safe are our friends. - Ei quos servamus amici nostri sunt.

In this case, the antecedent is a pronoun that could have been left out. Quos is in the accusative because it is the object of the verb servo in the relative clause, and masculine plural to match the antecedent “they” from the main sentence.

• Puella cui equum dedi felix erat. - The girl to whom I gave a horse was happy.

Cui is in the dative because it's the indirect object of “I gave,” and feminine singular to match its antecedent puella.

• Oppida in quibus habitavi sunt multa. - The towns in which I've lived are many.

Quibus is the ablative of place where, and neuter plural to match the antecedent oppida.

• Nos qui navigamus mare amamus. - We who sail love the sea.

Note that since qui is first person plural to match its antecedent nos (we), its verb navigamus is also first person plural.

• Puer quōcum ambulabam est amicus meus. - The boy with whom I was walking is my friend.

When the relative pronoun is combined with cum in the ablative, cum is attached to it as a suffix like the personal pronouns like mecum and nobiscum.

• cīvitās, cīvitātis, f., citizenship, state
• homō, hominis, m., human being, man
• hortus, -ī, m., garden
• labor, labōris, m., hardship; work
• lēx, lēgis, f., law
• multitūdō, multitūdinis, f., crowd, great number
• pēs, pedis, m., foot
• virtūs, virtūtis, f., manliness, courage

• bibō, bibere, bibī, —-, drink
• currō, currere, cucurrī, cursum, run
• dicō, dicere, dixī, dictum, say, tell
• edō, edere, ēdī, ēsum, eat
• petō, petere, petīvī, petītum, seek; ask; attack; aim at
• scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum, write

-tūdō, -tūdinis - When this suffix is added to an adjective, it creates a feminine third declension noun that names the quality of the adjective, like great → greatness. Examples:

Dicō joins two words we've learned already, ducō and faciō, in having an irregular form in the singular active imperative. These three verbs (and at least one more we'll learn later) do not take the -e ending that third conjugation verbs regularly take for the imperative. So their singular imperative forms are simply their stems: dic, duc, and fac.

• Duc nos, Marce! - Lead us, Marcus!

Bibō has no fourth principal part, which means it is never used in the passive (which we haven't learned yet).

Petō has a wide variety of meanings which all carry the idea of coming up to someone or something with a purpose. You might come up to someone to ask him something, or to attack him.

Homō and Vir. Both words are commonly translated as “man” in English, but homō means human being, or man as opposed to animals, while vir means “man” as opposed to woman. Homō in the plural (hominēs) may mean “people.” Vir can also mean “manly man” or “hero,” in the right context.

1. The boy who carried the grain carried no water (nothing of water).
2. People who live in the city are not often good farmers.
3. Marcus was the boy to whom the lieutenant gave his sword.
4. The song which the poet wrote yesterday is beautiful.
5. Marcus, build a bridge on which we will walk across the river.
6. The dinner which I ate with my three friends was good.
7. All the women who live in this town have great beauty.
8. The first boy whose horse runs across the field will defeat his friends in the games.
9. Birds live in the forest near which we have our garden.
10. The laws which our leaders made once upon a time have guarded us well.

These are a few passages from the 1962 Roman Missal. Vocabulary words we haven't encountered yet are in the footnotes; run your mouse over the little digits to pop them up.

1. Exaudi¹⁾, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad te:
2. Dominus illuminatio²⁾ mea, et salus³⁾ mea, quem timebo?
3. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi.

The Hail Mary. Notice there are no verbs at all in the first half; they're all implied.

Find an English word derived from each Latin word in the vocabulary.

The relative pronouns are tricky, especially if you didn't learn them well in English. But they're used constantly in Latin, so the sooner you get them down pat the better. Next lesson we'll move on to interrogative pronouns and adjectives, which are similar.

1. The boy who carried the grain carried no water (nothing of water). - Puer qui frumentum portavit nihil aquae portavit.
2. People who live in the city are not often good farmers. - Homines qui in urbe habitant agricolae boni non saepe sunt.
3. Marcus was the boy to whom the lieutenant gave his sword. - Marcus erat puer cui legatus gladium eius dedit.
4. The song which the poet wrote yesterday is beautiful. - Carmen quod poeta heri scripsit est pulchrum.
5. Marcus, build a bridge on which we will walk across the river. - Fac, Marce, pontem in quo trans flumen ambulabimus.
6. The dinner which I ate with my three friends was good. - Cena quam cum tribus amicis edi erat bona.
7. All the women who live in this town have great beauty. - Omnes feminae quae in hoc oppidum habitant pulchritudinem magnam habent.
8. The first boy whose horse runs across the field will defeat his friends in the games. - Puer primus cuius equus trans agrum currit amicos eius in ludis vincet.
9. Birds live in the forest near which we have our garden. - Aves in silva ad quam hortum nostrum habemus habitant.
10. The laws which our leaders made once upon a time have guarded us well. - Leges quas duces nostri olim fecerunt nos bene servaverunt.

These are a few passages from the 1962 Roman Missal. Vocabulary words we haven't encountered yet are in the footnotes; run your mouse over the little digits to pop them up.

1. Exaudi¹¹⁾, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad te: - Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I have cried to Thee.
2. Dominus illuminatio¹²⁾ mea, et salus¹³⁾ mea, quem timebo? - The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
3. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi. - Praise the Lord, all nations; praise Him, all peoples.

The Hail Mary. Notice there are no verbs at all in the first half; they're all implied.

• cīvitās, cīvitātis, f., citizenship, state, civilization
• homō, hominis, m., human being, man, ??
• hortus, -ī, m., garden, horticulture
• labor, labōris, m., hardship; work, labor
• lēx, lēgis, f., law, legal
• multitūdō, multitūdinis, f., crowd, great number, multitude
• pēs, pedis, m., foot, pedestrian
• virtūs, virtūtis, f., manliness, courage, virtue

• bibō, bibere, bibī, —-, drink, imbibe
• currō, currere, cucurrī, cursum, run, cursor, course
• dicō, dicere, dixī, dictum, say, tell, dictate
• edō, edere, ēdī, ēsum, eat, ??
• petō, petere, petīvī, petītum, seek; ask; attack; aim at, ??
• scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum, write, script, inscribe