Relative pronouns are one of the trickiest pitfalls of the Italian language, even for the most advanced students. In this article, we will analyze 5 very common mistakes, clearly explaining where the problem lies and what the correct form to use is. After this guide, your Italian will be much more natural and correct!
5 Common Mistakes with Relative Pronouns in Italian
General Overview
Before analyzing the mistakes, it is useful to have a clear picture of the main relative pronouns in Italian and their functions. Here is a summary table that will help you find your way:
| Relative Pronoun | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| CHE [that/who/which] | Subject or direct object (without preposition) | La ragazza che parla è Sofia. [The girl who is speaking is Sofia.] |
| CUI [whom/which] | Indirect complements (with preposition: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra) | Il libro di cui parlo è interessante. [The book about which I’m speaking is interesting.] |
| IL/LA QUALE, I/LE QUALI [who/whom/which] | More formal alternative to “che” and “cui”, agrees in gender and number | L’amica con la quale esco è simpatica. [The friend with whom I go out is nice.] |
| CHI [whoever/he who/those who] | Double relative pronoun (= la persona che / colui che [the person who]). Used without an antecedent | Chi dorme non piglia pesci. [He who sleeps doesn’t catch any fish.] |
| Art. + CUI + Noun | Expresses possession (= del quale / della quale [of whom/whose]) | Marco, il cui padre è medico, vive a Roma. [Marco, whose father is a doctor, lives in Rome.] |
Mistake No. 1: Using “CHI” Instead of “CHE”
❌ “La ragazza CHI parla si chiama Sofia” [The girl WHO is speaking is called Sofia]
This is an extremely common mistake. Many students use “chi” instead of “che” when they want to connect two sentences, but these are two words with very different functions.
Where Is the Mistake?
The mistake lies in using “chi” as a regular relative pronoun. In reality, “chi” is not a simple relative pronoun: it is a double relative pronoun (or mixed). This means it already contains within itself both the antecedent and the relative pronoun.
In practice, “chi” is equivalent to: la persona che, le persone che, colui che, colei che, quelli che [the person who, the people who, he who, she who, those who].
As a result, “chi” is used only when there is no explicit antecedent in the sentence, that is, when you don’t already have a noun or pronoun that the relative refers to. In the example “La ragazza chi parla…” [The girl who is speaking…], the antecedent is definitely there: it’s “la ragazza” [the girl]! So you must use “che“.
The Correct Form
✅ “La ragazza CHE parla si chiama Sofia.” [The girl WHO is speaking is called Sofia.]
“Che” is the most common relative pronoun in Italian. It is used as a subject or as a direct object and never changes form: it does not vary with gender or number.
Linguistic curiosity: when you say “Chi dorme non piglia pesci” [He who sleeps doesn’t catch any fish], that “chi” works perfectly because there is no antecedent — “chi” already means “la persona che” [the person who]. But this aspect will be explored further in mistake no. 5!
Mistake No. 2: Using “CHE” When a Preposition + “CUI” Is Needed
❌ “Ho comprato il libro CHE mi hai parlato” [I bought the book THAT you told me about]
This mistake is incredibly frequent. “Che” seems like a universal word that works everywhere, but in reality it has very specific limitations.
Where Is the Mistake?
The verb “parlare” [to talk/speak] in this context requires the preposition “di” [about]: you say “parlare di qualcosa” [to talk about something]. When in Italian the verb requires a preposition (di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra), you cannot use “che”. You must use “cui“, preceded by the correct preposition.
The fundamental rule is this: “che” replaces only the subject or the direct object (i.e., without a preposition), while “cui” replaces all complements introduced by a preposition (indirect complements).
The Correct Form
✅ “Ho comprato il libro DI CUI mi hai parlato.” [I bought the book you told me ABOUT.]
Why “di cui”? Because the original sentence, if you “break it apart”, would be: “Mi hai parlato di un libro” [You told me about a book] → di + cui = di cui. The trick is to always think about the verb and ask yourself: what preposition does it require? That preposition goes before “cui”.
Examples with different prepositions
| Verb + Preposition | Relative Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| vivere in [to live in] | in cui [in which] | La città in cui vivo è bellissima. [The city in which I live is beautiful.] |
| scrivere a [to write to] | a cui [to whom] | La persona a cui ho scritto non ha risposto. [The person to whom I wrote didn’t reply.] |
| uscire con [to go out with] | con cui [with whom] | L’amico con cui esco stasera è simpaticissimo. [The friend with whom I’m going out tonight is very nice.] |
| parlare di [to talk about] | di cui [about which] | Il film di cui ti ho parlato è uscito ieri. [The movie I told you about came out yesterday.] |
| lavorare per [to work for] | per cui [for which] | L’azienda per cui lavoro è internazionale. [The company for which I work is international.] |
Mistake No. 3: Using “Preposition + IL CHE” Instead of “Preposition + CUI”
❌ “Il giornale per il CHE lavori è molto popolare” [The newspaper for which you work is very popular]
In this case, the speaker understood that a preposition is needed, but then chose to use “che” instead of “cui”.
Where Is the Mistake?
The mistake is in the combination “per il che”, which in Italian does not exist. As we saw in mistake no. 2, when there is a preposition, the relative pronoun to use is always “cui“, never “che”.
There is another important rule to remember: when “cui” is preceded by a preposition to indicate an indirect complement, the preposition is always simple (per, di, a, da, in, con, su, tra, fra), never articulated!
You say “per cui” [for which], “di cui” [about which], “a cui” [to whom], and so on, without inserting the article between the preposition and “cui”.
The Correct Form
✅ “Il giornale per CUI lavori è molto popolare.” [The newspaper for which you work is very popular.]
The Formal Alternative: “Il Quale / La Quale / I Quali / Le Quali”
If you want to use articulated prepositions, then you must use a different relative pronoun: “il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali“ [who/whom/which]. This pronoun is more formal and agrees in gender and number with the antecedent.
✅ “Il giornale per il QUALE lavori è molto popolare.” [The newspaper for which you work is very popular.]
In this case, the preposition is articulated (per il quale) because “giornale” [newspaper] is masculine singular.
Comparison between “cui” and “il quale”
| With “CUI” (simple prep.) | With “IL QUALE” (articulated prep.) |
|---|---|
| L’amica con cui parlo [The friend with whom I speak] | L’amica con la quale parlo [The friend with whom I speak] |
| Il film di cui ti ho parlato [The movie I told you about] | Il film del quale ti ho parlato [The movie about which I told you] |
| La ragione per cui studio [The reason for which I study] | La ragione per la quale studio [The reason for which I study] |
| La città in cui vivo [The city in which I live] | La città nella quale vivo [The city in which I live] |
Both forms are correct! “Cui” is more commonly used in spoken language, while “il quale” is more formal and typical of written language. The key thing to remember is that “il che” with a preposition is never used in this way.
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Join the LearnAmo AcademyMistake No. 4: Confusing the Possessive Structure with “CUI”
❌ “Una persona, il CHE nome non posso dirti, mi ha parlato di lei” [A person, whose name I can’t tell you, told me about her]
This mistake is a bit more advanced, but it’s very important to know. A confusing mix of different structures has been created.
Where Is the Mistake?
The mistake is in the combination “il che nome”, which makes no sense in Italian. When you want to express possession (= “di cui il/la…” [of whom the…]), that is, when the relative pronoun indicates that something belongs to the antecedent, you must use a special structure:
ARTICLE + CUI + NOUN
The key rule is that the article agrees with the thing possessed, NOT with the antecedent!
The Correct Form
✅ “Una persona, il CUI nome non posso dirti, mi ha parlato di lei.” [A person, whose name I can’t tell you, told me about her.]
Let’s analyze: “nome” [name] is masculine singular → il cui nome [whose name].
Examples of the possessive structure
| Thing Possessed | Gender/Number | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sorella [sister] | feminine singular | Marco, la cui sorella è medico, vive a Roma. [Marco, whose sister is a doctor, lives in Rome.] |
| pagine [pages] | feminine plural | Ho letto un libro, le cui pagine erano ingiallite. [I read a book whose pages were yellowed.] |
| studenti [students] | masculine plural | È un professore, i cui studenti lo adorano. [He is a professor whose students adore him.] |
| nome [name] | masculine singular | Una persona, il cui nome non posso dirti… [A person whose name I can’t tell you…] |
This structure is equivalent to saying “del quale / della quale / dei quali / delle quali” [of whom/whose].
Example: “Una persona, il nome della quale non posso dirti…” [A person, the name of whom I can’t tell you…] is more formal and heavier, but equally correct.
Mistake No. 5: Putting the Article Before “CHI”
❌ “Il CHI dorme, non piglia pesci” [He who sleeps doesn’t catch any fish]
This sentence contains a famous Italian proverb (which means that those who don’t make an effort don’t get results), but the article before “chi” ruins everything.
Where Is the Mistake?
The mistake is “il chi”. As we explained in mistake no. 1, “chi” is a double relative pronoun, meaning it already contains the antecedent within itself.
“Chi” is equivalent to “la persona che” / “colui che” [the person who / he who]. Putting an article before “chi” is redundant and incorrect, because it would be like saying “il la persona che” [the the person who].
The Correct Form
✅ “CHI dorme, non piglia pesci.” [He who sleeps doesn’t catch any fish.]
“Chi” must always be used on its own, without articles and without antecedents before it. Here are other correct examples with “chi”:
| Sentence with “CHI” | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Chi cerca, trova. [He who seeks, finds.] | La persona che cerca, trova. [The person who seeks, finds.] |
| Chi va piano, va sano e lontano. [He who goes slowly, goes safely and far.] | La persona che va piano… [The person who goes slowly…] |
| Non capisco chi dice queste cose. [I don’t understand those who say these things.] | …le persone che dicono queste cose. […the people who say these things.] |
| Chi vuole venire è il benvenuto! [Whoever wants to come is welcome!] | Le persone che vogliono venire… [The people who want to come…] |
An interesting aspect: even if “chi” refers to multiple people, the verb that follows is always in the singular! You say “Chi vuole” [Whoever wants], not “Chi vogliono“. This happens because grammatically “chi” is considered singular.
Summary: The Golden Rules of Relative Pronouns
To always have a clear overview of which relative pronoun to use, here is a summary of the fundamental rules:
| Situation | Pronoun to Use | Mistake to Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Subject or direct object with antecedent | CHE | Don’t use “chi” if there is an antecedent |
| Indirect complement with preposition | Simple preposition + CUI | Don’t use “che” after a preposition |
| Indirect complement (formal form) | Articulated preposition + IL QUALE | Don’t use “preposition + il che” |
| Expressing possession | Article + CUI + Noun | Don’t use “il che nome” |
| Generic meaning without antecedent | CHI (on its own) | Don’t put the article before “chi” |
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between “Che” and “Cui”?
“Che” is used when the relative pronoun functions as a subject or as a direct object (without a preposition).
Example: “Il libro che leggo è interessante” [The book that I’m reading is interesting] (che = direct object).
“Cui”, on the other hand, is used for indirect complements, always preceded by a simple preposition.
Example: “Il libro di cui parlo è interessante” [The book I’m talking about is interesting] (parlare di qualcosa [to talk about something]).
When Do You Use “Il Quale” Instead of “Cui”?
“Il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali” can replace “cui” in more formal contexts, especially in written language. The main difference is that with “il quale” you use the articulated preposition (del quale, alla quale, nel quale…) and the pronoun agrees in gender and number with the antecedent.
Example: “La ragazza con cui parlo” [The girl with whom I speak] becomes “La ragazza con la quale parlo” [The girl with whom I speak].
How Do You Express Possession with Relative Pronouns?
To express possession, you use the structure article + CUI + noun. The article agrees with the thing possessed, not with the antecedent.
Example: “Marco, la cui sorella è medico, vive a Roma” [Marco, whose sister is a doctor, lives in Rome] — the article “la” agrees with “sorella” [sister] (feminine singular), not with “Marco”.
The formal alternative is “del quale / della quale” [of whom]: “Marco, la sorella del quale è medico…” [Marco, the sister of whom is a doctor…].
Is “Chi” Always Singular?
Yes, from a grammatical standpoint, “chi” is always singular, even when it refers to a group of people. The verb that follows “chi” must always be conjugated in the third person singular.
Example: “Chi vuole venire è il benvenuto” [Whoever wants to come is welcome] (not “chi vogliono”). However, in meaning, “chi” can refer to either a single person or an indeterminate group of people.
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