Relative Clause With a Preposition

Level 3

The preposition comes first, and the pronoun follows it.

How It Works

Latin	English
villa in qua habito	the house in which I live
amici cum quibus venio	the friends with whom I come
puella ad quam venio	the girl to whom I come
hortus in quo sumus	the garden in which we are

The gender and number come from the noun, and the case comes from the preposition. In qua is feminine because villa is, and it is ablative because in with a place means where.

The word cum can join the pronoun: cum quibus and quibuscum mean the same.

English often drops the pronoun, as in the house I live in. Latin cannot, so the pronoun and the preposition must both be there.

Examples (5)

Villa in qua habito magna est.
The house in which I live is big.
In qua is feminine like villa, and ablative for a place where.
Amici cum quibus venio laeti sunt.
The friends with whom I am coming are happy.
Quibus is the ablative plural after cum.
Puella ad quam venio Iulia est.
The girl to whom I am coming is Iulia.
Ad takes the accusative, so the pronoun is quam.
Hortus in quo sumus pulcher est.
The garden in which we are is beautiful.
In quo is masculine like hortus, and ablative for a place where.
Ecclesia in qua oramus magna est.
The church in which we pray is big.
In qua matches the feminine noun ecclesia.

Common Mistakes

Leaving the pronoun in the nominative after a preposition.
Amici cum qui venio laeti sunt.
Amici cum quibus venio laeti sunt.
Cum takes the ablative, so the pronoun must be quibus.
Using in with the accusative for a place where.
Villa in quam habito magna est.
Villa in qua habito magna est.
In with the accusative means into. For the place where I live, use the ablative: in qua.

How It Connects

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Relative Clause With a PrepositionLevel 3

Learn This First

A preposition decides the case of the relative.

Words in This Pattern

qui

Practice Relative Clause With a Preposition in Bubblegum

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