ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

• Mario è l’amico (a) cui telefono spesso.
  (Mario è l’amico. Telefono spesso a Mario. a Mario = a cui)
  NB: With “a cui” the use of the “a” is optional and is often omitted

• Mario è l’amico di cui ti ho detto alla festa.
• Mario è l’amico da cui sono andato spesso.
• Mario è l’amico in cui ho molta fiducia.
• Mario è l’amico con cui viaggio per le vacanze.

• Mario è l’amico su cui posso di solito contare.
• Mario è l’amico per cui ho lavorato dieci anni.

Remember, that many verbs in Italian take indirect objects (that is, they are followed by prepositions + object). Because of this, che cannot be used as a relative pronoun because che can only be the subject or direct object . Also, cui is used when these prepositions cannot be left dangling — prepositions in Italian can never end a sentence. Notice that the preposition + cui constructions all refer back to the noun, l’amico – the antecedent!

Below I’ve outlined some examples using cui with various prepositions, showing you how you can combine phrases with cui to make your Italian more like that of a native speaker. I’ve designed the examples below to help you think through the grammar as well as explanations.

• Mario lavora per il primo ministro.
  Ti ho parlato dell’amico, Mario.

  In the example above, you have two independent clauses. A native speaker of Italian would probably combine the two sentences. So how do you go about doing this? A good way of approaching this is to find the common element in both sentences.

  In the examples above, the common element is Mario. In the first sentence, he is the subject. In the second one, he is the object of the preposition (complemento indiretto). Remember, that in order to replace a complement indiretto (which Mario is in the second example), we have to use cui:

  Mario, l’amico di cui ti ho parlato, lavora per il primo ministro.
  Mario, the friend about whom I told you, works for the prime minister.
  Mario, the friend that I told you about, works for the prime minister.

• Il Dottor Giambattista ha studiato a Milano con mio padre.
  Sono andato ieri dal Dottor Giambattista.

  In the example above, the common element is Dottore Giambattista. In the first sentence he is the subject of the sentence. In the second, he is a complemento indiretto or the object of the prepositional phrase that starts with da. How do we combine them?

  Dottore Giambattista, da cui sono andato ieri, ha studiato a Milano con mio padre.
  Dr. Giambattista, to whom I went yesterday, studied in Milan with my father.

  You cannot use che because Dottore Giambattista is not the subject nor the direct object.

• La casa è molto spaziosa.
  Vivo nella casa spaziosa.

  Are you seeing a pattern yet? In the two phrases above, the common element is la casa. So how can you combine the phrases? Notice that in the second phrase, nella casa spaziosa is the object of the prepositional phrase, so you can’t use che. You must account for the preposition, in, to make the sentence grammatically correct:

  La casa, in cui vivo, è molto spaziosa.
  The house that I live in is very spacious.
  The house where I live is very spacious.
  The house in which I live is very spacious.

• Ti ricordi la spiaggia?
  Siamo andati alla spiagga l’anno scorso.

  In the two phrases above, the common element is la spiaggia. In the first phrase, it is the direct object. In the second it is a complement indiretto (in English it would be the object of the preposition). To combine them, we can’t leave any prepositions “dangling”:

  Ti ricordi la spiaggia a cui siamo andati l’anno scorso?
  Do you remember the beach that we went to last year?
  Do you remember the beach to which we went last year?
  

• Qual è stata la macchina?
  Hai imparato a guidare con una Fiat.

  This example is a li
  ttle trickier. The common element is la macchina or the make of the vehicle, this case, la Fiat. In the second example, the make of the car is specified, but it is still the common element. So how can you combine the two phrases to form a more specific and intelligible question:

  Qual è stata la macchina con cui hai imparato a guidare?
  What was the car make with which you learned to drive?
  What was the car make that you learned to drive with?

• Ci sono tanti alberghi nel mio paesino.
  Uno degli alberghi (tra tanti altri alberghi) è a cinque stelle.

  The common element in both examples are the numerous hotels (gli alberghi). With fra/tra you must be referring to a single entity among a group in order to use it in this way, using the English translation of among (notice in the example below how there’s no verb — it is common to omit):
  
  Ci sono tanti alberghi nel mio paesino tra cui uno a cinque stelle.
  There are so many hotels in my town among which one is five stars.

• Oggi la neve ha ricoperto tutte le strade.
  Non potremo partire per le strade.

  Oggi la neve ha ricoperto tutte le strade per cui non potremo partire.
  Today the snow covered all the roads through which we could not leave.
  Today the snow covered all the roads that we could not leave.

  The common element in the sentence above is le strade. Because le strade is part of the prepositional phrase, we can’t leave per by itself.

  Take note that per cui can also mean perciò (therefore, so) or per questo motivo (for this reason), as in this example below (with this usage, per cui functions more as a conjuction than as a relative pronoun):

  Il tuo comportamento è stato deplorevole per cui non hai il permesso di uscire.
  Your behavior was deplorable therefore you do not have permission to go out.

• Ho passato una vacanza indimenticable in Francia.
  La Francia è il mio paese preferito.

  The common element in the two sentences above is the country, La Francia. So how would this sentence look?

  La Francia è il mio paese preferito in cui ho passato una vacanza indimenticabile.
  France is my favorite country in which I spent an unfortgettable vacation.
  France is my favorite country that I spent an unforgettable vacation in.