📖LearnModule 6 · Lesson 16 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 4 · Sentences that breathe
que — the one word that joins
Module 6 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 16 of 30: Two short sentences become one good one with que: Tengo un amigo. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
que
that, which, who (relative)
keh
el amigo que habla
the friend who is talking
ehl ah-MEE-goh keh AH-blah
la película
the movie
lah peh-LEE-koo-lah
la película que empieza
the movie that starts
lah peh-LEE-koo-lah keh ehm-PYEH-sah
empieza a las ocho
it starts at eight
ehm-PYEH-sah ah lahs OH-choh
elegir
to choose
eh-leh-HEER
soy yo quien elige
I am the one who chooses
soy yoh kyehn eh-LEE-heh
el libro que leo
the book that I am reading
ehl LEE-broh keh LEH-oh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Two short sentences become one good one with que: Tengo un amigo. Él habla francés. becomes Tengo un amigo que habla francés. Que stands for the DOER inside the new sentence — and, unlike French, for the thing acted on too: el libro que leo.
Y también · And also
It works for people and things alike: el amigo que habla, la película que empieza a las ocho, el libro que leo. One word, no agreement, no accent — the accent belongs only to the question word qué.
Ojo · Watch out
The relative que carries no accent: el libro que leo. The question word does: ¿qué lees? Same letters, two different words — the accent mark is the whole difference on paper.
elegir, presente — the table
yo elijo · tú eliges · él/ella/usted elige · nosotros elegimos · ustedes eligen · ellos/ellas eligen
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with que.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out elegir, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.