Film criticism

Non-restrictive relative clauses: il quale, la quale, i quali

In B2 Italian, non-restrictive relative clauses are set off by commas and add supplementary information without limiting the meaning of the antecedent.

Forms

• Masculin singulier : il quale
• Féminin singulier : la quale
• Masculin pluriel : i quali
• Féminin pluriel : le quali

Contextualised examples

• Il regista, il quale ha vinto numerosi premi, è considerato un maestro del cinema.

→ The director, who has won numerous awards, is considered a master of cinema.

• La sceneggiatura, la quale è stata scritta in soli tre mesi, risulta sorprendentemente coerente.

→ The screenplay, which was written in just three months, turns out to be surprisingly coherent.

• I personaggi, i quali rappresentano diversi strati sociali, interagiscono in modo convincente.

→ The characters, who represent different social strata, interact in a convincing way.

Difference from "che"

Che is more common in spoken Italian, but il quale / la quale is preferred in formal writing and film criticism because it avoids ambiguity in gender and number.