Episode 68 - How to make "Relative Clause"

Learn Japanese with Masa sensei!

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A relative clause is a clause that is used to modify a noun or a noun phrase. In English, a clause must contain a subject and a predicate at a minimum in order to be grammatical, but a Japanese clause only requires a predicate.

Forming the relative clause - step by step:

​1

In your mind, change the verb in 私は本をかいました to the plain form, かった​

The verbs in relative clauses is always in the plain form. They can be in the past or present tenses or in the volitional (-tai) form, but they will always be in the plain form.

​2

Next, we have to change the word order so that 本 (book), the main thing we're talking about, comes at the end of the clause . . .

私は本をかった (I bought a book) changes to 私がかった​本 (the book that I bought)

Note that the topic marker は changes to が in the relative clause. This is because 私 is no longer the topic of the sentence.​ In fact, our new main topic is the book.

​3

We can use the phrase we have just constructed in a sentence, by adding our second idea, which is おもしろいです:

私がかった本は、おもしろいです。

​The book that I bought is interesting.

There is no Japanese equivalent to English relative pronouns (i.e. “Who“, “Which“, and “That“). In other words, Japanese relative clauses directly connect to the noun or noun phrase and any particles or pronouns associated with the noun / noun phrase are erased.

大きい犬 [The big dog] This is simply an い-Adjective, but it functions grammatically identically to a more complex relative clause.

寝ている犬 [A sleeping dog] Notice that (1) the relative clause can consist of a lone verb, and (2) the relative clause directly precedes the noun that it modifies.

目が大きい人 [A preson with big eyes] This relative clause is slightly more complex with both a subject and a predicate.

頭がいい学生[a smart student] Note that the relative clause connects directly to the noun that it modifies.

髪が長い人 kami ga nagai hito [The person who has long hair]

めがねをかけている人 megane o kaketeiru hito [The person who is wearing glasses]

猫が好きな人 neko ga sukina hito [The person who likes cats]

あそこで写真をとっている人 asoko de shashin o totteiru hito [The person who is taking a photo over there]

毎日運動をする人 mainichi undou suru hito [The person who exercises every day]

タバコを吸わない人 tabako o suwanai hito [The person who doesn’t smoke tobacco]

去年結婚した人 kyonen kekkon shita hito [The person who got married last year]

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