Japanese grammar · no level in the source

(Relative clauses)meaning and usage

Meaning

The B that A. Similar to this construction in English: 'The boy who ate pizza.' or 'The book that he bought.'

How to form it

  • verb (plain form)noun
  • い-adjectivenoun
  • な-adjective (stem)なnoun
  • nounの/だったnoun

How it is used

Put the describing clause straight before the noun, in plain form (だ becomes 「の」 after nouns and 「な」 after な-adjectives), with no word like 'who' or 'that'. The clause's subject takes 「が」 or 「の」, not 「は」: 「私が買った本」.

Examples

  1. これは母が作ったケーキです。

    This is a cake my mother made.

  2. 駅の前で待っている人は私の父です。

    The man waiting in front of the station is my father.