Relative Clauses (Advanced)

Vocabulary

彼(かれ)かれhe, him

作(つく)るつく・るu-verbto make

ケーキcake

日本語(にほんご)に・ほん・ごJapanese language

勉強(べんきょう)べん・きょうstudy

楽(たの)しいたの・しいi-adjfun, enjoyable

映画(えいが)えい・がmovie

友達(ともだち)とも・だちfriend

勧(すす)めるすす・めるru-verbto recommend

昨日(きのう)きのうyesterday

読(よ)むよ・むu-verbto read

本(ほん)ほんbook

Relative clauses can act as the subject or object of a larger sentence, allowing for complex nested statements.

Replacing が with の

In a relative clause, the subject marker が can often be replaced with の to make it flow smoother.

彼(かれ)が作(つく)ったケーキThe cake he made

彼(かれ)の作(つく)ったケーキThe cake he made (slightly softer)

母(はは)の作(つく)った料理(りょうり)The food my mother made

Using the clause as a Noun

You can treat a whole phrase as a noun by adding の or こと at the end.

日本語(にほんご)を勉強(べんきょう)するのは楽(たの)しい。Studying Japanese is fun.

本(ほん)を読(よ)むのが好(す)きだ。I like reading books.

早(はや)く起(お)きることは大切(たいせつ)だ。Waking up early is important.

Note: Literally “The thing of studying Japanese is fun.”

Nested Examples

私(わたし)が昨日(きのう)見(み)た映画(えいが)は、友達(ともだち)が勧(すす)めたものでした。The movie I saw yesterday was something my friend recommended.

彼(かれ)が書(か)いた本(ほん)を読(よ)んでいる人(ひと)がいる。There is someone reading the book he wrote.

昨日(きのう)買(か)った服(ふく)を着(き)ている。I'm wearing the clothes I bought yesterday.