Grammar book · Words and sentences
Relative clauses: who, which, that, where, whose, when
አንጻራዊ ሐረጎች፦ who, which, that, where, whose, when (relative clauses)
A relative clause adds information about a noun, right after it: the man who lives next door. Defining clauses say which one and have no commas; non-defining clauses add extra information between commas.
The relative words
Amharic puts the describing part before the noun with የ- or -ው (ጎረቤት የሚኖረው ሰው = the man who lives next door). English puts it after the noun and starts it with a relative word. Choose the word by the noun: who for people, which for things, where for places, whose for possession, when for times. that can replace who or which in defining clauses.
In Amharic
አማርኛ ገላጩን ክፍል ከስሙ በፊት ያደርጋል (ጎረቤት የሚኖረው ሰው)። እንግሊዝኛ ከስሙ በኋላ ያደርገውና በአንጻራዊ ቃል ይጀምረዋል። ቃሉን በስሙ ይምረጡ፦ ለሰዎች who፣ ለዕቃዎች which፣ ለቦታዎች where፣ ለባለቤትነት whose፣ ለጊዜ when። በገላጭ ሐረጎች that የ who ወይም የ which ቦታ ሊወስድ ይችላል።
| Word | For | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people | The woman who called is my landlord. |
| which | things, animals | The car which I bought is a Honda. |
| that | people or things (defining only) | The job that I applied for is full-time. |
| where | places | This is the store where I work. |
| whose | possession (his/her/their) | That's the man whose son is in my class. |
| when | times | I remember the day when we arrived. |
- Don't repeat the pronoun: the man who lives next door (not the man who he lives next door).
- who and which replace the noun; they are not added to it: the house which I rented (not the house which I rented it).
- When who/which/that is the object, you can leave it out: the job (that) I applied for.
- The doctor who saw my son was very kind.
- I lost the bag that had my passport in it.
- This is the church where we got married.
- I have a friend whose brother lives in Seattle.
- Saturday is the day when I do the laundry.
- The apartment we saw yesterday is already rented.
Defining and non-defining (commas)
A defining clause tells you which one; without it, the sentence is unclear. It has no commas: The bus that goes to the airport is the 108. A non-defining clause adds extra information about something already clear; you could take it out. It goes between commas and can't use that: My mother, who lives in Addis, is visiting next month.
In Amharic
ገላጭ ሐረግ የትኛው እንደሆነ ይነግርዎታል፤ ያለ እሱ ዓረፍተ ነገሩ ግልጽ አይሆንም። ኮማ የለውም፦ The bus that goes to the airport is the 108። ገላጭ ያልሆነ ሐረግ ቀድሞ ግልጽ ስለሆነ ነገር ተጨማሪ መረጃ ይጨምራል፤ ሊያወጡት ይችላሉ። በኮማዎች መካከል ይገባል፣ that አይጠቀምም፦ My mother, who lives in Addis, is visiting next month።
| Defining | Non-defining | |
|---|---|---|
| job | says which one | adds extra information |
| commas | no | yes, around the clause |
| that | yes | no |
| leave out who/which? | yes, if it's the object | no |
| example | The neighbour who has a dog is moving. | Our neighbour, who has a dog, is moving. |
- Names and my mother, my wife (only one) usually need non-defining clauses with commas.
- which can refer to a whole sentence, after a comma: The bus was late, which made me late for work.
- Las Vegas, which is in Nevada, gets very hot in summer.
- The people who live upstairs are very quiet.
- My brother, whose wife is a nurse, works at the airport.
- The form that you need is on the website.
- He passed his driving test, which surprised everyone.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The man who called you is here. | Use who for people. | |
| The woman who lives upstairs is a teacher. | Don't repeat the subject after who. | |
| This is the apartment which I rented. | which replaces it; don't add it again. | |
| My father, who is 70, still works. | Non-defining clauses can't use that. | |
| Here is the place where I work. | Use where for places (or which I work at). | |
| I know a man whose son is a doctor. | Use whose for possession. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
The nurse ___ helped me was very patient.
The phone ___ I bought last week is broken.
This is the restaurant ___ we had our first date. (one word)
She's the woman ___ husband owns the market.
Which sentence is correct?
I remember the day ___ my daughter was born. (one word)
The bus ___ goes downtown leaves every 15 minutes.
Correct it: “The man who he fixed my car is from Eritrea.” Remove one word: ___
In which sentence can you leave out the relative word?
He got the job, ___ made his parents very happy.