N4 · Linking clauses
A clause in front of a noun
noun modification (relative clauses)
Japanese has no who, which or that: a plain-form clause simply stands in front of the noun it describes.
English describes a noun with a clause that comes after it and starts with "who", "which", "that", "where" or "when": "the book that I bought yesterday". Japanese puts the whole clause in front of the noun and uses no linking word at all: 昨日買った本. The clause sits exactly where an adjective sits, and in a sense it is one — 高い本 and 昨日買った本 are built the same way.
The verb at the end of the clause is in the plain form: dictionary form, ない, た, なかった, ている. The polite ます does not go there, because politeness belongs to the sentence as a whole and is shown once, on the last verb. An i-adjective stays as it is, a na-adjective takes な, and a noun takes の: 医者の兄 is "my brother, who is a doctor".
Inside the clause, the subject is marked with が, not は: 母が作った料理, "the food my mother made". は marks the topic of the whole sentence and cannot sit inside a clause that is only describing a noun. This is the commonest mistake English speakers make here, because "my mother" feels like a topic.
Nothing tells you what role the noun plays in the clause — subject, object, place or time. 私が住んでいる町 is "the town where I live", 友達に会った日 is "the day I met my friend", and the listener works out the link from the meaning. In practice this is rarely ambiguous, and it saves Japanese a whole set of words that English cannot do without.
The form
| the book I bought yesterday (past) | 昨日買った本 |
| the person reading a newspaper (ている) | 新聞を読んでいる人 |
| a word I don't understand (negative) | 分からない言葉 |
| the town where I live (subject with が) | 私が住んでいる町 |
| a quiet room (na-adjective) | 静かな部屋 |
| my brother, who is a doctor (noun) | 医者の兄 |
| my father, who was a teacher (noun, past) | 先生だった父 |
The rules one by one
The clause goes in front of the noun and ends in the plain form, never in ます.
駅で会った人は田中さんです。The person I met at the station is Mr Tanaka.
The subject inside the clause takes が (or の), not は.
母が作ったケーキはおいしいです。The cake my mother made is delicious.
There is no word for who, which, where or when: the noun's role is understood from the clause.
私が生まれた町は小さいです。The town where I was born is small.
Before a noun, a na-adjective takes な and a noun in the present takes の instead of だ.
料理が上手な人を知っていますか。Do you know anyone who is good at cooking?
The tense inside the clause is the clause's own, not the sentence's.
明日来る人は三人です。Three people are coming tomorrow.
A closer look
Reading a long noun phrase from the end
Because every description stands in front, Japanese can stack them: 駅の前に新しくできたパン屋 is "the bakery that has newly opened in front of the station". An English reader meets the station first and has no idea yet what the sentence is about.
The practical habit is to read such a phrase twice. The first time, look for the noun at the end of it — that is what the phrase is about. The second time, read the clause as information about that noun. Any plain verb directly followed by a noun is a strong signal: the verb almost certainly belongs to that noun, not to the sentence.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the clause ends in a noun or na-adjective in the present tense
the だ that would end a normal sentence turns into の after a noun and な after a na-adjective; in the past, だった stays.
歌手の姉と、歌手だった母がいます。I have an older sister who is a singer and a mother who used to be one.
だ cannot stand directly in front of a noun. In formal writing である is also possible: 医者である兄.
How to spot it
- 〜た本
- 〜ている人
- 〜ない人
- 〜た日
- 〜な人
- 〜の兄
Example sentences
先週見た映画はとても面白かったです。The film I saw last week was very interesting.
あそこで新聞を読んでいる人は私の父です。The man reading a newspaper over there is my father.
日本語が話せる人を探しています。We are looking for someone who can speak Japanese.
これは祖母がくれた時計です。This is the watch my grandmother gave me.
駅の近くにある店でパンを買いました。I bought bread at a shop near the station.
分からない言葉があったら、聞いてください。If there is a word you don't understand, please ask.
7 more example sentences
父が撮った写真を見せましょうか。Shall I show you the photos my father took?
毎朝乗る電車はいつも混んでいます。The train I take every morning is always crowded.
眼鏡をかけている人が山田さんです。The person wearing glasses is Ms Yamada.
誰も知らない店を見つけました。I found a shop nobody knows about.
去年住んでいたアパートは駅から遠かったです。The flat I lived in last year was a long way from the station.
一緒に行く人はいますか。Is there anyone going with you?
先生に借りた辞書を返さなければなりません。I have to give back the dictionary I borrowed from my teacher.
Worth knowing (2)
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が can become の inside a short clause
In a short clause that describes a noun, the subject can be marked with の instead of が: 母の作った料理 means the same as 母が作った料理. It sounds slightly softer and more written. This only works inside such a clause; at the start of an ordinary sentence の cannot mark a subject.
友達の住んでいる町は海の近くです。The town where my friend lives is near the sea.
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Clauses that the noun plays no part in
Japanese also puts a clause in front of a noun when the noun is not part of the clause at all, only connected to it: 魚を焼くにおい is "the smell of fish being grilled", where nobody grills the smell. English needs "of" or a longer sentence; Japanese uses the same pattern as always.
隣の部屋からピアノを弾く音が聞こえます。I can hear the sound of someone playing the piano in the next room.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The sentence is about the book, so the book is the topic and takes は. "I" belongs inside the clause that describes the book, and a subject inside such a clause takes が. Two は in a row like this make the listener expect two separate statements and then find only one verb for them.
The clause comes before the noun, ends in the plain form, and its subject takes が.
Your turn
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