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Relative Clauses

الذي / التي

Relative pronouns agree with the noun

الذي (m) and التي (f) mean 'who/which' and agree with a definite antecedent.

📊 Relative pronouns
Antecedent Pronoun Translit
m. sing. الذي alladhi
f. sing. التي allati
m. plural الذين alladhiina
f. plural اللاتي allaati
💬 Examples
الرَّجُلُ الذي جاءَ
ar-rajulu alladhi jaa'a
the man who came
📝 Masculine relative
المَرأةُ التي جاءَتْ
al-mar'atu allati jaa'at
the woman who came
📝 Feminine relative
No pronoun with an indefinite noun

If the antecedent is indefinite, the relative pronoun is omitted entirely.

💬 Examples
رَجُلٌ جاءَ
rajulun jaa'a
a man who came
📝 No relative pronoun
كِتابٌ قَرَأتُهُ
kitaabun qara'tuhu
a book (that) I read
📝 Indefinite, no الذي
The returning pronoun (العائد)

The relative clause contains a pronoun referring back to the antecedent.

💬 Examples
الكِتابُ الذي قَرَأتُهُ
al-kitaabu alladhi qara'tuhu
the book that I read (it)
📝 ـه refers back
البَيتُ الذي أسكُنُ فيهِ
al-baytu alladhi askunu fiihi
the house that I live in (it)
📝 فيه = the returning pronoun