Arabic Grammar: The Adjective Clause (Relative Clauses)

The Adjective Clause (جُمْلَةُ الصِّفَةِ)

Describing Nouns with Full Sentences

An adjective clause is a sentence that acts like a single adjective. In English, we use "who," "which," or "that" (e.g., The man who is tall). In Arabic, the structure depends on whether the noun is "The" (Definite) or "A" (Indefinite).

1. Describing a Definite Noun

If the noun has Al- (ال), you MUST use a relative pronoun like Al-ladhī (اَلَّذِي) to link the description.

اَلرَّجُلُ الَّذِي خَرَجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ

(Al-rajulu alladhī kharaja minal-masjidi)
The man who left the mosque.

2. Describing an Indefinite Noun

If the noun is "a" (indefinite), you do not use any link word. You just put the sentence immediately after the noun.

رَجُلٌ خَرَجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ

(Rajulun kharaja minal-masjidi)
A man [who] left the mosque.

The Relative Pronouns (For Definite Nouns)

Gender	Arabic	Transliteration	English
Masculine	اَلَّذِي	Alladhī	Who / Which
Feminine	اَلَّتِي	Allatī	Who / Which

💡 Key Summary

• Definite Noun + Alladhī/Allatī + Sentence
• Indefinite Noun + Sentence

Practice: "The car which is new" (Car is Sayyārah, feminine).
Answer: اَلسَّيَّارَةُ الَّتِي هِيَ جَدِيدَةٌ (As-sayyāratu allatī hiya jadīdatun).