A clause placed before a noun identifies a person or thing through an action or state.

The idea

Put the verb in plain form immediately before the noun: 昨日買った本 is “the book I bought yesterday”. The clause can describe the noun as its subject, object or location; its tense describes the action, independently of the main sentence.

Patterns to compare
ClauseNoun
昨日きのう買かった本ほん
公園こうえんで走はしっている人ひと
肉にくを食たべない人ひと

Examples

  • 昨日きのう買かった本ほんはおもしろいです。The book I bought yesterday is interesting.
  • 公園こうえんで走はしっている人ひとは兄あにです。The person running in the park is my older brother.
  • これは母ははが作つくったケーキです。This is the cake my mother made.
  • 私わたしが住すんでいる町まちは静しずかです。The town where I live is quiet.
  • 明日あした会あう友達ともだちは日本にほんから来きました。The friend I will meet tomorrow came from Japan.
  • 肉にくを食たべない人ひともいます。There are also people who do not eat meat.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not insert a relative pronoun or の between a verb clause and its noun. In 母が作ったケーキ, が marks the maker inside the clause; the cake is what was made.

Try it yourself

  1. 昨日きのう＿＿本ほん（買かいます）

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    買った

    買った — Use the plain past for the book bought yesterday.

  2. 公園こうえんで＿＿人ひと（走はしっています）

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    走っている

    走っている — Use the plain ongoing form before 人.

  3. 肉にくを＿＿人ひと（食たべません）

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    食べない

    食べない — Use the plain negative before 人.

Use it today

Describe a book you read and a person you met, placing each clause before its noun.