Arabic Relative Pronouns: Alladhi and Its Forms

Mastering relative pronouns unlocks the ability to build sophisticated, descriptive sentences in Arabic, moving beyond simple statements. Relative pronouns are words like "who," "which," and "that" that connect a main clause to a subordinate clause, providing essential information about a noun. In Arabic, the system is highly structured, governed by rules of gender, number, definiteness, and a unique grammatical feature called the resumptive pronoun. Understanding this system is fundamental to achieving fluency and comprehension.

The Core Forms of Alladhi

The Arabic relative pronoun changes its form based on the gender and number of the noun it refers to, known as the antecedent. The antecedent must be definite. The primary forms are derived from the base alladhi.

• Alladhi (ٱلَّذِي): This is the singular masculine form. It is used when referring to a single, definite, masculine noun.
• Example: اَلرَّجُلُ ٱلَّذِي فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ. (The man who is in the garden.)

• Allatii (ٱلَّتِي): This is the singular feminine form. It is used when referring to a single, definite, feminine noun.
• Example: اَلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلَّتِي فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ. (The woman who is in the garden.)

• Alladhiina (ٱلَّذِينَ): This is the plural form for rational beings—humans, angels, jinn, etc.—regardless of gender. It is used for groups of people.
• Example: اَلرِّجَالُ ٱلَّذِينَ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ. (The men who are in the garden.)
• Example: اَلنِّسَاءُ ٱلَّذِينَ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ. (The women who are in the garden.)

• Allataani / Allataini (ٱلَّتَانِ / ٱلَّتَيْنِ): This is the dual form for feminine antecedents. Allataani is used in the nominative case, while allataini is used in the accusative and genitive cases. There is also a dual masculine form (alladhani/alladhaini), but alladhiina is commonly used for dual rational beings in modern Standard Arabic.
• Example (Nom.): اَلطَّالِبَتَانِ ٱلَّتَانِ فِي الْفَصْلِ. (The two [female] students who are in the class.)

For non-human plurals, regardless of the noun's grammatical gender, the singular feminine pronoun allatii is used. This is a crucial rule in Arabic grammar.

• Example: اَلْكُتُبُ ٱلَّتِي عَلَى ٱلطَّاوِلَةِ. (The books which are on the table.) Kutub (books) is a plural, non-human noun, so it takes allatii.

The Mandatory Resumptive Pronoun

This is a defining feature of Arabic relative clauses that often challenges learners. Unlike in English, where you can say "the book that I read," Arabic requires you to "resume" the reference to the antecedent within the relative clause itself using a pronoun. This resumptive pronoun (also called a trace or referent pronoun) agrees with the antecedent in gender and number and takes the appropriate grammatical case based on its role inside the relative clause.

Consider the English sentence: "The student whom the teacher praised is diligent."

• The antecedent is "the student" (definite, singular).
• In the relative clause "whom the teacher praised," the relative pronoun "whom" is the object of the verb "praised."

In Arabic, you cannot simply use alladhi and stop. You must include a pronoun attached to the verb that stands in for "whom":

• اَلطَّالِبُ ٱلَّذِي مَدَحَهُ ٱلْمُدَرِّسُ مُجْتَهِدٌ.
• Literal parsing: The student who praised-him the teacher is diligent.
• The -hu (him) attached to madaha (praised) is the resumptive pronoun. It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb madaha inside the relative clause. Alladhi itself is indeclinable; the grammatical work is done by the resumptive pronoun.

Here is another example with a feminine antecedent and a preposition:

• اَلْسَّيَّارَةُ ٱلَّتِي سَافَرْتُ بِهَا جَدِيدَةٌ.
• (The car which I traveled in-it is new.)
• The resumptive pronoun -haa (it) is attached to the preposition bi- (in) to show the car's role inside the relative clause.

When Relative Pronouns Are Omitted

Arabic allows for the omission of the relative pronoun only when the antecedent is indefinite. This creates a type of descriptive clause called a *ṣifah (صفة). In this construction, the following clause directly modifies the indefinite noun without a connecting alladhi.

Compare:

• With definite antecedent (relative pronoun REQUIRED): أَحِبُّ ٱلْكِتَابَ ٱلَّذِي اِشْتَرَيْتَهُ. (I love the book that you bought.)
• With indefinite antecedent (relative pronoun OMITTED): أَحِبُّ كِتَاباً اِشْتَرَيْتَهُ. (I love a book [that] you bought.)

Notice that in the second sentence, there is no alladhi. The verb clause ishtaraytahu (you bought it) directly follows the indefinite noun kitaban (a book). The resumptive pronoun -hu (it) is still required. This omission rule is consistent across all genders and numbers when the antecedent is indefinite.

Building Complex Sentences

With these tools, you can construct detailed, complex sentences by chaining descriptions. The key is to ensure each relative clause is properly attached to a definite antecedent and contains the necessary resumptive pronoun.

Let's build a sentence step-by-step:

1. Start with a simple idea: The doctor is skillful. (اَلطَّبِيبُ مَاهِرٌ.)
2. Add a definite antecedent for a relative clause: The doctor who works in the hospital is skillful.

• Identify the antecedent: al-tabiibu (the doctor) – masculine, singular, definite.
• Choose the correct relative pronoun: alladhi.
• Form the relative clause: "works in the hospital" = ya`malu fi al-mustashfa.
• Insert the resumptive pronoun: The doctor is the subject of "works," so we need a resumptive pronoun representing "he" as the subject. In Arabic, this is already contained in the verb conjugation ya`malu (he works). The pronoun is built-in.
• Result: اَلطَّبِيبُ ٱلَّذِي يَعْمَلُ فِي ٱلْمُسْتَشْفَى مَاهِرٌ.

1. Add another layer: The doctor who works in the hospital and who I met yesterday is skillful.

• New relative clause: "and who I met yesterday" = wa qad iltaqaytu bihi ams.
• Antecedent is still "the doctor." Use alladhi again (or wa alladhi for "and who").
• Crucially, add the resumptive pronoun: "whom I met" – the doctor is the object of "met." We need the accusative pronoun -hu. We attach it to the preposition bi- (to meet someone uses iltaqa bi-).
• Final complex sentence: اَلطَّبِيبُ ٱلَّذِي يَعْمَلُ فِي ٱلْمُسْتَشْفَى وَٱلَّذِي لَقِيتُهُ أَمْسِ مَاهِرٌ.

Common Pitfalls

1. Forgetting the Resumptive Pronoun: The most frequent error is directly translating from English and omitting the necessary pronoun inside the relative clause.

• Incorrect: هٰذِهِ ٱلْمَدِينَةُ ٱلَّتِي أَسْكُنُ. (This is the city which I live.)
• Correct: هٰذِهِ ٱلْمَدِينَةُ ٱلَّتِي أَسْكُنُ فِيهَا. (This is the city which I live in-it.)

1. Using the Wrong Form for Non-Human Plurals: Applying alladhiina to things like "books" or "cars" is a grammatical error.

• Incorrect: اَلْكُتُبُ ٱلَّذِينَ عَلَى ٱلطَّاوِلَةِ.
• Correct: اَلْكُتُبُ ٱلَّتِي عَلَى ٱلطَّاوِلَةِ.

1. Using a Relative Pronoun with an Indefinite Antecedent: Inserting alladhi where it should be omitted creates an awkward, often incorrect sentence.

• Awkward/Incorrect: قَرَأْتُ كِتَاباً ٱلَّذِي هُوَ مُمْتِعٌ.
• Correct: قَرَأْتُ كِتَاباً هُوَ مُمْتِعٌ. or قَرَأْتُ كِتَاباً مُمْتِعاً. (I read a book [that is] enjoyable.)

1. Case Agreement Error in the Resumptive Pronoun: The resumptive pronoun must be in the correct case (nominative, accusative, genitive) for its function within the relative clause, not the main clause.

• Incorrect: (Trying to say: "This is the engineer whom the company hired.")

اَلْمُهَنْدِسُ ٱلَّذِي ٱلشَّرِكَةُ هُوَ وَظَّفَتْ. (Here, huwa is a nominative detached pronoun, but it needs to be an accusative attached pronoun because it is the object of waddafat).

• Correct: اَلْمُهَنْدِسُ ٱلَّذِي وَظَّفَتْهُ ٱلشَّرِكَةُ.

(The -hu attached to the verb is the correct accusative object pronoun.)

Summary

• The Arabic relative pronoun (alladhi and its forms) must agree with its definite antecedent in gender and number, using allatii for all non-human plurals.
• A resumptive pronoun that matches the antecedent is mandatorily included inside the relative clause to indicate the antecedent's grammatical role (e.g., as subject, object, or object of a preposition).
• The relative pronoun is omitted entirely when the antecedent is indefinite, though the resumptive pronoun rule still applies within the following descriptive clause.
• By consistently applying the rules of agreement, resumption, and omission, you can accurately construct and deconstruct complex, multi-clause Arabic sentences, which is essential for advanced reading, writing, and comprehension.