li + relative clause

A Clause Describing a Noun

Level 4

Head + li + clause identifies a referent or adds information about it.

How It Works

Li introduces a relative after a noun or another nominal head. It remains unchanged across gender, number and person. If the head is the relative's subject, the verb agrees with it. If the head is an object or prepositional complement, the relative has a separate subject; a gap or resumptive form represents the head according to the construction. A retained preposition requires its complement.

A restrictive relative identifies which referent is intended. A supplementary relative adds information about an already identified referent and is conventionally separated by commas. Thus the relative after the name Rita adds information rather than selecting one woman from a group.

Compare il-ġar li wasal, ‘the neighbour who arrived’, with qal li wasal, ‘he said that he arrived’. The first clause modifies a nominal head; the second supplies the content of saying.

Examples (3)

  1. Il-ġar li wasal kmieni ġab ktieb.

    The neighbour who arrived early brought a book.

    The head is the subject inside the relative.

  2. It-tfal li jgħixu hawn ħarġu.

    The children who live here went out.

    Jgħixu agrees with plural tfal.

  3. Rita, li taħdem fil-ħanut, waslet kmieni.

    Rita, who works in the shop, arrived early.

    Commas mark supplementary information about Rita.

How It Connects

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li + relative clauseLevel 4A Clause Describing a Noun

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Link a nominal head to a describing clause, beginning with subject relatives and distinguishing identification from supplementary information.

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Words in This Pattern

li