li + clause
Linking a Following Clause
Content: qal li…; description: il-kelb li…; temporal relation: wara li….
How It Works
Li stays unchanged for person, gender and number. After a reporting or thinking predicate, it commonly introduces content. After a noun, it can introduce a relative describing the referent or a complement supplying the noun's content. Position after a noun alone does not settle the distinction.
The subordinate clause keeps its own subject, agreement, tense and polarity. Li does not require an imperfect: compare qal li waslet, “he said that she arrived,” with it-tifla li waslet, “the girl who arrived.” The first reports content; the second identifies the girl as the arriving participant. In wara li and waqt li, the whole expression establishes the relationship, and li is written separately. Object and prepositional relatives have further participant-marking requirements.
Examples (3)
- Pawlu qal li Sara kienet id-dar.
Pawlu said that Sara was at home.
The complement supplies the content attributed to Pawlu.
- Il-kelb li jorqod fil-kamra huwa tiegħi.
The dog that sleeps in the room is mine.
The dog is the understood subject of the relative.
- Nadia ħarġet wara li qrat l-ittra.
Nadia went out after she read the letter.
Wara li places reading before going out.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- li + relative clauseA Clause Describing a Noun
Develops noun descriptions.
Level 4 - Reporting a Claim
Develops attributed content.
Level 5 - wara liAfter an Event
Orders events in time.
Level 4 - waqt liWhile
Expresses overlap or discourse contrast.
Level 4 - Referring Back Inside a Relative Clause
Explains reference within appropriate relatives.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice li + clause in Bubblegum
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