Relative Clauses With Place Nouns

Level 5

Noun + a + clause with the place noun left in place + no: pon a mede nwoma no too so no (the table I put the book on).

How It Works

1. Start from a normal sentence
Place words such as so (on), mu (in), ase (under) and nkyɛn (beside) are nouns that follow the thing they locate, as in Location With Place Nouns: Mede nwoma no too pon no so (I put the book on the table).

2. Make the place the head
Put the noun that owns the place word first, add a, keep the rest of the sentence in its usual order, and close with no. The place word stays where it was:

  • pon a mede nwoma no too so no (the table I put the book on)
  • dan a ɔte mu no (the room she lives in)
  • dua a yɛhyiaa ase no (the tree we met under)

3. Things leave a gap, people leave ne
When the head is a thing, nothing stands before the place word. When the head is a person, ne (his, her) fills the owner's spot, just as a person object keeps no in Pronouns Inside Relative Clauses: ɔbarima a mete ne nkyɛn no (the man I live next to). The same ne appears in Whose: a ne ... no.

4. The verb inside the clause
Because the place word follows the verb, a past verb keeps its Simple Past Before an Object form: too so, hyiaa ase. The whole clause still closes with Clause-Final no.

5. A named place or just somewhere
For a general place with no particular object, Twi uses baabi a instead (see Where in Relative Clauses: baabi a): baabi a mete no (the place where I live). Use a named noun with its place word when you mean a particular table, room or tree.

Examples (6)

  1. Pon a mede nwoma no too so no yɛ me dea.

    The table I put the book on is mine.

    Word by Word: table that I-took book the put on the is my own

    So stays after the verb too, just as in Mede nwoma no too pon no so.

  2. Dan a ɔte mu no yɛ fɛ.

    The room she lives in is nice.

    Word by Word: room that she-lives in the is nice

  3. Asase a wogyina so no yɛ kronkron.

    The ground you are standing on is holy.

    A line found in Twi scripture. So stays after gyina (stand).

  4. Dua a yɛhyiaa ase no yɛ kɛseɛ.

    The tree we met under is big.

    Word by Word: tree that we-met under the is big

  5. Kuruwa a mehwiee nsuo guu mu no wɔ he?

    Where is the cup I poured the water into?

    From hwie nsuo gu kuruwa no mu (pour water into the cup); mu stays after the verb.

  6. Ɔbarima a mete ne nkyɛn no yɛ ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ.

    The man I live next to is a teacher.

    For a person, ne fills the owner's spot before nkyɛn.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the place noun from the relative clause (intended: The table I put the book on is mine).

    Pon a mede nwoma no too no yɛ me dea.
    Pon a mede nwoma no too so no yɛ me dea.

    Without so, nothing tells the listener that the book went on the table. Keep the place noun right after the verb, where it stands in the ordinary sentence.

  • Leaving out ne when the head is a person.

    Ɔbarima a mete nkyɛn no yɛ ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ.
    Ɔbarima a mete ne nkyɛn no yɛ ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ.

    Nkyɛn needs an owner. For a thing the owner's spot stays empty, but a person is picked up again with ne, like the person pronoun in other relative clauses.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Relative Clauses With Place NounsLevel 5

Learn This First

Place nouns in relatives extend the relative clause rules.

Words in This Pattern

ano