Relative Clause With tí
Adding a Relative Description
Head noun + tí + relative description.
How It Works
A relative clause follows the noun it describes and begins with high-tone tí. That noun is the head: it names the person or thing being identified or characterized. The following clause supplies the description.
In ọmọ tí ó ń jó, “the child who is dancing”, the child is the dancer and ó refers back to that child. In aṣọ tí mo rà, “the cloth that I bought”, mo names the buyer and the cloth is the understood object. Relative descriptions can contain aspect markers and other participants. A plural subject head can be resumed by wọ́n; tí remains unchanged. These illustrated resumptive frames do not require inserting ó in every relative construction. Distinguish relative tí from mid-tone preverbal ti marking a reached situation and from possessive ti.
Examples (3)
- Ọmọ tí ó ń jó wà níbí.
The child who is dancing is here.
The head is the relative clause's subject.
- Mo fẹ́ aṣọ tí o rà.
I want the cloth that you bought.
O names the buyer; the cloth is the understood object.
- Àwọn obìnrin tí wọ́n ń ta ẹja dé.
The women who sell fish arrived.
Wọ́n resumes the plural head; this translation gives ń a habitual reading.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- tóA Contracted Relative Form
Explains contraction of tí plus ó in an appropriate relative frame.
Level 2 - ti / tí ContrastAspect and Relative Meaning
Distinguishes aspect and relative marking.
Level 3 - Possessive tiThe One Belonging to Someone
Separates possession from relative description.
Level 2 - Nested Relative tíFollowing Nested Noun Descriptions
Extends head-and-role tracking to nested descriptions.
Level 6
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Relative Clause With tí in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Yoruba lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
