Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun links a definite noun to a clause that describes it, like who, which or that. It agrees with the noun in gender and number:

• الذي masculine singular, التي feminine singular
• الذين men or mixed groups
• اللواتي, اللاتي or اللائي women
• اللذان / اللذين two men, اللتان / اللتين two women

The dual forms also copy the noun's case ending: -ان after a noun in -ان (الرجلان اللذان), -ين after a noun in -ين (شكرت الرجلين اللذين). When the relative is the object of the clause, a pronoun refers back to it: الكتاب الذي قرأته (the book that I read). After an indefinite noun Arabic uses no relative at all: هذا كتاب قرأته (this is a book I read).