Advanced Relative Clauses in Hebrew

In Brief

Hebrew normally introduces a relative clause with ש־: האישה שגרה פה means “the woman who lives here.” When the described noun belongs after a preposition inside that clause, Hebrew keeps a pronoun attached to the preposition: האיש שדיברתי איתו, literally “the man that I spoke with him.” Formal writing may use אשר, while מי ש־ refers to an unspecified person and מה ש־ to a thing, fact, or idea.

Overview

A relative clause is a clause—a group of words containing a statement—that describes a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea). In “the neighbor who called,” “who called” identifies the neighbor. English chooses among who, which, that, whose, and where, and can sometimes omit the relative word. Modern Hebrew relies mainly on the short prefix ש־, pronounced she- and written directly onto the next word.

At B1, the central pattern is straightforward: האיש שגר פה (“the man who lives here”) and הספר שקראתי (“the book I read”). At B2, you need to follow the described noun through a more complicated clause. It may be the object of a preposition, the owner of something, a place, or an idea rather than a named noun. That is where resumptive pronouns become important. A resumptive pronoun is a pronoun inside the relative clause that points back to the noun being described.

This system differs noticeably from English. Standard English usually leaves an empty position: “the woman I work with.” Hebrew normally fills that position after a preposition: האישה שאני עובד איתה, literally “the woman that I work with her.” Learning to hear that internal pronoun as part of one structure—not as needless repetition—is the key to natural advanced relative clauses.

How It Works

The basic frame: noun + ש־ + clause

ש־ does not change for gender, number, or person. The noun before it is the antecedent (the person or thing to which the relative clause points). Any agreement required by the verb or adjective still happens inside the clause.

Role of the antecedent	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Subject of the relative clause	noun + ש־ + verb	הילדים שהגיעו	the children who arrived
Direct object	noun + ש־ + subject + verb	הסרט שראינו	the film that we saw
Object of a preposition	noun + ש־ + clause + preposition-pronoun	החבר שנסעתי איתו	the friend I traveled with
Possessor	noun + ש־ + possessed noun + possessive marker	האישה שהבת שלה לומדת כאן	the woman whose daughter studies here
Place	place + ש־ + clause + שם or preposition-pronoun	הבית שגרתי בו	the house I lived in

When the antecedent is the subject, no extra subject pronoun is normally inserted. האיש שגר כאן is “the man who lives here”; האיש שהוא גר כאן is not the neutral equivalent. However, הוא can have another grammatical job, as in האיש שהוא רופא (“the man who is a doctor”), where it functions in a present-tense identifying statement.

When the antecedent is a direct object, a gap is very common: הספר שקניתי (“the book I bought”). A resumptive direct-object pronoun is also possible in many contexts, especially in speech or where the clause is long: הספר שקניתי אותו. The shorter version is generally the safest neutral choice when the object is simple and clear.

Resumptive pronouns after prepositions

A Hebrew preposition usually cannot simply be left stranded at the end as English allows in “the person I spoke to.” Instead, the preposition takes a suffix agreeing with the antecedent. The combination appears inside the relative clause.

English relationship	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Masculine plural	Feminine plural
with	איתו	איתה	איתם	איתן
to / for	לו	לה	להם	להן
in / at	בו	בה	בהם	בהן
from	ממנו	ממנה	מהם	מהן
about	עליו	עליה	עליהם	עליהן

The suffix agrees with the antecedent, not with the speaker: הנשים שדיברתי איתן (“the women I spoke with”) uses feminine plural איתן. In everyday Israeli Hebrew, masculine plural forms are sometimes heard for mixed or even feminine groups, but careful speech and writing preserve the relevant gender distinction.

Some prepositions use a separate-looking pronoun form rather than a short suffix: האדם שאני חושב עליו (“the person I am thinking about”), הנושא שדיברנו עליו (“the subject we discussed”), and החברה שאני עובד אצלה (“the company where/for which I work”). The governing verb determines the preposition, so learn the verb and preposition together.

Possession: Hebrew “whose”

Hebrew has no everyday one-word equivalent that works exactly like English whose. A common pattern names the possessed item and then uses של with a pronoun:

הסטודנטית שהמחשב שלה התקלקל
“the student whose computer broke”

Literally, the structure is “the student that her computer broke.” The possessive form agrees with the antecedent: שלו for a masculine singular owner, שלה for feminine singular, שלהם for masculine or mixed plural, and שלהן for feminine plural.

אשר: the formal relative marker

אשר can introduce a relative clause much like ש־, but it is a separate word and has a formal, written flavor. It is frequent in legal, administrative, academic, ceremonial, and elevated prose.

• המסמכים אשר נשלחו אתמול — “the documents that were sent yesterday”
• הבית אשר בניתי — “the house which I built”
• העובדים אשר פניתם אליהם — “the employees whom you contacted”

Using אשר does not remove the need for a resumptive form after a preposition. Compare העובדים שפניתם אליהם in ordinary style and העובדים אשר פניתם אליהם in formal style. In normal conversation, repeated אשר can sound stiff; ש־ is usually natural.

מי ש־: an unspecified person

מי ש־ introduces a free relative clause—a relative clause that does not describe an explicitly stated noun. It means “the person who,” “anyone who,” or, depending on context, “whoever.”

• מי שרוצה יבוא. — “Whoever wants may come.”
• מי שסיים יכול לצאת. — “Anyone who has finished may leave.”
• כל מי שנרשם יקבל הודעה. — “Everyone who registered will receive a message.”

מי refers to people. Adding כל often makes the inclusive meaning explicit: כל מי ש־ means “everyone who” or “anyone who,” according to context.

מה ש־: a thing, fact, or whole idea

מה ש־ means “what,” “that which,” or sometimes “whatever.” Like מי ש־, it does not need an antecedent before it.

• עשה מה שאתה רוצה. — “Do what(ever) you want.”
• לא הבנתי מה שהוא אמר. — “I did not understand what he said.”
• כל מה שקניתי היה יקר. — “Everything I bought was expensive.”

The meaning “whatever/everything that” is clearest with כל מה ש־. Without כל, מה ש־ often simply means “what” or “the thing that.” It can also refer back to an entire previous statement: הוא ביטל ברגע האחרון, מה שהפתיע את כולם (“He canceled at the last minute, which surprised everyone”). Here מה ש־ comments on the whole event, not on one noun.

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
האיש שדיברתי איתו גר בחיפה.	The man I spoke with lives in Haifa.	איתו points back to האיש.
זו החוקרת שהמאמר שלה זכה בפרס.	This is the researcher whose article won a prize.	Possession with שלה.
הדירה שגרנו בה הייתה קטנה.	The apartment we lived in was small.	Feminine singular בה resumes הדירה.
אלה האנשים שסיפרתי לך עליהם.	These are the people I told you about.	Plural עליהם follows על.
לא מצאתי את המפתח שחיפשתי.	I did not find the key I was looking for.	Direct-object gap; no resumptive pronoun needed.
הספר שקניתי אותו כבר אזל מהחנויות.	The book that I bought is already sold out in the shops.	Resumptive אותו; common in speech, though the shorter הספר שקניתי is more concise.
המועמדת אשר נבחרה תתחיל מחר.	The candidate who was selected will start tomorrow.	Formal אשר.
הלקוחות אשר פנינו אליהם קיבלו תשובה.	The clients whom we contacted received an answer.	Formal marker plus required prepositional form.
מי שלא הבין יכול לשאול.	Anyone who did not understand may ask.	מי ש־ refers to people.
כל מי שמגיע מקבל כרטיס.	Everyone who arrives receives a ticket.	כל makes the inclusive sense explicit.
קח מה שאתה צריך.	Take what you need.	מה ש־ introduces an unspecified thing.
כל מה שהיא כתבה היה מדויק.	Everything she wrote was accurate.	Inclusive כל מה ש־.
הרכבת איחרה, מה שגרם לנו לפספס את הפגישה.	The train was late, which caused us to miss the meeting.	מה ש־ refers to the whole preceding fact.

Common Mistakes

Stranding a preposition as in English

• Wrong: האיש שדיברתי עם
• Right: האיש שדיברתי איתו
• Why: Hebrew normally puts the pronoun into the preposition. English can end with “with”; Hebrew needs איתו, “with him,” to point back to האיש.

Using the wrong gender or number in the resumptive form

• Wrong: הנשים שעבדתי איתו
• Right: הנשים שעבדתי איתן
• Why: The suffix refers to הנשים, a feminine plural noun. It must therefore be feminine plural in careful Hebrew.

Adding a subject pronoun where the antecedent is already the subject

• Wrong: הסטודנט שהוא לומד כאן (for “the student who studies here”)
• Right: הסטודנט שלומד כאן
• Why: The subject position is already linked directly to הסטודנט. Do not automatically copy the resumptive pattern used after prepositions.

Treating אשר as the normal conversational choice

• Awkward in casual speech: זה הסרט אשר ראינו אתמול.
• Natural: זה הסרט שראינו אתמול.
• Why: אשר is grammatical, but it normally signals formal or elevated writing. Everyday Hebrew strongly favors ש־.

Confusing מי ש־ and מה ש־

• Wrong: מה שרוצה יכול לבוא (when referring to people)
• Right: מי שרוצה יכול לבוא.
• Why: Use מי ש־ for a person or people. Use מה ש־ for a thing, content, fact, or event.

Assuming מה ש־ always means “whatever”

• Overtranslation: לא שמעתי מה שהוא אמר = “I didn’t hear whatever he said.”
• Better: לא שמעתי מה שהוא אמר = “I didn’t hear what he said.”
• Why: Context decides the English translation. כל מה ש־ more clearly expresses “everything that” or an unrestricted “whatever.”

Usage Notes

Speech and writing

In contemporary spoken Hebrew, ש־ is overwhelmingly the default. It is short, neutral, and suitable for both simple and complicated relative clauses. אשר remains productive, not archaic, but its register is formal. Official notices, contracts, regulations, and carefully edited prose use it more readily than conversation does.

A direct-object resumptive pronoun such as הספר שקראתי אותו is common in Israeli speech. Style guides and edited prose often prefer הספר שקראתי when the clause is short and there is no ambiguity. By contrast, resumptive forms governed by prepositions—בו, איתו, עליה, אליהם—are central to the standard construction and should not simply be dropped.

No English-style choice between “who” and “which”

English selects a relative word partly according to whether the antecedent is human. Hebrew ש־ itself makes no such distinction: האישה ש..., הספר ש..., and המקום ש... all begin the same way. The structure inside the clause supplies the relationship.

Restrictive and nonrestrictive meaning

A restrictive relative clause identifies which person or thing you mean; a nonrestrictive one adds extra information about an already identified person or thing. Hebrew can use ש־ or אשר in both roles. In writing, commas and context help signal an added comment:

• העובדים שהגיעו בזמן נכנסו. — “The employees who arrived on time went in.” Only those employees are identified.
• דנה, שהגיעה בזמן, כבר נכנסה. — “Dana, who arrived on time, has already gone in.” The clause adds information about Dana.

Do not assume that אשר automatically means a nonrestrictive English “which.” Its main contrast with ש־ is register, not that distinction.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

A relative clause can be nested

Relative clauses may contain another clause: זה הספר שאמרת לי שכדאי לקרוא (“This is the book that you told me was worth reading”). The antecedent הספר belongs semantically deep inside the sentence. In long structures, Hebrew may use a resumptive pronoun to keep the reference clear: זה הספר שאמרת לי שכדאי לקרוא אותו. Such pronouns can reduce processing effort, especially in speech.

Place expressions vary with the verb

English often compresses several relationships into where. Hebrew may choose שבו/שבה (“in which”), שאליו/שאליה (“to which”), שממנו/שממנה (“from which”), or colloquial ש... שם (“that ... there”), depending on meaning:

• העיר שבה נולדתי — the city in which I was born
• המשרד שאליו שלחתי את הטופס — the office to which I sent the form
• הכפר שממנו באנו — the village we came from

Choosing the exact preposition is more precise than translating English where word for word.

Sentence-commenting מה ש־

After a comma, מה ש־ can evaluate or develop a complete preceding claim: המחירים ירדו, מה שעזר למשפחות רבות (“Prices fell, which helped many families”). This pattern is especially useful in analytical and journalistic writing. English uses which here, but Hebrew does not use bare ש־: מה ש־ supplies the meaning “the fact that / which.”

Formal combinations

Formal Hebrew often combines אשר with inflected prepositions: ההסכם אשר עליו חתמו הצדדים (“the agreement which the parties signed”) or הסיבות אשר בגינן נדחתה הבקשה (“the reasons for which the request was rejected”). The second pattern is bureaucratic rather than everyday Hebrew. For active use, prioritize שחתמו עליו and שבגללן דחו את הבקשה; learn the formal versions mainly for reading.

Practice Tips

1. Build the clause from the verb outward. For “the colleague I spoke with,” first recall דיברתי עם..., then turn עם + הוא into איתו, and finally add the antecedent: העמית שדיברתי איתו.
2. Practice agreement in sets. Say one sentence with four antecedents: החבר שנסעתי איתו, החברה שנסעתי איתה, החברים שנסעתי איתם, החברות שנסעתי איתן. This makes the resumptive suffix automatic.
3. Sort real examples by register and meaning. While reading, mark ש־, אשר, מי ש־, and מה ש־. Ask whether the clause describes a named noun, an unspecified person, an unspecified thing, or a whole preceding statement.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Complex Sentences — introduces basic subordinate clauses and the core ש־ relative pattern on which these advanced structures build.