Relative clauses: identifying which person or thing
Your goal: identify a relative clause and the noun it describes.
In “the sister who is in the house”, the relative clause narrows the reference of “sister”. The noun being described is the antecedent. Egyptian can introduce a relative clause with a relative adjective: nty for masculine singular and ntt for feminine singular.
Build a noun phrase
sn.t.j ntt m pr
“My sister who is in the house.” The feminine singular ntt agrees with sn.t. The location m pr belongs inside the attached clause. This whole expression is a noun phrase; it does not, by itself, supply the main assertion of a larger sentence.
Contrast jw sn.t.j m pr: “My sister is in the house.” Here the location is the main predicate. English uses similar words in both translations, but the structures differ.
A wider reading skill
Not every Egyptian relative clause has a written relative adjective. Such constructions are often called virtual relative clauses. At this stage, recognise the possibility and test the reference of pronouns; do not insert “who” between any two neighbouring phrases.
Put it into practice
Change the antecedent of sn.j nty m pr to “my sister”. Then explain the difference between translating the result as a phrase and as a complete statement.
Reveal the model answer
sn.t.j ntt m pr: “my sister who is in the house”. Both the noun and relative adjective change to feminine singular. Translating simply “my sister is in the house” loses the relative construction and turns the description into a main assertion.
Study sources
Continue exploring with the dictionary or return to the hieroglyphic studio.