English can strand a preposition (the colleague I worked with) or formally move it with the relative phrase (the colleague with whom I worked). Mainstream Cairene uses neither strategy. It does not leave مع، في، على، عن، من، لـ without a complement in these relatives; the preposition stays in its normal predicate position and takes a suffix that points back to the antecedent: الزميلة اللي اشتغلت معاها and الشقة اللي ساكنين فيها.
This resumption is not optional punctuation. It completes the preposition and identifies the antecedent's gender and number while invariant اللي links the clause. Review the host-specific forms on pronoun suffixes after prepositions.
Rule 1: preserve the verb's selected preposition
Start with the ordinary Egyptian frame. Replace the full complement noun with a suffix on that same preposition.
| Ordinary frame | Relative form | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| اتكلم مع المدير | المدير اللي اتكلمت معاه | the manager I spoke with |
| سكن في الشقة | الشقة اللي سكن فيها | the flat he lived in |
| وافق على الاقتراح | الاقتراح اللي وافق عليه | the proposal he approved |
| دور على الورق | الورق اللي دور عليه | the papers he looked for |
الموظف اللي اتفقت معاه على المعاد اتأخر.
il-muwaẓẓaf illi ttafaʾt maʿāh ʿala l-maʿād itʾakhkhar.
The employee I arranged the appointment with was late.
الشركة اللي قدمنا لها العرض ردت النهارده.
ish-shirka lli ʾaddimna laha l-ʿarḍ raddit innaharda.
The company we presented the offer to replied today.
المشكلة اللي حذرتك منها حصلت بجد.
il-mushkila lli ḥazzartak minha ḥaṣalit bi-gadd.
The problem I warned you about really happened.
The English translation may select a different preposition or none at all. Learn the Egyptian predicate frame, not an isolated English word.
Rule 2: match the suffix to gender and number
The preposition changes shape according to its host-specific suffix paradigm. مع gives معاه، معاها، معاهم; في gives فيه، فيها، فيهم; على gives عليه، عليها، عليهم.
الأوضة اللي بنشتغل فيها هادية الصبح.
il-ʾōḍa lli binishtaghal fīha hādya ṣ-ṣubḥ.
The room we work in is quiet in the morning.
المكتب اللي حطيت عليه الورق جنب الشباك.
il-maktab illi ḥaṭṭēt ʿalēh il-waraʾ gamb ish-shubbāk.
The desk I put the papers on is beside the window.
الزمايل اللي سافرت معاهم رجعوا امبارح.
iz-zamāyil illi sāfart maʿāhum rigʿu imbāriḥ.
The colleagues I traveled with came back yesterday.
For many nonhuman plural sets, feminine singular resumption is common; human plural referents take plural ـهم. Do not choose a suffix from English it/them alone—track Egyptian gender and discourse construal.
Rule 3: the suffix remains even when the preposition is far from اللي
Adverbs, subjects, auxiliaries, and embedded material can intervene. The suffix still completes the local preposition.
البيت اللي إحنا كنا ساكنين فيه قبل الجواز اتهد.
il-bēt illi ʾiḥna kunna sāknīn fīh ʾabl il-gawāz ithadd.
The house we lived in before getting married was demolished.
القرار اللي محدش كان موافق عليه اتغير.
il-ʾarār illi maḥaddish kān muwāfiʾ ʿalēh itghayyar.
The decision nobody agreed with was changed.
English learners often remember the antecedent at اللي but forget it by the time they reach the preposition. Plan the relative from the predicate outward: موافق على القرار → موافق عليه.
Rule 4: place and instrument meanings still require the right host
English where can tempt learners to omit فيها, and English with covers both accompaniment and instrument. Egyptian keeps the ordinary preposition chosen by the relation.
الكافيه اللي قابلنا بعض فيه قفل.
il-kāfēh illi ʾābilna baʿḍ fīh ʾafal.
The café where we met has closed.
القلم اللي مضيت بيه مش بتاعي.
il-ʾalam illi maḍēt bīh mish bitāʿi.
The pen I signed with isn't mine.
الطريق اللي جينا منه كان زحمة.
iṭ-ṭarīʾ illi gēna minnu kān zaḥma.
The road we came by was congested.
The natural English translation uses where, with, or by; the Egyptian forms are literally “in it,” “by/with it,” and “from it.”
Rule 5: indefinite relatives omit اللي but keep the suffixed preposition
An indefinite antecedent normally begins its descriptive clause directly. The preposition still needs its resumptive suffix.
بدور على شقة أعرف أشتغل فيها من البيت.
badawwar ʿala shaʾʾa ʾaʿraf ʾashtaghal fīha min il-bēt.
I'm looking for a flat where I can work from home.
قابلت ناس ارتحت معاهم من أول قعدة.
ʾābilt nās irtaḥt maʿāhum min ʾawwil ʾaʿda.
I met some people I felt comfortable with from the first get-together.
Zero after شقة/ناس is the relative-marker strategy; فيها/معاهم is the required prepositional-complement strategy.
Near and far identification
Distance does not alter اللي or the suffix. Neutral Cairo can use the same demonstrative and add هنا/هناك.
الكرسي ده اللي هنا حطيت عليه الشنطة.
il-kursi da lli hina ḥaṭṭēt ʿalēh ish-shanṭa.
This chair here is the one I put the bag on.
الكرسي ده اللي هناك ماتقعدش عليه.
il-kursi da lli hunāk matiʾʿodsh ʿalēh.
Don't sit on that chair over there.
The prohibition keeps عليه because قعد على is the local predicate frame.
A pointing and identification dialogue
أنهي ترابيزة حجزتوها؟
ʾanhi tarābēza ḥagaztūha?
Which table did you reserve?
الترابيزة دي، اللي قاعدين جنبها.
it-tarābēza di, lli ʾāʿdīn gambaha.
This table—the one we're sitting beside.
اللي جنبها الشنطة السودا؟
illi gambaha sh-shanṭa s-sōda?
The one with the black bag beside it?
The location word جنب behaves like a prepositional host and takes feminine ـها referring to الترابيزة.
Register and variation
(mainstream Cairene, informal/neutral) preposition plus resumptive suffix is the productive pattern. (formal/MSA) formal Arabic also commonly keeps a resumptive preposition-plus-pronoun after an inflected relative, as in الرجل الذي تكلمت معه. Its relative paradigm is formal, but it still does not license English stranding in a Cairo clause. (regional/social) Alexandria, the Delta, Upper Egypt, Bedouin communities, age, class, and bilingual networks differ in preposition forms and suffix vowels. (performance language) formal interviews and scripted drama may deliberately alternate between colloquial and formal relative systems.
Common Mistakes
1. Stranding the preposition.
❌ الشركة اللي بشتغل في نقلت مقرها.
Incorrect — في needs a suffix referring to الشركة.
✅ الشركة اللي بشتغل فيها نقلت مقرها.
ish-shirka lli bashtaghal fīha naʾalit maʾarrahā.
The company I work for moved its headquarters.
2. Replacing a bound suffix with an independent pronoun.
❌ البنت اللي خرجت مع هي زميلتي.
Incorrect — مع takes a bound feminine suffix.
✅ البنت اللي خرجت معاها زميلتي.
il-bint illi kharagt maʿāha zamīlti.
The woman I went out with is my colleague.
3. Using اللي after a neutral indefinite head.
❌ عايز أوضة اللي أقعد فيها لوحدي.
Incorrect in the neutral nonspecific reading — omit اللي but retain فيها.
✅ عايز أوضة أقعد فيها لوحدي.
ʿāyiz ʾōḍa ʾaʾʿod fīha liwaḥdi.
I want a room where I can sit by myself.
4. Preposing an attributive demonstrative.
❌ ده المكتب اللي اشتغلت عليه طول اليوم مريح.
Incorrect for attributive ‘this desk’ — initial ده presents or identifies the desk instead.
✅ المكتب ده اللي اشتغلت عليه طول اليوم مريح.
il-maktab da lli ishtaghalt ʿalēh ṭūl il-yōm murīḥ.
This desk that I worked at all day is comfortable.
Key Takeaways
- Keep the Egyptian predicate's selected preposition inside the relative clause.
- Attach a suffix matching the antecedent: معاه/معاها/معاهم، فيه/فيها/فيهم، عليه/عليها/عليهم.
- English where and preposition stranding do not remove Egyptian resumption.
- Indefinite antecedents omit اللي, not the required preposition-plus-suffix.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- اللي: The Core Relative MarkerB1 — Use invariant اللي after definite human and nonhuman antecedents, then mark the antecedent's role with a gap or resumptive clitic.
- Object Relatives and Resumptive CliticsB1 — Form Cairene object relatives by attaching a resumptive object clitic to the verb and matching it to the antecedent.
- Pronoun Suffixes after PrepositionsB1 — Attach Egyptian pronoun suffixes to prepositions and choose the host-specific forms used after على، مع، في، من، and لـ.
- No English-Style Preposition StrandingB2 — Build Egyptian relatives and questions without dropping or stranding the preposition selected by the predicate.
- Verb–Preposition GovernmentB2 — Learn Egyptian verbs together with their selected prepositions, complement shapes, suffix hosts, and relative-clause resumptives.
- Word Order inside Relative ClausesB2 — Order Egyptian relative clauses around اللي, subject gaps, resumptive clitics, internal topics, and negation.