We've already learned how to modify nouns using adjectives. In this lesson we'll learn how to use entire phrases called subordinate clauses to modify nouns. Clauses are the smallest grammatical units that can represent a proposition, which are phrases that can be either true or false.
Disregarding the technical definition, clauses are phrases that look like sentences, and subordinate clauses are clauses that cannot stand alone as a sentence, but are part of another sentence.
A noun can be modified by placing a subordinate clause ending with a verb in the plain form in front of it.
| The woman carrying the wood is strong. | 木 を 運んで いる 女 は 強い です。ki o hakonde iru onna wa tsuyoi desu. |
| The man who didn't take the medicine died. | 薬 を 飲まなかった 男 は 死んだ。kusuri o nomanakatta otoko wa shinda. |
| The car (I) didn't sell was expensive. | 売らなかった 車 は 高かった。uranakatta kuruma wa takakatta. |
Note that it's possible for the noun that is modified to be the object instead of the subject in the subordinate clause. In the third sentence above, the car is not the subject that is selling, but the object being sold. Syntactically this sentence could also mean The car that didn't sell was expensive, but we know from the context that this is not what is meant.
As you can see in the table below, nouns can also be modified by subordinate clauses that end in adjectives.
| The tall boy entered the embassy through the exit. | 背 が 高い 男 の 子 は 大使館 に 出口 を 入った。se ga takai otoko no ko wa taishikan ni deguchi o haitta. |
| The girl who likes crocodiles is interesting. | ワニ が 好きな 女子 は 面白い です。wani ga sukina joshi wa omoshiroi desu. |
| The black tea that was hot, became cold. | 熱かった 紅茶 は 冷たく なりました。atsukatta koucha wa tsumetaku narimashita. |
Note in the last sentence, that when we want to use an adjective together with the verb なる, we must turn the adjective into an adverb.
