Relative Clauses

In English we use the word "that" or "which" to describe things: "the person who came", "the book that I was reading". In Kyrgyz there's no equivalent word — instead, a participle (-ган/-кан) does the job.

The key difference: in Kyrgyz the modifier always comes BEFORE the noun it describes.

🧠 Logic

In English the relative clause comes after the noun: "the person who came". In Kyrgyz it comes before: «келген адам» (lit. "the came person").

This actually makes things simpler: you don't need to change "who" into different forms depending on its role in the sentence. The participle ending -ган stays the same regardless.

🧮 Formula

Participle + Noun

💡 Examples by type

Subject (who does the action)

When "who" is the subject of the clause:

Object (what the action is directed at)

When "that/which" is the object of the clause:

With place or time

⚠️ Important nuances

Word order — the main rule

In English: noun → who/that → verb In Kyrgyz: participle → noun

Tense in the participle

Negative form

To say "who did not...", add the negative -ба/-бе/-па/-пе before -ган:

келбеген
кел
root
бе
negation
ген
participle
→ who didn't come

Possessive in complex constructions

If you need to specify "whose", add a possessive suffix:

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See also:

• Participle: -ган/-кан — the base form for relative constructions
• Possessive suffixes — for specifying "whose"
• SOV word order — why modifiers come before the noun
• Cases — for constructions with objects