Why Arabic Speakers Add an Extra Pronoun to Relative Clauses
You hear it in every English classroom. You say it yourself when you are tired or thinking fast. The man who I met him is a nice guy. The book that I read it was boring. Your English teacher stops you immediately. They call this a resumptive pronoun error. You are not making a random mistake. You are following a strict rule from your native Arabic grammar. In Arabic, you cannot leave a gap. You must fill the slot with a pronoun. The man who I met him translates perfectly to the Arabic structure. English hates this. English wants a clean gap. We will fix this trap by looking at exactly where your Arabic brain is forcing an extra word into the sentence. You will learn to delete the pronoun and keep the meaning sharp.
✗ The client who I spoke to him yesterday.
✓ The client who I spoke to yesterday.
Why In Arabic, relative clauses require a resumptive pronoun. English does not allow a pronoun after the relative pronoun when it refers to the same noun. The pronoun 'him' is redundant and ungrammatical in English.
Delete the pronoun 'him'. Use 'who' to refer to the client and leave the object position empty.
✗ The report which I wrote it is on your desk.
✓ The report which I wrote is on your desk.
Why Arabic allows a resumptive pronoun after the verb in relative clauses. When translating to English, the pronoun 'it' is not needed because the relative clause already contains the object through the verb 'wrote'.
Remove the pronoun 'it'. The relative clause 'which I wrote' already expresses the completed action without requiring an additional object.
✗ The house that I live in it is old.
✓ The house that I live in is old.
Why The pronoun 'it' is unnecessary after the preposition 'in'. English relative clauses do not permit a resumptive pronoun after prepositions.
Do not add a pronoun after the preposition. The structure is 'that I live in' followed directly by the main clause.
✗ The friend who I called him is coming.
✓ The friend who I called is coming.
Why In English, 'who' can function as the object of the verb 'called'. Adding 'him' creates a double object, which is not allowed.
Remove the pronoun 'him'. The relative pronoun 'who' already serves as the object.
✗ The idea that he had it was brilliant.
✓ The idea that he had was brilliant.
Why The pronoun 'it' is redundant because the verb 'had' already takes the idea as its object. English does not require a resumptive pronoun in this construction.
Delete the pronoun 'it'. The clause 'that he had' is complete without an additional object.
✗ The movie that we watched it was scary.
✓ The movie that we watched was scary.
Why The pronoun 'it' is not needed after the relative clause. English relative clauses do not allow resumptive pronouns.
Remove the pronoun 'it'. The relative clause 'that we watched' stands on its own.
✗ The client that I spoke to him yesterday.
✓ The client who I spoke to yesterday.
Why The relative pronoun 'that' cannot refer to a person; 'who' must be used. Additionally, a resumptive pronoun after the verb is not permitted in English.
Replace 'that' with 'who' and delete the pronoun 'him'. The correct form is 'The client who I spoke to yesterday.'
Common questions
Why do I feel like my English sentence is broken when I remove the pronoun?
Your Arabic brain expects a bridge to connect the noun to the verb. English leaves a gap. It feels empty at first, but that gap is grammatically required. Trust the structure. The relative pronoun points back to the noun without needing a second reference.
Can I ever use a resumptive pronoun in English?
Almost never in standard grammar. You might hear it in very informal dialects or specific emphatic structures, but for B2 and C1 English, you must delete them. Using them marks you as a non-native speaker immediately.
Does this rule apply to all relative clauses?
Yes, for both restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. Whether you use 'that', 'which', or 'who', the rule is the same. No extra pronouns. The relative pronoun does all the work.
Sources
- Arabic relative clauses and resumptive pronouns, Wikipedia.
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