修饰名词的句子在英语中叫做定语从句。定语从句是一种附加在名词后面的短语或句子,用来修饰名词的性质、特征或状态。
例如:
The book that I bought yesterday is very interesting.(我昨天买的那本书非常有趣。)
In this sentence, "that I bought yesterday" is the attributive clause that modifies the noun "book".
定语从句来源于古英语,古英语中的定语从句通常用来修饰名词,并且由关系代词(如 who, whom, whose, that 等)和关系副词(如 when, where 等)来引导。在现代英语中,定语从句仍然是用来修饰名词的,但已经不再局限于关系代词和关系副词的使用,还可以使用其它词汇来引导定语从句。
例如:
The person who won the first prize is my friend.(赢得第一名的人是我的朋友。)
The place where I grew up is very beautiful.(我成长的地方非常美丽。)
I have a friend whose sister is a famous singer.(我有一个朋友,他的妹妹是一位著名的歌手。)
I still remember the day when I met her for the first time.(我仍然记得我第一次见到她的那一天。)