Relative clauses
B1 Relativsätze 39 / 52
In short
A relative clause adds information about a noun. It is a verb-final subordinate clause, set off by commas, and introduced by a relative pronoun (der, die, das, den, dem, dessen…). The pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun it describes, but its case from its job inside the relative clause.
The rule
A relative clause describes a noun (the Bezugswort) more closely. It is a subordinate clause, so the conjugated verb goes to the end, and it is always fenced off with commas:
Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Onkel. The man who is standing there is my uncle.
The relative pronoun is almost identical to the definite article (der, die, das…). Only the dative plural (denen) and the whole genitive row (dessen, deren) look different.
The one rule that matters:
- Gender + number of the pronoun come from the noun outside (the Bezugswort).
- The case of the pronoun comes from its role inside the relative clause (subject? direct object? after a preposition?).
Watch the same masculine noun der Mann across the four cases - the gender stays masculine, only the case changes with the job:
| Sentence | Role inside | Case |
|---|---|---|
| Der Mann, der dort steht, … | subject | nominative |
| Der Mann, den ich kenne, … | direct object | accusative |
| Der Mann, dem ich helfe, … | indirect object | dative |
| Der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist, … | possessor | genitive |
Forms & patterns
The relative-pronoun table (compare it to the definite article - the bold cells are the only surprises):
| Case | masculine | neuter | feminine | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | der | das | die | die |
| accusative | den | das | die | die |
| dative | dem | dem | der | denen |
| genitive | dessen | dessen | deren | deren |
Preposition + relative pronoun. A preposition that belongs to the verb stays inside the clause and stands in front of its pronoun. The preposition decides the case:
das Haus, in dem ich wohne (wohnen in + Dativ) die Frau, mit der ich spreche (sprechen mit + Dativ) der Bus, auf den ich warte (warten auf + Akkusativ)
Genitive dessen / deren replace a possessive. The noun after them takes no article, and the noun keeps the case of its own job in the clause:
Der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist, … (dessen = whose; masc/neut Bezugswort) Die Frau, deren Kinder hier spielen, … (deren = whose; fem/plural Bezugswort)
was (not das/die) is used after alles, etwas, nichts, vieles, das, after a superlative neuter, and to refer back to a whole clause:
Alles, was du sagst, ist richtig. Er hat bestanden, was mich sehr freut. (was = “which”, refers to the whole sentence)
wo can replace in dem / an dem for places:
die Stadt, wo ich geboren bin (= in der ich geboren bin)
Examples
| Deutsch | English |
|---|---|
| Das ist die Frau, die nebenan wohnt. | That is the woman who lives next door. |
| Der Film, den wir gestern gesehen haben, war toll. | The film (that) we saw yesterday was great. |
| Das Kind, dem ich geholfen habe, hat sich bedankt. | The child whom I helped said thank you. |
| Ich kenne einen Mann, dessen Bruder Pilot ist. | I know a man whose brother is a pilot. |
| Das ist das Café, in dem wir uns kennengelernt haben. | That is the café in which we met. |
| Die Kollegen, mit denen ich arbeite, sind nett. | The colleagues with whom I work are nice. |
| Es gibt nichts, was mich heute stören kann. | There is nothing that can bother me today. |
| Wien ist die Stadt, wo meine Großeltern leben. | Vienna is the city where my grandparents live. |
Common mistakes
- Der Mann, den dort steht -> der Mann, der dort steht - it is the subject of the clause, so nominative (der), not accusative.
- Der Film, der ich gesehen habe -> der Film, den ich gesehen habe - here the pronoun is the object, so accusative (den).
- Das Buch das ich lese ist gut -> Das Buch, das ich lese, ist gut - a relative clause always needs commas on both sides.
- Der Mann, der steht dort -> der Mann, der dort steht - it is a subordinate clause, so the verb goes to the end.
- die Frau, der ich mit spreche -> die Frau, mit der ich spreche - the preposition stands in front of the pronoun inside the clause, never stranded at the end.
- Alles, das du sagst -> Alles, was du sagst - use was after alles/etwas/nichts/das, not das/die.
Tips
- Ask two questions: Which noun? (gives gender + number) and What job in the clause? (gives the case). Decide them separately.
- The relative pronoun = the definite article, with only two things to memorise: dative plural denen and the genitive row dessen / deren.
- English can drop the pronoun (“the film I saw”) and strand the preposition (“the woman I spoke with”). German does neither: the pronoun is obligatory and the preposition moves to the front (mit der).
- Hear a ”…, der/die/das … Verb.” chunk fenced by commas - that is your relative clause; the verb at the very end is the signal.