Relativsätze

ENDE

Which language do you learn German from?

📘 Grammatik · Unit 4 · 1/15

Relativsätze

4 parts7 examples3 common mistakes

Example

  1. Der Kollege, der neben mir sitzt, ist neu.The colleague who sits next to me is new.er sitzt → Nominativ

Rule

A relative clause describes a noun more precisely without needing a second sentence.

Practise

This topic’s own test: 10 sets, 10 questions in each.Grammatik-Test →

Two sources, one form

Gender and number come from the antecedent in the main clause. The case comes from the role in the relative clause. This separation is the whole trick.

KasusmaskulinfemininneutralPlural
Nominativderdiedasdie
Akkusativdendiedasdie
Dativdemderdemdenen
Genitivdessenderendessenderen

Determining the case

Try forming the relative clause as a sentence of its own. The role the antecedent plays there determines the pronoun.

  1. Der Kollege, der neben mir sitzt, ist neu.The colleague who sits next to me is new.er sitzt → Nominativ
  2. Der Kollege, den ich gestern getroffen habe, ist neu.The colleague whom I met yesterday is new.ich traf ihn → Akkusativ
  3. Der Kollege, dem ich geholfen habe, ist neu.The colleague whom I helped is new.ich half ihm → Dativ

Genitive: dessen and deren

dessen (masculine/neuter) and deren (feminine/plural) replace a possessive pronoun. The noun that follows stands without an article.

  1. Der Kollege, dessen Frau Ärztin ist, wohnt nebenan.The colleague whose wife is a doctor lives next door.
  2. Die Firma, deren Sitz in Bern ist, sucht Personal.The company whose headquarters is in Bern is looking for staff.

Plural dative: denen

In the dative plural it is denen, not den. This is the only form that differs from the definite article.

  1. Die Kollegen, denen ich geholfen habe, bedanken sich.The colleagues whom I helped are saying thank you.
  2. Das sind die Leute, denen wir vertrauen.Those are the people we trust.

Common mistakes

Der Mann, den dort steht, … Der Mann, der dort steht, …
In the relative clause he is the subject, so the nominative.
Die Kollegen, den ich geholfen habe, … Die Kollegen, denen ich geholfen habe, …
In the dative plural it is denen.
Der Kollege, dessen seine Frau Ärztin ist Der Kollege, dessen Frau Ärztin ist
dessen replaces the possessive pronoun; it does not appear in addition to it.

Quick check · 3 questions

Got the rule? Try three questions; the full test is below.

1 / 3 0 correct

Done with this step?