Relative clauses: der, die, das
Learn to describe people and things with relative clauses, choosing the right relative pronoun in the nominative, accusative and dative.
Relative clauses · Intermediate · 25 min · 40 exercises · Goethe B1, AP German, High school, College
A relative clause (der Relativsatz) gives more information about a noun: the man who lives here, the book that I read. English uses who, which or that. German uses one single set of words for people and things, and you already know most of them: the relative pronouns look like the definite article der, die, das.
How a relative clause is built
A relative clause is a subordinate clause, so the conjugated verb goes to the end: Das ist der Mann, der hier wohnt. It comes directly after the noun it describes and is always set off by commas: one before it, and one after it if the main clause continues: Der Mann, der hier wohnt, ist mein Lehrer.
The relative pronouns
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
Two questions: which noun, which role?
To choose the pronoun, ask two questions. First: what is the gender and number of the noun it refers to? That decides the column of the table. Second: what is the pronoun's role inside the relative clause: subject (nominative), direct object (accusative) or dative object? That decides the row. The case of the noun in the main clause does not matter. Only one form is new: the dative plural denen.
From two sentences to one
| Two sentences | Role of the pronoun | With a relative clause |
|---|---|---|
| Das ist der Mann. Der Mann wohnt hier. | subject: nominative | Das ist der Mann, der hier wohnt. |
| Das ist der Mann. Ich kenne den Mann. | direct object: accusative | Das ist der Mann, den ich kenne. |
| Das ist der Mann. Ich helfe dem Mann. | dative object | Das ist der Mann, dem ich helfe. |
| Das sind die Leute. Ich helfe den Leuten. | dative object, plural | Das sind die Leute, denen ich helfe. |
Examples
- Das ist der Lehrer, der aus Bern kommt.That is the teacher who comes from Bern.der: masculine, subject of kommt
- Das ist der Lehrer, den ich gestern getroffen habe.That is the teacher (whom) I met yesterday.den: masculine, direct object of treffen
- Das ist der Lehrer, dem ich eine E-Mail geschrieben habe.That is the teacher (to whom) I wrote an email.dem: masculine, dative object
- Die Stadt, die wir besucht haben, liegt in Österreich.The city (that) we visited is in Austria.commas on both sides
- Das Handy, das auf dem Tisch liegt, gehört meiner Schwester.The phone that is on the table belongs to my sister.
- Die Kinder, denen wir geholfen haben, wohnen in unserer Straße.The children (whom) we helped live on our street.helfen takes the dative; plural: denen
German never drops the relative pronoun
English often leaves the pronoun out: the book I read, the people we met. In German this is impossible. Every relative clause needs its pronoun and its commas: the book I read = das Buch, das ich gelesen habe; the people we met = die Leute, die wir getroffen haben. And there is no choice between who, which and that: people and things take the same pronouns.
No pronoun in English, a pronoun in German
- Das Buch, das ich gelesen habe, war spannend.The book I read was exciting.
- Die Frau, die ich gestern gesehen habe, arbeitet im Rathaus.The woman I saw yesterday works at city hall.
- Der Film, den wir gesehen haben, dauerte drei Stunden.The movie we saw lasted three hours.
- Ist das die Jacke, die du gekauft hast?Is that the jacket you bought?
When you hesitate, split the sentence in two and look at the article in the second one. Das ist der Film. Ich habe den Film gesehen. The article you find there is your relative pronoun: Das ist der Film, den ich gesehen habe. Only the dative plural differs: den Leuten becomes denen.
Do not translate that with dass: dass (two s) is the conjunction after sagen or glauben, while the relative pronoun for a neuter noun is das (one s): das Buch, das ich lese. Do not use wer or was for who and which either. Relative pronouns after a preposition (der Freund, mit dem ich reise) and the genitive forms dessen and deren come at B2.
The exercises of this lesson
40 corrected exercises in three sessions (discovery, practice, challenge): multiple choice (5), fill in the gap (11), find the mistake (5), word order (1), rewrite (5), translation (6), gap text (3), matching (2), sorting (2). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.