Relative clauses with prepositions, dessen, deren, was and wo
You go beyond der, die, das: relative clauses with a preposition, the genitive forms dessen and deren, and the special pronouns was, wo and wer.
Relative clauses · Upper intermediate · 25 min · 40 exercises · Goethe B2, AP German, College
At B1 you learned relative clauses such as der Film, den ich gesehen habe. Real texts need more: the colleague with whom I work, the author whose book I am reading, everything that I know, the city where I live. English is relaxed here (it drops the pronoun or leaves the preposition at the end); German is strict, and that strictness makes the rules easy to apply.
The relative pronouns
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
Preposition + relative pronoun
If the verb of the relative clause needs a preposition, the preposition comes first, directly after the comma, and it decides the case of the pronoun. The gender and number come from the noun you refer to. Ich reise mit dem Freund becomes der Freund, mit dem ich reise (mit + dative, masculine). Sie arbeitet für die Firma becomes die Firma, für die sie arbeitet (für + accusative, feminine). Plural dative is denen: die Kollegen, mit denen ich arbeite. The preposition can never stay at the end as in English (the friend I travel with), and the pronoun can never be left out.
Dessen and deren: whose
The genitive pronoun expresses possession. Look back at the owner: dessen for a masculine or neuter singular noun, deren for a feminine or plural noun. The thing that is owned does not matter: der Mann, dessen Auto / dessen Tochter / dessen Kinder. No article follows dessen or deren, and an adjective after them takes the strong ending: der Mann, dessen neues Auto vor der Tür steht. A preposition can come before them, and then dessen and deren do not change: die Autorin, von deren Buch alle sprechen.
Prepositions and the genitive
- Das ist der Kollege, mit dem ich das Projekt leite.That is the colleague with whom I am running the project.mit + dative, masculine
- Die Firma, für die sie arbeitet, produziert Solaranlagen.The company she works for produces solar installations.für + accusative, feminine; English can strand the preposition, German cannot
- Die Themen, über die wir diskutiert haben, waren sehr aktuell.The topics we discussed were very current.diskutieren über + accusative, plural
- Der Professor, dessen Vorlesung ich besuche, forscht zum Klimawandel.The professor whose lecture I attend does research on climate change.owner is masculine: dessen
- Die Studentin, deren Arbeit ausgezeichnet wurde, kommt aus Graz.The student whose thesis received an award comes from Graz.owner is feminine: deren
- Der Autor, von dessen Roman alle sprechen, gibt heute ein Interview.The author whose novel everyone is talking about is giving an interview today.preposition + dessen
Was as a relative pronoun
Use was instead of das when the relative clause does not refer to a concrete noun: after the indefinite words alles, etwas, nichts, vieles, weniges, after the demonstrative das, after a neuter superlative used as a noun (das Beste, das Einzige, das Schönste), and when it refers to a whole clause: Sie hat die Prüfung bestanden, was mich sehr freut. If the verb needs a preposition, was fuses with it into wo(r)- + preposition: etwas, worüber wir sprechen müssen; nichts, wofür ich mich interessiere. The r is added before a vowel: worauf, woran, worüber, but wofür, womit, wovon.
When to use was
| After | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| alles, etwas, nichts, vieles | Das ist alles, was ich weiß. | That is all (that) I know. |
| das (demonstrative) | Das, was du sagst, stimmt. | What you are saying is true. |
| a superlative used as a noun | Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte. | That is the best thing that could happen to me. |
| a whole clause | Er kommt immer pünktlich, was ich sehr schätze. | He is always on time, which I appreciate very much. |
| with a preposition: wo(r)- | Es gibt etwas, worüber wir reden müssen. | There is something we need to talk about. |
Wo for places, and wer ..., der ...
After a place, you can use wo instead of preposition + pronoun: die Stadt, wo ich wohne, means the same as die Stadt, in der ich wohne. After city and country names without an article, only wo is possible: in Wien, wo sie studiert. For direction use wohin and woher. The pronoun wer opens a relative clause without any noun before it and means whoever, anyone who: Wer das sagt, der lügt. The main clause repeats the person with der (dem, den); when both are nominative, der may be dropped: Wer viel liest, lernt schneller. Other cases: Wem das nicht gefällt, der kann etwas anderes wählen.
Was, wo and wer
- Alles, was in dem Artikel steht, ist gut belegt.Everything that is in the article is well documented.after alles: was
- Das ist das Interessanteste, was ich je gelesen habe.That is the most interesting thing I have ever read.superlative as a noun
- Die Sitzung wurde verschoben, was niemanden überraschte.The meeting was postponed, which surprised no one.was refers to the whole clause
- Es gibt nichts, wofür sie sich mehr interessiert.There is nothing she is more interested in.sich interessieren für: wofür
- Das ist das Viertel, wo die meisten Studierenden wohnen.That is the neighborhood where most students live.also possible: in dem
- Wer regelmäßig Zeitung liest, der versteht die Zusammenhänge besser.Anyone who reads the newspaper regularly understands the connections better.
To find the right pronoun, turn the relative clause into a simple main clause with the noun in it: Ich habe mit den Freunden studiert. Preposition mit, dative plural: so the relative clause is die Freunde, mit denen ich studiert habe. For dessen or deren, ignore the noun that follows and look only at the owner: Mann or Kind, dessen; Frau or Leute, deren.
English habits to drop. (1) Who is not wer after a noun: der Mann, der dort steht, never der Mann, wer dort steht. Wer is only for whoever, without a noun before it. (2) Do not leave the pronoun out: the book I am reading is das Buch, das ich lese. (3) Do not strand the preposition at the end. (4) After alles, etwas, nichts write was, not das or dass: alles, was ich weiß. (5) No article after dessen or deren: dessen Auto, not dessen das Auto. And every relative clause is closed off by commas.
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.