Relative clauses begin with relative pronouns - words that correspond to who, whom, that and which in English. These may be omitted in English, but must be included in German. A comma always precedes the relative pronoun, which is put into the correct gender depending on the noun it refers to, and the correct case depending on its function in the clause. (In the following example, the relative pronoun is in the masculine accusative case because Mantel is masculine, and is a direct object of the verb "to buy", therefore, it is accusative.) The conjugated verb goes to the end of the sentence as well.
That's the coat (that) I bought yesterday.
Das is der Mantel, den ich gestern gekauft habe.
Relative pronouns have the same gender and number as the nouns they refer to, and the forms closely resemble those of the definite articles:
|
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neu. |
Plural |
| Nom. |
der |
die |
das |
die |
| Acc. |
den |
die |
das |
die |
| Dat. |
dem |
der |
dem |
denen |
| Gen. |
dessen |
deren |
dessen |
deren |
Examples
| Nominative |
Der Fluss, der durch Wien fliesst, heißt Donau. |
| The river, that through Vienna flows, is called the Danube. |
| The river that flows through Vienna is called the Danube. |
|
|
| Accusative |
Der Hund, den ich letzte Woche gesehen habe, war Julias. |
| The dog, that I last week seen have, was Julia's. |
| The dog that I saw last week was Julia's. |
|
|
| Dative |
Mein Vater ist der einzige Mensch, dem ich nichts davon erzählt habe. |
| My father is the only person, to whom I nothing about it told have. |
| My father is the only person (to) whom I have told nothing about it. |
When a relative pronoun follows a preposition, the preposition determines the case, while the gender and number are determined by the noun. The preposition and pronoun always stay together as one unit as well.
Wer war die Frau, mit der ich dich gesehen haben?
Who was the woman, with whom I you seen have?
Who was the woman (whom) I saw you with?
Da and Wo Compounds
Personal pronouns are used after prepositions when referring to people. However, when you need to refer to a thing, a compound using da- (or dar- if the preposition begins with a vowel) plus the preposition is used.
auf dem Tisch (on the table) becomes darauf (on it)
in der Tasche (in the pocket) becomes darin (in it)
vor der Schule (in front of the school) becomes davor (in front of it)
hinter den Häusern (behind the houses) becomes dahinter (behind them)
zwischen dem Haus und der Schule (between the house and the school) becomes dazwischen (between them)
Da(r) Compounds
| daraus |
out of it/them |
|
dagegen |
against it/them |
|
darüber |
over it/them |
| damit |
with it/them |
|
darin |
in it/them |
|
darunter |
underneath it/them |
| davon |
from it/them |
|
daran |
in it/them |
|
daneben |
next to it/them |
| dazu |
to it/them |
|
darauf |
on top of it/them |
|
dazwischen |
between it/them |
| dadurch |
through it/them |
|
dahinter |
behind it/them |
|
dabei |
on me/you |
| dafür |
for it/them |
|
davor |
in front of it/them |
|
darum |
that's why |
Note: Dabei and darum are idioms. Hast du Geld dabei? Do you have any money on you? Darum hast du kein Glück. That's why you have no luck.
Not all prepositions + pronouns can be replaced by the da(r) compounds. Ohne, ausser, and seit can never form a da(r) compound, and here are others that cannot:
| ohnedies |
without it |
|
|
stattdessen |
instead |
| bis dahin |
until then |
|
|
trotzdem |
nevertheless |
| ausserdem |
besides |
|
|
währenddessen |
in the meanwhile |
| seit dem |
since |
|
|
deswegen |
for that reason |
There are also corresponding questions word that use wo(r)- as the prefix. Wo(r) can be substituted in all of the above da(r) compounds. When asking about people, use a preposition and wen/wem, and use a preposition and the corresponding personal pronoun to answer.
| Worüber sprechen Sie? |
|
Ich spreche darüber. |
| What are you talking about? |
|
I'm talking about it. |
| Woran denkst du? |
|
Ich denke daran. |
| What are you thinking about? |
|
I'm thinking about it. |
| Mit wem gehst du ins Theater? |
|
Mit ihr! |
| Who are you going to the Theater with? |
|
With her! |
Wo compounds can also be used as shortcuts for the relative pronouns because you do not need to the know the gender or case to form the relative pronoun. This shortcut can only be used with things and not people.
Die Uhr, mit der er reist, hat viel gekostet. = Die Uhr, womit er reist, hat viel gekostet.
The watch, with which he travels, cost a lot.
Die Stadt, in der wir wohnen, hat ein großes Konzerthaus. = Die Stadt, worin wir wohnen, hat ein großes Konzerthaus.
The city, in which we live, has a large concert hall.
