Relative Clauses in German

In Brief

A German relative clause gives more information about a noun: Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Lehrer. The relative pronoun agrees with that noun in gender and number, but its case depends on its job inside the relative clause. The conjugated verb goes at the end, and commas separate the relative clause from the main clause.

Overview

A relative clause connects information to a person, thing or idea without starting a separate sentence. Compare Das ist das Buch. Ich lese das Buch. with Das ist das Buch, das ich lese. The second version means “That is the book that I am reading” and avoids repeating das Buch. The noun being described—here, das Buch—is called the antecedent (the word that the relative clause refers back to).

German relative clauses are introduced most often by forms of der, die, das. These forms look like definite articles, but here they act as relative pronouns (words standing for the antecedent inside the relative clause). Unlike English, German normally cannot leave the relative pronoun out: English “the book I bought” is German das Buch, das ich gekauft habe.

This is a core B1 structure. It builds on ordinary subordinate clauses: the relative clause has verb-final word order, just like a clause with weil or dass. The extra challenge is choosing the pronoun. To do that reliably, separate two questions: what gender and number is the antecedent, and what grammatical role does the pronoun have within its own clause?

How It Works

The basic pattern

A relative clause comes directly after the noun or noun phrase it describes:

antecedent + comma + relative pronoun + ... + conjugated verb + comma

• Die Kollegin, die neben mir sitzt, kommt aus Wien.
  “The colleague who sits next to me is from Vienna.”
• Die Kollegin, der ich geschrieben habe, kommt aus Wien.
  “The colleague whom I wrote to is from Vienna.”

Both clauses refer to feminine singular die Kollegin, so the pronoun is feminine singular. Its case changes, however: die is the subject of sitzt, while der is the recipient required by jemandem schreiben.

The case is the form showing a word’s role in the clause. Use:

• nominative when the relative pronoun is the subject (the person or thing performing the action);
• accusative when it is the direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the action);
• dative when it is the indirect object, or when a verb or preposition requires dative;
• genitive mainly to express “whose.”

Relative-pronoun forms

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

Most forms are identical to the definite article. The important exceptions to notice are plural dative denen and the genitive forms dessen and deren.

Choose gender and number from the antecedent

The antecedent controls gender and number, not the natural gender of a translated English word and not another noun appearing nearby.

• der Film, der gestern lief — Film is masculine singular.
• die Serie, die gestern lief — Serie is feminine singular.
• das Programm, das gestern lief — Programm is neuter singular.
• die Sendungen, die gestern liefen — Sendungen is plural.

German grammatical gender may not match an English learner’s intuition. Learn each noun with its article, because that article predicts the relative pronoun’s gender.

Choose case from the relative clause

Temporarily replace the relative pronoun with the antecedent and examine only the relative clause:

1. Das ist der Mann, ___ dort arbeitet.
   Der Mann arbeitet dort. The man is the subject → nominative masculine → der.
2. Das ist der Mann, ___ ich gestern getroffen habe.
   Ich habe den Mann getroffen. The man is the direct object → accusative masculine → den.
3. Das ist der Mann, ___ ich geholfen habe.
   Ich habe dem Mann geholfen. helfen requires dative → dative masculine → dem.

This method is more dependable than translating “who,” “whom” or “that.” English often uses the same word—or no word at all—where German marks the role explicitly.

Put the verb at the end

A relative clause is a subordinate clause, so its conjugated verb comes last:

• Das ist die Frau, die in Berlin wohnt.
• Das ist die Frau, die lange in Berlin gewohnt hat.
• Das ist die Frau, die nächstes Jahr nach Berlin ziehen möchte.

With a perfect tense, the auxiliary is last: gewohnt hat. With a modal verb, the conjugated modal is last after the infinitive: ziehen möchte.

The main clause keeps its own structure. If the relative clause interrupts it, the main clause continues after the closing comma:

• Der Zug, der um acht Uhr abfährt, ist schon voll.

Do not treat the relative clause as occupying the first position of the main clause. The subject Der Zug already occupies that position; the inserted clause merely describes it.

Use commas on both sides

German punctuation always marks off a relative clause with commas. A clause in the middle of a sentence needs an opening and a closing comma:

• Meine Schwester, die in Köln studiert, besucht uns morgen.

A clause at the end needs only the opening comma:

• Kennst du den Mann, der am Fenster sitzt?

This differs from English punctuation. English distinguishes restrictive clauses (“the people who applied”) from non-restrictive ones (“my brother, who lives abroad”), but German uses commas for both.

Prepositions come before the pronoun

If the relative pronoun belongs to a prepositional phrase, place the preposition directly before it. The preposition determines the case:

• die Firma, für die ich arbeite — für + accusative
• der Kollege, mit dem ich spreche — mit + dative
• das Thema, über das wir diskutieren — über + accusative here

English can put the preposition at the end (“the colleague I am speaking with”). Standard German does not strand it: use mit dem ich spreche, not dem ich mit spreche.

Genitive relative pronouns: “whose”

Dessen refers back to a masculine or neuter singular antecedent; deren refers back to a feminine singular or plural antecedent:

• Der Autor, dessen Roman ich lese, lebt in Hamburg.
• Die Autorin, deren Roman ich lese, lebt in Hamburg.
• Die Autoren, deren Bücher hier liegen, kommen später.

The noun after dessen/deren normally has no additional article: dessen Roman, not dessen der Roman. The choice between dessen and deren depends on the antecedent; the gender and number of the possessed noun do not determine it.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Lehrer.	The man who is standing there is my teacher.	Nominative masculine; the man performs the action.
Das Buch, das ich lese, ist interessant.	The book that I am reading is interesting.	Accusative neuter; the book is what I am reading.
Die Frau, der ich helfe, wartet draußen.	The woman whom I am helping is waiting outside.	Dative feminine because helfen takes dative.
Wo ist der Schlüssel, den du gefunden hast?	Where is the key that you found?	Accusative masculine.
Die Kinder, die im Garten spielen, sind unsere Nachbarn.	The children who are playing in the garden are our neighbours.	Nominative plural.
Das sind die Gäste, denen wir ein Zimmer angeboten haben.	Those are the guests whom we offered a room.	Dative plural; denen are the recipients.
Ich suche eine Wohnung, die einen Balkon hat.	I’m looking for an apartment that has a balcony.	Nominative feminine inside the relative clause.
Der Laptop, mit dem ich arbeite, ist ziemlich alt.	The laptop I work with is quite old.	mit requires dative.
Das Projekt, an dem sie arbeitet, endet im Juni.	The project she is working on ends in June.	an etwas arbeiten uses dative.
Die Stadt, in die wir ziehen, liegt am Meer.	The city we are moving to is by the sea.	Accusative after in for movement toward a destination.
Die Stadt, in der meine Eltern wohnen, liegt am Meer.	The city where my parents live is by the sea.	Dative after in for a location.
Der Nachbar, dessen Hund oft bellt, hat sich entschuldigt.	The neighbour whose dog often barks has apologised.	dessen refers to masculine der Nachbar.
Frau Weber, deren Büro im zweiten Stock liegt, ist heute nicht da.	Ms Weber, whose office is on the second floor, is not here today.	deren refers to feminine Frau Weber.
Alles, was du brauchst, steht auf der Liste.	Everything you need is on the list.	was commonly follows alles.
Wer zuerst ankommt, bekommt den Platz am Fenster.	Whoever arrives first gets the seat by the window.	Free relative clause with no explicit antecedent.

Common Mistakes

Matching case to the main clause

• Wrong: Ich kenne den Mann, den dort arbeitet.
• Right: Ich kenne den Mann, der dort arbeitet.
• Why: den Mann is accusative in the main clause, but the pronoun is the subject of arbeitet. Its case must therefore be nominative: der.

Using nominative for every relative pronoun

• Wrong: Das ist der Kollege, der ich gestern gesehen habe.
• Right: Das ist der Kollege, den ich gestern gesehen habe.
• Why: Inside the relative clause, ich is the subject and the colleague is the direct object of sehen. Masculine accusative is den.

Leaving out the pronoun as in English

• Wrong: Das ist das Hotel, ich empfohlen habe.
• Right: Das ist das Hotel, das ich empfohlen habe.
• Why: English allows “the hotel I recommended,” but standard German requires the relative pronoun.

Forgetting verb-final order

• Wrong: Die Frau, die arbeitet in der Apotheke, ist meine Tante.
• Right: Die Frau, die in der Apotheke arbeitet, ist meine Tante.
• Why: The relative clause is subordinate, so its conjugated verb goes at the end.

Stranding a preposition

• Wrong: Der Freund, dem ich reise mit, kommt aus Bonn.
• Right: Der Freund, mit dem ich reise, kommt aus Bonn.
• Why: Put the preposition before the relative pronoun. Mit also requires dative, giving mit dem.

Copying English comma rules

• Wrong: Menschen die regelmäßig üben machen oft schnelle Fortschritte.
• Right: Menschen, die regelmäßig üben, machen oft schnelle Fortschritte.
• Why: German separates every relative clause with commas, including one that identifies which people are meant.

Usage Notes

In conversation, relative clauses are extremely common. Forms of der, die, das are the normal neutral choice in both speech and writing. Interrogative forms such as welcher, welche, welches can also introduce relative clauses, but they often sound formal, heavy or old-fashioned. They can occasionally prevent awkward repetition, but learners should make der/die/das their default.

English “where” often corresponds to a preposition plus relative pronoun in careful German: die Stadt, in der ich wohne. In informal speech, wo is also heard with place names and place nouns: die Stadt, wo ich wohne. This use is common regionally and colloquially, but in der is the safer form in formal writing. With an adverb as antecedent, wo is fully standard: Dort, wo der Weg endet, beginnt der Wald (“Where the path ends, the forest begins”).

Because the relative pronoun usually begins its clause, it may be separated from the verb by a great deal of information. When reading, locate the comma, identify the pronoun, and then look ahead for the final verb. This makes long German sentences much easier to unpack.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Relative clauses with was

Use was, rather than das, after indefinite pronouns such as alles, etwas, nichts and vieles, and often after a substantivised superlative (an adjective used like a noun):

• Alles, was er sagt, klingt vernünftig. — “Everything he says sounds reasonable.”
• Das Beste, was wir tun können, ist warten. — “The best thing we can do is wait.”

Was can also refer back to the content of an entire preceding clause:

• Sie hat die Prüfung bestanden, was mich sehr gefreut hat. — “She passed the exam, which made me very happy.”

Here was does not refer only to die Prüfung; it refers to the whole fact that she passed.

Pronominal adverbs: wofür, womit, worüber

When the antecedent is an indefinite thing or a whole idea, German often combines wo(r)- with a preposition:

• Das ist etwas, worüber wir sprechen müssen. — “That is something we need to talk about.”
• Er hat nichts, womit er die Tür öffnen kann. — “He has nothing with which he can open the door.”

For people, use a preposition plus relative pronoun instead: die Person, mit der ich spreche, not die Person, womit ich spreche.

Free relative clauses

A free relative clause contains its own general meaning and has no stated antecedent. Wer means roughly “whoever” or “the person who,” while was can mean “whatever”:

• Wer Fragen hat, kann mir schreiben. — “Anyone who has questions can write to me.”
• Nimm, was du brauchst. — “Take whatever you need.”

The form can change according to its role: Wem das gefällt, dem empfehle ich auch den zweiten Band (“To anyone who likes that, I also recommend the second volume”). Such paired constructions are useful but go beyond the B1 core.

Embedded relative clauses and complex verb groups

In formal texts, a relative clause may sit inside another clause or contain several verbs. The same principles still apply: commas mark the relative clause, the pronoun gets its case from within that clause, and the verb group stands at the end.

• Das ist der Bericht, den wir bis Freitag hätten fertigstellen sollen.
  “That is the report we should have completed by Friday.”

You do not need to produce structures like this immediately. First master short clauses with one clear verb, then extend them while preserving the same framework.

Practice Tips

1. Use the two-question check. For every pronoun, ask: “What is the antecedent’s gender and number?” Then ask: “What role does the pronoun have inside its clause?” Do not choose the case until you have answered both.
2. Combine pairs of sentences. Turn Ich kenne die Frau. Du hilfst der Frau. into Ich kenne die Frau, der du hilfst. Include subject, direct-object, dative and prepositional examples.
3. Mark the sentence frame. When reading, underline the antecedent and final verb, then circle the commas. When speaking, practise the entire relative clause as one unit so the verb naturally lands at the end.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subordinate Clauses: weil, dass — provides the verb-final word order used in relative clauses.
• Next steps: Complex Sentence Structures — develops longer combinations of main and subordinate clauses.