Pronouns is an important part of any language, it allows you to provide information about the topics. This could be a hard to use in any language like German. The German relative pronouns or Relativpronomen provide the extra information about the objects, and person in the sentences to make them meaningful. Learning this in German is important, especially in the professional area. Thus, learning the relative pronouns in German could be a steep learning curve, but our blog will help you to become proficient. So read our blog to know its basics, navigate the chart, etc.
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The pronoun is used to replace other nouns in sentences to not repeat anything tediously. But, the relative pronouns, refers back to provide information previously mentioned in the sentence. When used in the statement, it usually introduces a relative clause that delivers more information about the subject.
You might be surprised to know that relative pronouns in German are slightly different from English. Thus, in the further segment, we are going to talk about how German relative pronouns works in English and German. So, let’s begin.
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In English, there are multiple relative pronouns used to introduce the relative clause to provide additional information about the object. Thus, it could be denoted by using who, whom, whose, that, and more.
For example
This is how relative pronouns are used in the English grammar. Now, let’s move ahead and understand how relative pronouns are used in the German language.
The German relative pronouns are pronounced as “Relativpronomen”. It is basically the same as the English one, who present the relative clauses and connects them with the main clause. However, these pronouns are declined, as their forms get changed depending on their case, gender, and the number. It sounds just like the definite articles in German. The common relative pronouns in German are "der," "die," "das," and "welcher," "welche," "welches". For example
This is all about how relative pronoun is used in the German. Now let’s explore the chart of German relative pronouns. Have a look.
Must read: German Possessive Pronouns
German is not so famous for its complicated grammar, especially when it comes to pronouns and articles. Also, this language distinguishes the grammatical genders and four different grammatical cases when relative pronouns is used. All of them are declined differently. Here are the German Relative pronouns chart that will help you to understand how case and gender get declined in relative pronouns.
| Cases | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
This German Relative pronouns chart provides a complete overview of the structure about how relative pronoun is used according to the case gender and number. Now, let’s see how German relative pronouns are used in cases in a detailed way in the next sections.
As we saw in the above table, the grammatical gender and grammatical case of the word you want to talk about, determine the relative pronoun to use in German. The German cases adhere to strict rules, while you have to learn grammatical gender with the noun to use them correctly. Unlike English, in German, you have to always use the comma (,) when writing the clause with a relative pronoun. So, let’s see how German relative pronouns are used in different cases.
In this case, the nominative relative pronouns in German are used to transfer who or that in the sentence. For example
Die Jacke, die ich heute trage, ist schwarz.
The jacket that I’m wearing today is black.
In this example of Nominative Relative pronouns in German, the gender of dieJackie is feminine, which is why, here dieis used.
The Accusative Relative pronouns in German are used when translating the whom or that. Understand this by the example mentioned below.
Der Mann, den ich heute treffe, ist groß.
The man whom I’m meeting today is tall.
In this instance of Accusative Relative pronouns in German, the der mann in the sentences is masculine gender, so here den is used.
The dative relative pronouns in German are used when transforming whom or that in amalgamation with a preposition. Have a look at the example to understand this.
Das Mädchen, mit dem ich tanze, ist hübsch.
The girl with whom I’m dancing is pretty.
Here in the Dative Relative pronouns German instance, we have used dem due to the grammatical gender in the German case of das Mädchenis neutral.
Lastly, in this case, the Genitive Relative pronouns in German is used to highlight the ownership and convert it whose or that. Look at the example to understand this German case.
Die Menschen, deren Haus ich miete, sind nett.
The people whose house I’m renting are nice.
In this example of Genitive Relative pronouns, Die Menschen is plural, which denotes that we have to use deren in the sentence.
This is how German relative pronouns are used with different cases to make the sentence by introducing the clauses and providing the information. But there are some important German pronouns you need to pick correctly, but what are they? Let’s know them.
Have a read to this - German Personal Pronouns
It is crucial to choose the correct German relative pronouns while making sentences to provide the right details. So here are some of the strategies that can help you in this.
Here are the six common mistakes that you should avoid while using German relative pronouns in sentences.
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In the end, German grammar is challenging to learn but once you understand the approach, you can excel. Thus, practising is the key that can help you to become proficient. Moreover, in this guide, we have talked about the relative pronouns in German, their parts, cases and more. This will help you to learn German. Moreover, if you want to learn more grammar parts in this language, such as German Reflexive Pronouns, possessive or personal, you can get connected to our experts. They will guide you to become proficient So, what are you waiting for? Enroll in our German online coaching today!
Answer: In German relative pronouns are used to present relative clauses and pair them to the main clause. The common relative pronouns is der, die, das, welcher, welche, welches. However, these pronouns can be changed according to gender, case and number just as definite articles.
Answers: The seven relative pronouns in English are who, whom, which, that, what, and where. In German it is der, die, das, den, dem, dessen, and deren. They are used to provide an introduction to relative clauses. Also, provide additional information about a noun in the main clauses.
Answer: "Der," "die," and "das," in German are definite articles and are used to specify a noun while "welcher," "Welche," and "welches" are the relative pronouns are used to present the relative clauses that provide information about a noun.
Answer: To choose the correct German relative pronouns, you need to use both the case and gender of the noun it refers to within the relative clause. Moreover, it should be agreed in number (singular or plural).
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