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Want more exercices from this lesson ? »
1. I know the man who called you
2. She has a cat that eats mice
3. Your friend, whom I lent the money, doesn't answer his phone
4. The wallet which I found, is yours!
5. She loves the man who sang at the concert
6. Are you reading the book which I gave you?
7. The people, whom I helped, are alive!
8. Do you understand the text that he gave you?
1. Ich kenne den Mann, der dich angerufen hat
2. Sie hat eine Katze, die Mäuse frisst
3. Ihr Freund, dem ich das Geld geliehen habe, geht nicht ans Telefon
4. Die Brieftasche, die ich gefunden habe, gehört dir!
5. Sie liebt den Mann, der beim Konzert gesungen hat
6. Lesen Sie das Buch, das ich Ihnen gegeben habe?
7. Die Menschen, denen ich geholfen habe, leben!
8. Verstehst du den Text, den er dir gegeben hat?
*Although the relative pronouns and the definite articles are almost the same, the dative plural makes one exception:“denen” instead of “den”
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | *denen |
What's the case and the gender of the man?
Nominative and masculine, “der”
| Main clause | Dependent clause | ||||||
|
|
*The man, who helped me.
What's the case and the gender of the man?
Nominative and masculine, “der”
| Main clause | Dependent clause | ||||
|
|
*Then a man, who came by, helped me to get up
What's the case and the gender of the cat?
Accusative and feminine, “die”
| Main clause | Dependent clause | ||
|
|
*I have seen a cat yesterday that was black
The relative pronouns are the definite articles of the nouns, which are declined according to the gender and the case of the corresponding nouns!
Mrs. Puddles
Have you noticed?
Don’t forget: the comma separates the main clause and the dependent clause
Mrs. Puddles
Have you noticed?
Cats are lovely and may prove to be a good company for you while learning or struggling with German.
Here's the perfect place for animal lovers and German learners!
2020, L2D
Mr. Fluffy: Danke!
Take your chance and try to guess what these sentences mean !
Mrs. Purrplexed wants to play!
Mr. Puddle: Ausgezeichnet!
Mr. Puddle: Ja? Zeit für ein kurzes Quiz! How do relative pronouns function?
Mr. Fluffy: Umm… as connecters between clauses, such as a main and a dependent clause. There’s a comma after the main clause and then, comes the relative pronoun which has almost the same forms as the definite articles
Mr. Fluffy: I didn’t expect it to be so easy!
*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !
✔️ Here you may see some sentences in which relative pronouns are used. Follow each of them and see how they work!
✔️ If you know the definite articles by gender and by case, then you already know the relative pronouns
✔️ Relative pronouns introduce the dependent clause, right after the noun (the subject, object of speaking) which they refer to
✔️ Try exercising the structure: main clause + relative pronoun, initially without the dependent clause, so you can say automatically the relative pronoun, because there’s a tendency to forget it
⭐ Let’s start with a story so you can understand the relative pronouns and their main function:
“I saw yesterday a cat, which was black, crossing the street. I don’t believe in misfortune brought by black cats... but after I saw the cat, I tripped and fell. Then, a man who was passing by, helped me to get up. The man that helped me, was somebody who I knew! My landlord! He asked me for rent, which I had not paid for months!
This story:
➔ Points out their meanings: “which” “who” “that”
➔ Indicates the role of relative pronouns: as connectors between clauses/ sentence
➔ We already learned about main and dependent clauses
As opposed to English, in German the relative pronouns are declined according to the case and the gender of the nouns they refer to:
from the text:
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