german_sentence_builder

Relative pronouns
·7·
Relative pronouns are commonly used to combine two sentences that have the
same noun or pronoun in both. One of them is changed to a relative pronoun, and
the sentences are then combined:
identical noun 1 identical noun
Do you know the man? 1 The man is a thief.
Do you know the man, who is a thief?
Two types of relative pronouns
In German, there are two basic types of relative pronouns. One is formed from the
definite article, and the other is formed from the der-word welcher. Naturally, in
German you have to consider the gender, number, and case when using relative
pronouns. Let’s look at their declension:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Definite article
Nominative: der die das die
Accusative: den die das die
Dative: dem der dem denen
Possessive: dessen deren dessen deren
Welcher
Nominative: welcher welche welches welche
Accusative: welchen welche welches welche
Dative: welchem welcher welchem welchen
Possessive: dessen deren dessen deren
Notice that both the definite article form and the welcher form have the identical
possessive adjective where the genitive case would normally occur.
Just like English relative pronouns, German relative pronouns combine two
sentences that have the same noun or pronoun in both. But in German, gender,
number, and case must be considered. If the noun replaced by a relative pronoun
is nominative, the relative pronoun must be nominative. For example:
Der Junge ist Amerikaner. Der
Junge lernt Deutsch.
Der Junge, der Deutsch lernt, ist
Amerikaner.
Der Junge, welcher Deutsch lernt,
ist Amerikaner.
The boy is an American. The boy is
learning German.
The boy, who is learning German, is an
American.
51