A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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Offline Textbook | A Foundation Course in Reading German https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/print-entire-textbook/ Page 79 of 151 12/8/2017 There are two rules in German that make recognizing relative clauses easier than in English: 1. German only rarely omits the relative pronoun as we often do in English: "The book he is reading is interesting." Thus, normally, the relative pronoun will be the first word in the clause, unless it is used with a preposition, which will precede it – see example #6 below. 2. German marks both the beginning and the end of the relative clause with commas. Examples of relative pronouns and clauses: 1. Der Computer, der [nominative case-masculine] in diesem Zimmer steht, ist neu. The computer (which is) standing in this room is new. 2. Der Computer, den [accusative-masculine] ich habe, ist neu. The computer (which) I have is new. 3. Der Professor, dessen [genitive-masculine] Buch ich lese, ist wohlbekannt. The professor whose book I am reading is well-known. 4. Der Student, dem [dative-masculine] ich das Buch gebe, heißt Hans. The student to whom I give the book is called Hans. 5. Die Arbeiter, denen [dative-plural] wir Computer geben, sind intelligent. The workers to whom we give computers are intelligent. 6. Die Maschine, mit der [dative-feminine] ich arbeite, ist komplex. The machine with which I am working is complex. The meaning of a relative pronoun can be determined if you note the following: 1. The relative pronoun agrees in both gender and number with the word it refers to. Therefore, in our examples, if the noun in the main sentence is masculine and singular then the relative pronoun is masculine and singular, etc. 2. The case of the relative pronoun agrees with the role it plays within the relative clause, not by the role of the word in the main sentence to which it refers. 3. When you are in doubt about which item the clause is referring back to, assume the nearest preceding noun (whether implied or stated) that meets the first rule above.
Offline Textbook | A Foundation Course in Reading German https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/print-entire-textbook/ Page 80 of 151 12/8/2017 Thus, in example #1 it is nominative since it is the subject, in #2 accusative since it is the direct object, in #3 the genitive, in #4, #5, and #6 the dative since it is the indirect object or is governed by a dative preposition or verb. Paying attention to the agreement of gender and number can be crucial for reading comprehension. German can be much clearer and more efficient than English since one can (and sometimes must) rely on this agreement to determine exactly what is referring to what. Unit: 8: Werden, relative clauses 6. Question Words as Relative Pronouns Just as in English, question words such as wo, was, and wie sometimes function as unspecific relative pronouns, and in this case they do not signal a question. Recognize how word order signals to you that this is a relative clause and not a question: Sie ist sich unsicher, was sie bestellen wird. She is not sure what she will order. Ich weiß, wo Franz Kafka geboren ist. I know where Franz Kafka was born. These express a less specific kind of relationship between the two phrases than a relative pronoun does. Compare the second example above with: Ich sah das Haus, in dem Franz Kafka geboren ist. I saw the house in which Franz Kafka was born. A famous example of this kind of question-word usage is in the first line of a Goethe poem: Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn, … You may find the Review Units 5-8 exercise more valuable now or as a later review opportunity. Unit: 9: Passive voice
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A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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