Transcript Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronouns
English relative pronouns are
Which
Who
Whom
Whose
That
English Use



Restrictive (no comma) vs. non-restrictive
(comma)
Restrictive: The man who lives at 51 Main Street
is an engineer (as opposed to the man who lives
at 52 Main Street)
Non-restrictive: The man, who lives at 51 Main
Street, is an engineer. (main point: the man is
an engineer and, additionally, he happens to live
at 51 Main Street)
German Use


No difference between restrictive or nonrestrictive. All relative clauses start with a
comma!
Forms of relative pronouns are identical to
definite articles, except for plural Dative
(denen instead of den), masc. and neut.
Genitive (dessen instead of des) and plur.
and fem. Genitive (deren instead of der)
German Relative Pronoun Forms
Nom.
Acc.
Dat.
Gen.
Masc.
der
den
dem
dessen
Fem.
die
die
der
deren
Neut.
das
das
dem
dessen
Plur.
die
die
denen
deren
Which relative pronoun to use?
The form of the relative pronoun depends on two
things:
1. gender of the noun it refers to. This noun is
found in the clause (or partial clause) that precedes
the relative clause, usually right before the
comma.This will give you the gender for your
relative pronoun.
Ich kenne den Mann, der hier wohnt. (m.)
Die Frau, die das gekauft hat, ist reich. (f.)
Das Buch gehört dem Kind, das hier sitzt. (n.)
Wir hassen Leute, die nicht singen können. (pl.)
2. function of the relative pronoun in its own
clause. This will give you the case for your relative
pronoun.
Ich kenne den Mann, der hier wohnt.
(subject=nominative).
Die Frau, die er kennt, ist reich.
(direct object=accusative)
Das Kind, dem ich das Geld gebe, braucht es.
(indirect object=dative)
Ich liebe Menschen, deren Ziel es ist, andere Leute
glücklich zu machen.
(genitive = whose)
Er dankte den Leuten, bei denen er wohnen durfte.
(prepositional object=whatever case preposition
requires)
Important things to know
1. relative clauses are subordinating
clauses (i.e., the conjugated verb has to
be at the end of the German relative
clause)
2. relative pronouns can sometimes be
omitted in English, but they cannot be
omitted in German.
*English: I know the park (which/that) you mean.
*Deutsch: Ich kenne den Park, den du meinst.