Compare these two sentences:
Ich kenne einen Mann. Der Mann spricht fünf Sprachen.
Ich kenne einen Mann, der fünf Sprachen spricht.
I know a man. The man speaks five languages. → I know a man who speaks five languages.
The relative clause — der fünf Sprachen spricht — folds the second sentence into the first. It attaches directly to the noun it describes, separated by a comma, and the verb moves to the end. The word that connects them is the relative pronoun: der.
Choosing the right relative pronoun requires answering two questions: what is the gender of the noun being described, and what grammatical role does the relative pronoun play inside its own clause? Those two answers together determine the form.
What a Relative Clause Is
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun. It immediately follows the noun it refers to (the antecedent), is set off by commas, and begins with a relative pronoun. Like all subordinate clauses in German, the conjugated verb goes to the end.
Das Buch, [das ich gestern gekauft habe], ist sehr interessant.
The book [that I bought yesterday] is very interesting.
Die Frau, [der ich geholfen habe], ist meine Nachbarin.
The woman [whom I helped] is my neighbour.
The relative pronoun refers back to the antecedent — it stands in for it inside the clause. It carries two pieces of grammatical information simultaneously: the gender and number of the antecedent, and the case required by the relative pronoun's function within the clause.
The Two Rules That Govern Everything
Rule 1 — Gender and number: match the antecedent. The relative pronoun takes the gender and number of the noun it refers to. Der Mann (masculine) → relative pronoun is masculine. Die Frau (feminine) → relative pronoun is feminine. Das Kind (neuter) → relative pronoun is neuter. Die Bücher (plural) → relative pronoun is plural.
Rule 2 — Case: determined by the role in the relative clause. The case of the relative pronoun depends entirely on what grammatical function it performs inside the relative clause — whether it is the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, or the object of a preposition.
These two rules are independent. A masculine noun can produce a relative pronoun in any of the four cases. The noun's own case in the main clause is irrelevant — only its gender matters for the relative pronoun.
The Relative Pronoun Table
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
The table is almost identical to the definite article table with two exceptions: dative plural is denen (not den), and genitive forms are dessen/deren (not des/der).
Nominative Relative Pronouns
Use nominative when the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause — when it is performing the action described in that clause.
Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Vater.
The man who is standing there is my father. (der Mann — masculine → der; subject of steht → nominative)
Die Frau, die das Buch schreibt, ist bekannt.
The woman who is writing the book is well known. (die Frau — feminine → die; subject → nominative)
Das Kind, das draußen spielt, ist mein Neffe.
The child who is playing outside is my nephew. (das Kind — neuter → das; subject → nominative)
Die Leute, die hier wohnen, sind sehr freundlich.
The people who live here are very friendly. (plural → die; subject → nominative)
Accusative Relative Pronouns
Use accusative when the relative pronoun is the direct object of the verb in the relative clause.
Der Mann, den ich gestern getroffen habe, ist Arzt.
The man whom I met yesterday is a doctor. (der Mann — masculine → den; direct object of getroffen → accusative)
Das Buch, das sie liest, ist sehr dick.
The book that she is reading is very thick. (das Buch — neuter → das; accusative = same as nominative for neuter)
Die Stadt, die wir besucht haben, war wunderschön.
The city that we visited was beautiful. (die Stadt — feminine → die; accusative = same as nominative for feminine)
Nominative vs. accusative — only masculine changes
Feminine, neuter, and plural relative pronouns look identical in nominative and accusative: die, das, die. Only the masculine form changes: nominative der → accusative den. This means the case distinction is only visible in masculine singular relative clauses.
Dative Relative Pronouns
Use dative when the relative pronoun is the indirect object of the verb in the relative clause, or when it follows a dative-governing preposition or verb.
Die Frau, der ich geholfen habe, ist meine Lehrerin.
The woman whom I helped is my teacher. (die Frau — feminine → der; helfen takes dative → dative)
Das Kind, dem ich das Buch gegeben habe, heißt Lukas.
The child to whom I gave the book is called Lukas. (das Kind — neuter → dem; indirect object → dative)
Der Mann, dem sie vertraut, ist ehrlich.
The man whom she trusts is honest. (vertrauen takes dative → dem)
Die Freunde, denen ich geschrieben habe, wohnen in Berlin.
The friends to whom I wrote live in Berlin. (plural → denen; dative)
Genitive Relative Pronouns
Use genitive when the relative pronoun expresses possession — "whose." The genitive relative pronoun is followed directly by the noun it possesses, without an article.
Der Mann, dessen Auto gestohlen wurde, hat Anzeige erstattet.
The man whose car was stolen filed a police report. (der Mann — masculine → dessen)
Die Frau, deren Tochter ich kenne, ist Ärztin.
The woman whose daughter I know is a doctor. (die Frau — feminine → deren)
Das Unternehmen, dessen Produkte bekannt sind, wurde gegründet 1990.
The company whose products are well known was founded in 1990. (das Unternehmen — neuter → dessen)
Die Schüler, deren Noten gut sind, bekommen ein Stipendium.
The students whose grades are good receive a scholarship. (plural → deren)
Dessen/deren + noun — no article
After a genitive relative pronoun, the noun that follows takes no article. Der Mann, dessen Auto… — not dessen das Auto. The genitive pronoun already functions as the possessive determiner. Adding an article would be doubling up.
Prepositions in Relative Clauses
When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, the preposition comes first — before the relative pronoun — at the beginning of the relative clause. The case is governed by the preposition, not by the verb.
Das Hotel, in dem wir übernachtet haben, war ausgezeichnet.
The hotel in which we stayed was excellent. (in + dative → dem)
Der Kollege, mit dem ich zusammenarbeite, heißt Thomas.
The colleague with whom I work is called Thomas. (mit + dative → dem)
Die Stadt, durch die wir gefahren sind, liegt in Bayern.
The city through which we drove is in Bavaria. (durch + accusative → die)
Das Thema, über das wir gesprochen haben, ist komplex.
The topic about which we spoke is complex. (über + accusative → das)
Die Freunde, bei denen ich gewohnt habe, sind sehr gastfreundlich.
The friends at whose place I stayed are very hospitable. (bei + dative → denen)
No da-compounds in relative clauses
In main clauses, preposition + pronoun referring to a thing is replaced by a da-compound: darüber, darin, damit. This does NOT apply in relative clauses. In a relative clause you always use preposition + relative pronoun: über das, in dem, mit dem — never worüber, worin, womit (those are used differently — see below). Das Thema, darüber wir gesprochen haben is wrong. Das Thema, über das wir gesprochen haben is correct.
Word Order — Verb Always Last
Relative clauses are subordinate clauses. The conjugated verb goes to the end — always. This applies regardless of how complex the clause is.
…der fünf Sprachen spricht. (simple)
…den ich gestern in der Bibliothek getroffen habe. (with time and place)
…das ich meiner Mutter kaufen wollte. (with modal)
With modal verbs in the relative clause, the infinitive comes before the modal, both at the end:
Das Buch, das ich lesen wollte, war ausverkauft.
The book that I wanted to read was sold out. (lesen before wollte)
With perfect tense, the past participle comes before the auxiliary:
Der Film, den wir gesehen haben, war großartig.
The film that we saw was great. (gesehen before haben)
Welcher as an Alternative
Welcher/welche/welches/welche can replace der/die/das/die as a relative pronoun. The declension follows the strong adjective pattern. It is used to avoid repetition when the article and relative pronoun would otherwise be identical, and in formal or literary contexts.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | welcher | welche | welches | welche |
| Accusative | welchen | welche | welches | welche |
| Dative | welchem | welcher | welchem | welchen |
| Genitive | — | — | — | — |
Welcher has no genitive forms — use dessen/deren instead. In everyday spoken German, der/die/das is standard. Welcher sounds formal and is more common in writing.
Der Mann, welcher dort steht, ist mein Onkel. (formal)
Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Onkel. (standard)
Was and Wo as Relative Pronouns
Two special relative pronouns cover cases where der/die/das cannot be used.
Was is used when the antecedent is:
— an indefinite or neuter pronoun: alles, nichts, etwas, vieles, das, einiges
Alles, was er sagt, ist wahr.
Everything that he says is true.
Es gibt nichts, was mich überrascht.
There is nothing that surprises me.
Das ist das Beste, was ich je gegessen habe.
That is the best thing I have ever eaten.
— a neuter superlative used as a noun:
Das Interessanteste, was er geschrieben hat, ist sein letztes Buch.
The most interesting thing he has written is his last book.
— an entire preceding clause (referring to the whole statement, not a specific noun):
Er hat die Prüfung bestanden, was mich sehr gefreut hat.
He passed the exam, which made me very happy. (was refers to the whole fact)
Wo (and its compounds worin, worüber, womit, wovon, worauf etc.) is used when referring to places or — in formal/written German — when the relative pronoun follows a preposition and the antecedent is a thing.
Die Stadt, wo ich aufgewachsen bin, liegt in Österreich.
The city where I grew up is in Austria.
Das Thema, worüber wir diskutiert haben, ist wichtig. (formal)
Das Thema, über das wir diskutiert haben, ist wichtig. (standard)
Wo-compounds vs. preposition + relative pronoun
For things in relative clauses, both worüber and über das are grammatically acceptable, but über das is more standard in modern written German. Wo-compounds in relative clauses are more common in spoken German and in some regional varieties. For people, only preposition + relative pronoun is possible: mit dem, never womit for a person.
Common Traps
Trap 1 — Using the antecedent's case instead of the clause-internal case
Ich kenne den Mann, der dort steht. ✓
Ich kenne den Mann, den dort steht. ✗ (den is accusative — the man is accusative in the main clause, but nominative in the relative clause because he's the subject of steht)
The antecedent's case in the main clause has no influence on the relative pronoun's case. Only the pronoun's role inside the relative clause matters.
Trap 2 — Forgetting the verb-final rule
Das Buch, das ist sehr interessant, habe ich gekauft. ✗
Das Buch, das sehr interessant ist, habe ich gekauft. ✓
Trap 3 — Using da-compounds instead of preposition + relative pronoun
Das Hotel, darin wir übernachtet haben… ✗
Das Hotel, in dem wir übernachtet haben… ✓
Trap 4 — Using was instead of das for a specific noun antecedent
Das Buch, was ich lese, ist interessant. ✗ (Buch is a specific noun — use das)
Das Buch, das ich lese, ist interessant. ✓
Alles, was er sagt, ist wahr. ✓ (alles — indefinite pronoun — use was)
Trap 5 — Missing the comma before the relative clause
In German, relative clauses are always set off by commas — before the opening relative pronoun and after the clause if it is embedded mid-sentence. This is obligatory in German writing, unlike English where the comma is sometimes optional.
Der Mann der dort steht ist mein Vater. ✗
Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Vater. ✓
Quick Recap
- A relative clause modifies a noun, immediately follows it, is set off by commas, and sends its verb to the end.
- The relative pronoun carries two pieces of information: gender/number from the antecedent, and case from its role inside the relative clause. These are independent.
- Pronoun table: mostly matches definite articles, with two exceptions — dative plural is denen, genitive forms are dessen/deren.
- Nominative: relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause.
- Accusative: relative pronoun is the direct object.
- Dative: relative pronoun is the indirect object, or follows a dative verb or preposition.
- Genitive (dessen/deren): expresses possession — "whose." No article follows.
- Prepositions go before the relative pronoun at the start of the clause. No da-compounds in relative clauses.
- Welcher is a formal alternative to der/die/das. No genitive forms.
- Was: use when antecedent is alles, nichts, etwas, vieles, a neuter superlative noun, or an entire preceding clause.
- Wo: use for places. Wo-compounds (worüber, womit) are a formal/spoken alternative to preposition + das/dem for thing antecedents.
- Always use commas. The antecedent's case in the main clause does not affect the relative pronoun's case.