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Relative Clauses

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I. Theory

Relative clauses are used to provide additional information regarding the noun of a sentence. In English, this information often follows who, which, or that. This is slightly more complex in German as gender, case and number play a role in determining which relative pronoun to use.

Ich sehe den Mann.
I see the man.

Der Mann ist im Park.
The man is in the park.

Ich sehe den Mann, der im Park ist.
I see the man who is in the park.


Wir lesen das Buch.
We are reading the book.

Unser Professor hat das Buch empfohlen.
Our professor recommended the book.

Wir lesen das Buch, das unser Professor empfohlen hat.
We are reading the book that our professor recommended.


Ich helfe der Frau im Garten.
I help the woman in the garden.

Sie ist meine Oma.
She is my grandmother.

Die Frau, der ich im Garten helfe, ist meine Oma.
The woman whom I help in the garden is my grandmother.

II. Relative Pronouns

As you can see in the sentences above, the pronoun used in the relative clause reflects the case, gender, and number of the noun in the main clause. The chart below shows which pronoun corresponds to which case:

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