German Relative Clauses: How to Describe People and Things Like a Pro

Adding Detail: Relativsätze (Relative Clauses)

As an intermediate learner, you need to describe things more precisely. Instead of saying: “That is the colleague. He speaks five languages,” you want to say: “That is the colleague who speaks five languages.” This is a Relativsatz.

For an expat, this is vital for:

• At work: “The project that I am leading…”
• Shopping: “The laptop that I bought yesterday…”
• Socially: “The friend who lives in Munich…”

1. The Rule: Pronouns and Word Order

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses. This means two things:

1. They are separated by a comma.
2. The conjugated verb moves to the very end of the sentence.

The “relative pronoun” (who/which/that) usually looks exactly like the definite articles (der, die, das).

2. Relative Clauses in the Nominative (The Subject)

Use this when the person or thing you are describing is the subject of the second part of the sentence.

Gender	Example	Meaning
Masculine	Das ist der Mann, der hier arbeitet.	That is the man who works here.
Feminine	Das ist die Frau, die Deutsch lernt.	That is the woman who learns German.
Neuter	Das ist das Kind, das dort spielt.	That is the child who plays there.

3. Relative Clauses in the Akkusativ (The Object)

Use this when the person or thing you are describing is the object of the action in the relative clause. Only the masculine der changes to den.

• Masculine: “Der Kaffee, den ich trinke, ist kalt.” (The coffee that I am drinking is cold).
• Feminine: “Die Wohnung, die ich miete, ist groß.” (The apartment that I am renting is big).

4. Pro Tip: Relative Clauses with Prepositions

This is where your German starts to sound truly high-level. You can put a preposition before the relative pronoun.

• “Das ist die Firma, bei der ich arbeite.” (That is the company at which I work).
• “Das ist der Freund, mit dem ich reise.” (That is the friend with whom I travel – Dativ).

5. Practice Exercises

A. Combine the two sentences into one using a relative clause (Nominative):

1. Das ist der Kollege. Er hilft mir. -> Das ist der Kollege, ________ …
2. Dort ist das Buch. Es ist sehr interessant. -> Dort ist das Buch, ________ …
3. Das sind die Leute. Sie wohnen nebenan. -> Das sind die Leute, ________ …

B. Translate to German (Watch the verb position!):

1. The man that I saw yesterday is my boss. (Akkusativ: den).
2. The city where (in which) I live is beautiful. (Dativ: in der).

Lesson Summary Checklist

[ ] I know that relative pronouns usually match the definite articles (der, die, das).
[ ] I remember to put a comma before the relative clause.
[ ] I always kick the conjugated verb to the end of the relative clause.
[ ] I can identify the difference between a Nominative and Akkusativ relative clause.