Relative clauses with der, die, das

What changes in a relative clause (and what does not)

• Relative pronouns connect two sentences: der / die / das = “who/that”.
• The relative pronoun has two jobs:
  • Gender + number come from the noun you describe (the “antecedent”).
  • Case comes from the role inside the relative clause (subject vs object).
• In this A2 step you only need: Nominative and Accusative.

Step 1: Choose der / die / das (gender first)

First decide the noun’s gender (same as the article):

Key point: This choice does not depend on English “who/which/that”. It depends on the German noun.

Step 2: Decide the case inside the relative clause (role test)

• Nominative if the relative pronoun is the subject (it does the action).
• Accusative if the relative pronoun is the direct object (it receives the action).

Quick self-check question:

1. Look only at the relative clause.
2. Ask: Who is doing the verb?
   • If the pronoun is doing it → Nominative.
   • If someone else is doing it to the pronoun → Accusative.

The only change you really have to watch: der → den

In nominative and accusative, feminine and neuter stay the same. Only masculine changes.

Mini examples: see the role difference clearly

• Subject (Nominative):
  • Das ist der Kollege, der heute im Büro arbeitet. (He works → “der” is subject.)
  • Das ist die Kollegin, die heute im Büro arbeitet.
  • Das ist das Gerät, das sehr gut funktioniert.
• Object (Accusative):
  • Das ist der Kollege, den ich jeden Morgen sehe. (I see him → “den” is object.)
  • Das ist die Kollegin, die ich jeden Morgen sehe.
  • Das ist das Gerät, das ich gerade teste.

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Pitfall 1: Choosing the case from the main sentence.
  • Wrong focus: “The main sentence has accusative, so the relative pronoun must be accusative.”
  • Fix: The case depends on the relative clause only.
• Pitfall 2: Forgetting that only masculine changes.
  • Correct: die Frau, die ich sehe; das Buch, das ich lese.
  • Wrong: die Frau, den ich sehe; das Buch, den ich lese
• Pitfall 3: Mixing up “who/that” with German forms.
  • In German you must show gender + case, even if English uses the same word.

Fast checklist before you submit an answer

1. What noun am I describing? → der/die/das (gender).
2. In the relative clause, is it doing the verb or is someone doing something to it?
3. If it’s masculine and object → change der to den.
4. Keep the rest simple and correct: … , den ich … / … , der …