Relative clauses: der, die, das again, and the verb at the end
CEFR B1 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
If I could: the Konjunktiv II with würde, hätte and wäreTalking about what is not real: what you would do, would have, would be. With the short…The passive with werden: when what is done matters, not whoBuilding a German passive with its two pieces —werden conjugated and the participle at…The genitive: des, der, and the -s stuck onto the nounSaying whose something is with the fourth case: des Mannes, der Frau, des Kindes, der…als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying «when»Choosing between the three with two questions: is it a QUESTION, direct or indirect?…The infinitive with zu: when it goes in and when it does notAttaching a second verb with zu, and knowing the few cases where it is NOT used: after…Reflexive verbs: sich, and the mich that is sometimes mirUsing the dozen reflexives that come up daily —sich freuen, sich interessieren, sich…The rule, in three lines
A relative clause hooks a description onto a noun, and its pronoun is der, die or das again. The form is chosen with TWO independent questions: the GENDER comes from the word outside and the CASE from the verb inside. Der Mann, DEN ich sehe. And the verb goes to the end, as in every subordinate clause.
The usual slip. Choosing the relative by looking only at the noun outside and putting der because Mann is masculine. The gender is masculine, yes, but the case is decided by the verb inside: if it is sehen, it is accusative and gives den. Two separate decisions, and that is the whole difficulty.
Why it catches you out. English has who/whom/which/that and drops the relative altogether —«the man I see»—. German never drops it, and it never uses a different word for people and things: der, die, das do both. Less vocabulary than you fear and one habit to unlearn: the relative is obligatory.