German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Relative Clauses in the Genitive (Relativsätze im Genitiv)
The relative clause is a familiar topic that is used very often in German. Compared with relative clauses in Nominativ, Akkusativ or Dativ, relative clauses in Genitiv have some special features. So what is special about them? We will find out together in today's article!!!
1. The relative pronoun in Genitiv
maskulin |
neutral |
feminin |
Plural |
|
Relativpronomen im Genitiv |
dessen |
dessen |
deren |
deren |
2. Relative clauses in Genitiv
Consider the examples:
a. Peter ist Lehrer. Peters Eltern kommen aus Deutschland.
(Peter is a teacher. Peter's parents come from Germany.)
→ Peter, dessen Eltern aus Deutschland kommen, ist Lehrer.
(Peter, whose parents come from Germany, is a teacher.)
b. Die Söhne Peter und Sam lernen schnell Deutsch. Ihre Freunde kommen aus Deutschland.
(The sons Peter and Sam learn German quickly. Their friends come from Germany.)
→ Die Söhne Peter und Sam, deren Freunde aus Deutschland kommen, lernen schnell Deutsch.
(The two sons Peter and Sam, whose friends come from Germany, learn German very quickly.)
- The question is: Eltern is plural (Plural) and takes the article die, so why is the relative pronoun dessen used? Meanwhile, Freunde is also plural and takes die, so why is the relative pronoun deren used?
- The answer is: when forming a relative clause in Genitiv, the relative pronoun is chosen according to the noun before it, the noun that the relative clause is adding information to. Therefore, Peter is singular and masculine (der), so the relative pronoun must be dessen. By contrast, Die Söhne Peter und Sam is plural (Plural), so the relative pronoun must be deren.
