Relative Pronouns: Accusative & Dative
Relative pronouns in accusative (den, die, das, die) and dative (dem, der, dem, denen) with word order rules.
Overview
At the A2 level you learned relative pronouns in nominative — where the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause. Now we expand to accusative and dative relative pronouns, where the relative pronoun functions as an object.
The key principle remains the same: the relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to (the antecedent). Its case is determined by its role within the relative clause — not by the main clause.
Full Table of Relative Pronoun Forms
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
Notice: the accusative and dative relative pronoun forms are identical to the corresponding definite articles, with one exception — the dative plural is denen (not "den").
Accusative Relative Pronouns
Use accusative relative pronouns when the relative pronoun is the direct object of the relative clause — the person or thing being acted upon.
Masculine: den
Der Mann, den ich gestern gesehen habe, ist mein Nachbar. — The man whom I saw yesterday is my neighbor.
Kennst du den Film, den sie empfohlen hat? — Do you know the movie (that) she recommended?
The masculine form is the most noticeable change: der (nominative) becomes den (accusative).
Feminine: die
Die Frau, die wir eingeladen haben, kommt aus Hamburg. — The woman whom we invited comes from Hamburg.
Die Tasche, die ich gekauft habe, war teuer. — The bag (that) I bought was expensive.
Feminine stays die in both nominative and accusative — identical to the definite article.
Neuter: das
Das Buch, das er liest, ist sehr spannend. — The book (that) he is reading is very exciting.
Das Geschenk, das sie bekommen hat, war wunderschön. — The gift (that) she received was beautiful.
Neuter also stays das — same form in nominative and accusative.
Plural: die
Die Leute, die ich kenne, sind sehr freundlich. — The people whom I know are very friendly.
Die Bücher, die du mir gegeben hast, waren interessant. — The books (that) you gave me were interesting.
Plural remains die in the accusative.
How to Recognize Accusative
Ask yourself: who is performing the action in the relative clause? If the relative pronoun is NOT the one performing the action, it is likely accusative (or dative).
Der Mann, den ich kenne... — I (subject) know the man (object = den).
Compare with nominative:
Der Mann, der mich kennt... — The man (subject = der) knows me.
Dative Relative Pronouns
Use dative relative pronouns when the relative pronoun is the indirect object, or when it follows a dative verb or a dative preposition within the relative clause.
Masculine: dem
Der Mann, dem ich geholfen habe, war sehr dankbar. — The man whom I helped was very grateful.
Das ist der Lehrer, dem die Schüler vertrauen. — That is the teacher whom the students trust.
"Helfen" and "vertrauen" are dative verbs, so the relative pronoun takes dative: dem.
Feminine: der
Die Frau, der ich das Buch gegeben habe, ist meine Kollegin. — The woman to whom I gave the book is my colleague.
Die Ärztin, der ich vertraue, hat ihre Praxis in der Stadt. — The doctor whom I trust has her practice in the city.
The feminine dative form is der — be careful not to confuse it with the masculine nominative "der."
Neuter: dem
Das Kind, dem wir ein Geschenk gekauft haben, hat sich gefreut. — The child for whom we bought a gift was happy.
Das Restaurant, dem der Michelin-Stern verliehen wurde, ist in München. — The restaurant to which the Michelin star was awarded is in Munich.
Neuter dative is dem — same as masculine dative.
Plural: denen
Die Freunde, denen ich geschrieben habe, haben sofort geantwortet. — The friends to whom I wrote answered immediately.
Die Kinder, denen wir geholfen haben, gehen in die dritte Klasse. — The children whom we helped are in third grade.
The plural dative relative pronoun is denen — this is the only form that differs from the regular definite article ("den" in dative plural).
Dative After Prepositions
When a preposition in the relative clause requires the dative, the preposition comes before the relative pronoun:
Die Stadt, in der ich aufgewachsen bin, ist sehr klein. — The city in which I grew up is very small.
Der Freund, mit dem ich gereist bin, lebt jetzt in Spanien. — The friend with whom I traveled now lives in Spain.
Die Leute, von denen ich dir erzählt habe, kommen morgen. — The people about whom I told you are coming tomorrow.
Word Order
The word order rules for accusative and dative relative clauses are the same as for nominative:
Structure: Main clause, [comma] [relative pronoun] ... [conjugated verb at END]
Der Film, den ich gestern gesehen habe, war langweilig.
Breaking it down:
- Main clause: "Der Film war langweilig" — The film was boring
- Comma separates the clauses
- Relative pronoun: den (masculine accusative, matches "Film")
- Subject of relative clause: "ich"
- Remaining elements: "gestern"
- Conjugated verb at the END: gesehen habe (Perfekt form, auxiliary "habe" goes last)
With Prepositions
When a preposition is required, it comes directly before the relative pronoun:
Die Frau, mit der ich gesprochen habe, ist Ärztin.
The preposition and relative pronoun form a unit at the beginning of the relative clause.
Relative Clause in the Middle
When the relative clause sits in the middle of the main clause:
Der Mann, dem ich geholfen habe, hat sich bei mir bedankt.
The main clause verb ("hat") follows immediately after the closing comma.
Tips
- Gender and number come from the antecedent; case comes from the relative clause. "Die Frau, den..." is wrong because Frau is feminine — even if the relative pronoun is accusative, it must be "die."
- Masculine accusative is the biggest change: der becomes den — the same shift as with definite articles.
- Dative plural is denen, not den — this is the one form that does NOT match the regular article.
- Always place a comma before the relative pronoun (or before the preposition if there is one).
- The conjugated verb goes to the END of the relative clause — in Perfekt this means the auxiliary (hat, ist) goes last.
- Preposition + relative pronoun stay together at the start: "mit dem," "in der," "von denen."