German Relative Pronouns in Accusative and Dative
German relative pronouns in accusative and dative: den, die, dem, der, denen — forms, word order, and common mistakes. B1 reference with practice.
German relative pronouns in accusative and dative are the forms you reach for once the pronoun stops being the subject of its clause. The principle from A2 still holds: the pronoun agrees in gender and number with the antecedent, but its case is decided inside the relative clause — by the verb, the preposition, or the object role the pronoun plays.
This page covers the full paradigm (der/die/das/die across nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive), shows when to pick den vs dem, walks through word order, and lists the mistakes learners make most often — including the trap of confusing the relative den with the article den.
Quick reference: complete relative-pronoun paradigm
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
The accusative and dative forms match the definite article — with one exception: dative plural is denen, not "den". The genitive forms (dessen, deren) are unique to relative pronouns and have no article look-alike.
To get the den-versus-dem decision into your fingers, you can practise these cases on this page itself: the two embedded exercise sets below — accusative and dative — are free, require no account, and tell you instantly whether the case you picked fits the verb in the clause.
What are German relative pronouns in accusative and dative?
A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause and links it to a noun in the main clause (the antecedent). In Der Mann, den ich kenne, ist mein Nachbar, the pronoun den refers back to der Mann and at the same time plays a role inside its own clause — here, the direct object of kennen.
Two facts about that pronoun are decided separately:
- Gender and number come from the antecedent in the main clause. Der Mann is masculine singular, so any pronoun referring to it is masculine singular.
- Case comes from the role the pronoun plays inside the relative clause — subject, direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition. Nothing about the main-clause case carries over.
That second rule is the most-missed point at B1: even if der Mann is the subject of the main clause (nominative), the pronoun referring to him can be accusative (den), dative (dem), or genitive (dessen) depending on what happens after the comma.
How do you pick accusative vs dative?
Inside the relative clause, ask two questions in order:
- Is there a preposition right in front of the pronoun? If yes, the preposition picks the case: mit dem, für den, bei der, ohne die, von denen. This overrides everything else.
- What role does the pronoun play with the main verb?
- Subject → nominative (der/die/das/die).
- Direct object with a normal transitive verb → accusative (den/die/das/die).
- Indirect object (the recipient), or the single argument of a dative verb like helfen, vertrauen, gefallen, danken, antworten, gehören → dative (dem/der/dem/denen).
So Der Mann, den ich kenne is accusative (kennen takes a direct object), but Der Mann, dem ich vertraue is dative (vertrauen takes a dative object).
German accusative relative pronouns: den, die, das, die
Use accusative relative pronouns when the pronoun is the direct object of the relative clause — the person or thing being acted on.
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 visible change: der (nominative) → den (accusative). This is also the form most often confused with the definite article den — see Common mistakes.
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: 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 — see also the A2 entry point German relative pronouns:
Der Mann, der mich kennt… — The man (subject = der) knows me.
10 exercises on this rule · about 5 min
German dative relative pronouns: dem, der, dem, denen
Use dative relative pronouns when the pronoun is the indirect object, the single argument of a dative verb, or the object of a dative preposition inside 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 — the only form that differs from the regular definite article (which uses den in dative plural).
Dative after prepositions
When a preposition in the relative clause requires the dative, the preposition comes before the relative pronoun. The full pattern lives in relative clauses with prepositions:
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.
10 exercises on this rule · about 5 min
Word order in relative clauses
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, matching Film)
- Subject of the relative clause: ich
- Remaining elements: gestern
- Conjugated verb at the END: gesehen habe (Perfekt — auxiliary habe goes last)
With prepositions
When a preposition is required, it sits directly before the relative pronoun:
Die Frau, mit der ich gesprochen habe, ist Ärztin.
The preposition and the relative pronoun form a single unit at the start 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.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
These are the relative-pronoun errors learners produce most often at B1, with the correction in each case.
| Mistake | Why it's wrong | Correct form |
|---|---|---|
| Ich kenne den Mann, den ich gesehen habe. (treating the second den as the article) | The second den is a relative pronoun, not an article — it follows the comma and refers back to Mann. Commas + clause-final verb mark the relative reading. | Ich kenne den Mann, den ich gesehen habe. — same form, two different jobs in one sentence. |
| Der Mann, dessen Auto ist… → skipping the genitive entirely | Many learners avoid dessen / deren and rewrite with von. The forms are required when expressing possession: dessen for masc./neut., deren for fem./plural. | Der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist, wartet. — The man whose car is broken is waiting. Die Frau, deren Mann Arzt ist… |
| Der Film, den ich gestern habe gesehen. | The conjugated verb in a relative clause goes to the end. In Perfekt the auxiliary comes after the participle. | Der Film, den ich gestern gesehen habe. |
| Der Mann, der ich helfe. (matching the antecedent's case) | Der Mann is nominative in the main clause, but inside the relative clause the pronoun is the dative object of helfen. Case comes from the relative clause, not the antecedent. | Der Mann, dem ich helfe. |
| Die Leute, den ich vertraue. | Confusing dative singular dem with dative plural — and forgetting that dative plural is denen, not den. | Die Leute, denen ich vertraue. |
| Die Frau, den wir eingeladen haben. | Gender mismatch. The antecedent is feminine (Frau), so even in accusative the pronoun stays die, not den. | Die Frau, die wir eingeladen haben. |
The shortcut: antecedent gives gender and number; the relative clause gives the case.
Genitive relative pronouns: dessen and deren
The genitive forms dessen (masc./neut.) and deren (fem./plural) express possession or close association across the clause boundary. They are short, fixed, and don't decline further:
Der Autor, dessen Buch wir lesen, kommt morgen. — The author whose book we're reading is coming tomorrow.
Die Kollegin, deren Idee gewonnen hat, bekommt einen Bonus. — The colleague whose idea won is getting a bonus.
Das Kind, dessen Eltern Ärzte sind, ist sehr ruhig. — The child whose parents are doctors is very quiet.
Die Studenten, deren Prüfungen vorbei sind, feiern. — The students whose exams are over are celebrating.
Notice that the noun right after dessen/deren carries no article — the relative pronoun itself supplies the possessive meaning.
Frequently asked questions
What are the German relative pronouns in accusative and dative?
Accusative: den (masc.), die (fem.), das (neut.), die (plural). Dative: dem (masc.), der (fem.), dem (neut.), denen (plural). All match the definite article except dative plural, which is denen, not den.
How do I know if a relative pronoun is accusative or dative?
Look at the verb and any preposition inside the relative clause. A direct-object role or an accusative preposition takes accusative (den, die, das, die). A dative verb (helfen, vertrauen, gefallen), an indirect-object role, or a dative preposition (mit, von, zu) takes dative (dem, der, dem, denen).
Why is it 'der Mann, den ich kenne' and not 'der Mann, der ich kenne'?
Because the relative pronoun is the direct object of kennen, not the subject. The subject inside the relative clause is ich, so 'der Mann' (masculine) takes the accusative form den. 'Der Mann, der mich kennt' is the opposite case — there the pronoun is the subject.
Where does the verb go in a German relative clause?
At the very end. The conjugated verb is the last element, even in Perfekt or with modals: 'Der Film, den ich gestern gesehen habe…'. The auxiliary (habe, ist, wird) is what closes the clause.
What's the difference between den as an article and den as a relative pronoun?
Surface-identical, role-different. The article den marks a masculine accusative noun in the main clause (Ich sehe den Mann). The relative pronoun den introduces a relative clause and refers back to an antecedent (Der Mann, den ich sehe). Commas and clause-final verb position give the relative pronoun away.
How do prepositions combine with relative pronouns?
The preposition sits directly in front of the relative pronoun and triggers its case: mit dem Freund, in der Stadt, von denen, für die. The whole unit opens the relative clause: 'Der Freund, mit dem ich gereist bin, …'.
Is there free online practice for accusative and dative relative pronouns?
Yes — this page embeds two free exercise sets, one for the accusative forms and one for the dative, with no account needed. They make you decide between den and dem from the verb in the clause and confirm each choice the moment you answer.