Relative clauses

A relative clause gives more information about a noun. It starts with a relative pronoun (der, die, das …) and comes directly after the noun it describes. A comma comes before the relative clause: Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Lehrer.

Like in every subordinate clause, the verb moves to the end: Das Buch, das ich gerade lese, ist spannend.

The relative pronoun depends on two things:

1. Gender and number come from the noun before it: der Mann → der, die Frau → die, das Kind → das.
2. The case is determined by the role in the relative clause: subject → nominative, accusative object → accusative, after a dative verb → dative, possession → genitive.

Compare: Die Frau, die dort wohnt (nominative) — Die Frau, die ich kenne (accusative) — Die Frau, der ich helfe (dative) — Die Frau, deren Auto kaputt ist (genitive).