Advanced relative clauses

Standard relative clauses use a declined form of der / die / das to refer back to a noun antecedent. Advanced relative clauses cover three situations where that pattern does not apply: (1) the relative pronoun was is required after indefinite or neuter nominal antecedents (such as alles, etwas, nichts, das) and after superlatives, as well as after an entire preceding clause; (2) the relative adverb wo(r)- is used with a preposition when the antecedent is a whole clause; (3) the generalizing pronoun wer introduces a relative clause with no explicit antecedent, meaning «whoever». Each type has its own trigger conditions and formation rules.

• was — after indefinite neuter pronouns and das. Use was (not das) when the antecedent is one of: alles, etwas, nichts, vieles, das (used as a demonstrative noun), or a nominalized superlative (e.g. das Beste, das Schwerste).

• was — after a whole clause. When the antecedent is not a single noun but an entire preceding statement, use was to introduce the relative clause: Sie hat sofort geantwortet, was mich gefreut hat.

• wo(r)- + preposition — clause antecedent with a prepositional verb. When the relative clause requires a preposition and the antecedent is a whole clause (or an indefinite/abstract noun), form a wo(r)- compound instead of preposition + was: e.g. worüber, womit, worauf. Add wor- (with the extra r) before prepositions that begin with a vowel.

• wo — relativizing places (and colloquially times). Wo can replace in dem / in der when the antecedent is a place noun: die Stadt, wo ich geboren wurde. In informal speech it also appears with time expressions (der Tag, wo alles begann), though an dem is preferred in formal writing.

• wer — generalizing («whoever»). Use wer to introduce a free relative clause with no explicit antecedent. The main clause may optionally begin with a resumptive der when the cases differ; when the cases are the same, no resumptive pronoun is needed.

• derjenige, der — heavy antecedent. Derjenige (declined like a definite article + adjective) acts as an explicit antecedent and is followed by a normal der-relative clause. It is used for emphasis or when the antecedent must be made explicit: Diejenigen, die zu spät kommen, müssen draußen warten.

The table below shows the case forms of was and the generalizing pronoun wer as used in relative clauses.

The wo(r)- compound is formed as follows:

For the wer construction, the main clause optionally begins with a resumptive der / dem / den when the case of the subject in the main clause differs from the case of wer in the relative clause. When both are nominative, no resumptive is used.

• Using das instead of was after alles, etwas, nichts.

  ✗ Alles, das er sagte, stimmte.

  ✓ Alles, was er sagte, stimmte.

  The pronouns alles, etwas, nichts, vieles and the demonstrative das used as a noun are not ordinary noun antecedents. They do not take a der/die/das-relative; they require was.

• Using das to refer back to a whole clause.

  ✗ Sie hat sofort geantwortet, das mich gefreut hat.

  ✓ Sie hat sofort geantwortet, was mich gefreut hat.

  When the antecedent is an entire clause rather than a noun, das is ungrammatical. Only was can serve as a relative pronoun for a clausal antecedent.

• Inserting an unneeded resumptive der after wer when cases match.

  ✗ Wer zu spät kommt, der muss draußen warten. (redundant here)

  ✓ Wer zu spät kommt, muss draußen warten.

  A resumptive der is only justified when the case of wer in the relative clause differs from the case required in the main clause (e.g. Wer das glaubt, dem kann ich nicht helfen — nominative wer vs. dative dem). When both are nominative, omit the resumptive.