Genau
Topic test · B1

Relativsätze test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Ich kenne den Mann, dort steht.

I know the man who is standing there.

der. It does not matter that the noun is Akkusativ in the main clause — in the relative clause the man is standing, so he is the subject. Masculine + Nominativ → der.

Das ist die Frau, ich helfe.

helfen = to help

der. helfen takes the Dativ. The feminine Dativ cell is der — same as the article table.

Die Kinder, ich ein Buch gegeben habe, sind weg.

The children I gave a book to have gone.

denen. I gave it to the children → Dativ, plural. This is the single most important cell in the table: the Dativ plural is where it departs from the article table.

Der Mann, Auto kaputt ist, wartet draußen.

The man whose car is broken is waiting outside.

dessen. “The man whose car…” — the owner is masculine, so dessen. No article follows: dessen Auto, not dessen das Auto.

Das ist das Thema, wir gestern gesprochen haben.

das Thema = the topic

über das. sprechen über + Akkusativ — the preposition the verb needs goes in front of the pronoun, and it decides the case.

Which one is correct?

The first one. A relative clause is a parenthesis: it does not count as a slot, and when it closes the main verb (ist) carries on in its normal place. The subject is not repeated, and the commas are compulsory.

Das Buch, auf dem Tisch liegt, ist meins.

The book that is lying on the table is mine.

The relative pronoun takes its gender from the noun in front and its case from its job in its own clause. das Buch is neuter and the subject of the relative clause → das.

Der Film, wir gestern gesehen haben, war gut.

The film we saw yesterday was good.

der Film is masculine; it is the object of sehen in the relative clause, so Akkusativ: den. If it were the subject, it would be der.

Die Frau, Mann Arzt ist, wohnt nebenan.

The woman whose husband is a doctor lives next door.

The possessive relative pronoun: deren for feminine and plural, dessen for masculine and neuter. die Frau is feminine, so deren.

Ich habe alles verstanden, du gesagt hast.

I understood everything you said.

After indefinite words like alles · etwas · nichts · das the relative pronoun is was, not das.

In relative clauses (Relativsätze) the verb always comes at the very beginning of the clause.

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses (Nebensätze), so the conjugated verb always goes to the very end.

The man I see: Der Mann, ich sehe.

Because sehen takes the Akkusativ, the relative pronoun is den instead of der.

Build the sentence: The man standing over there is my father.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

The relative clause (der dort steht) comes right after the noun it describes.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. Gender from the front, case from the back

    The relative pronoun takes its gender from the noun it describes and its case from its own job inside the relative clause. Ask two separate questions: which gender, which job.

    der Mann, der dort steht (subject) · der Film, den wir sahen (object)

  2. A verb that takes the Dativ pulls the pronoun with it

    If the verb in the relative clause takes the Dativ (helfen · danken · gehören), the relative pronoun is Dativ too — in the plural, denen.

    die Frau, der ich helfe · die Kinder, denen ich half

  3. Possession: dessen and deren

    For sentences like “the man whose car is broken” you use a possessive pronoun: dessen for masculine/neuter, deren for feminine and plural. The noun that follows has no article.

    der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist · die Frau, deren Mann Arzt ist

  4. alles · etwas · nichts → was

    After indefinite words the relative pronoun is was. If a preposition is needed, you use the prepositional form, like über das · mit dem.

    alles, was du sagst · das Thema, über das wir sprachen

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Der Mann, den dort steht, …

    Der Mann, der dort steht, …

    The pronoun is the subject of the relative clause, so it must be Nominativ. The masculine Akkusativ (den) only appears when the pronoun is the object.

  • Der Mann, dem sein Auto kaputt ist, …

    Der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist, …

    The dem sein pattern you hear in casual speech is not accepted in writing; possession is built with dessen.

  • Der Mann, der dort steht, er ist mein Bruder.

    Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Bruder.

    The relative clause is inserted, but it does not use up the subject; repeating the subject in the main clause is a mistake.

  • alles, das du sagst

    alles, was du sagst

    alles is an indefinite word; it is followed by was.