B1-7 · Relative clauses in the dative
Role models
Describe people you admire using helfen, danken, vertrauen and zuhören.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
People who give us confidence
A role model can be someone you know. Sami admires his former teacher and a neighbour who taught him to repair bicycles. Some verbs take a dative object. In a relative clause, that object needs dem, der or denen.
Mein Lehrer, dem ich vertraue, hört gut zu.
My teacher, whom I trust, listens well.
Die Nachbarin, der ich oft helfe, repariert Fahrräder.
The neighbour whom I often help repairs bicycles.
Das Mädchen, dem ich zuhöre, erzählt von seinem Projekt.
The girl whom I am listening to talks about her project.
Die Menschen, denen ich danke, haben mich ermutigt.
The people whom I thank encouraged me.
Learn the verb with its case: jemandem helfen, jemandem danken, jemandem vertrauen, jemandem zuhören. The dative relative forms are dem for masculine and neuter, der for feminine, and denen for plural.
02
Who helps whom?
A helpful person is not always the object of helfen. Compare a teacher who helps me with a teacher whom I help. First find the subject inside the relative clause. Then choose the case for the person you are describing.
Der Lehrer, der mir hilft, ist geduldig.
The teacher who helps me is patient.
Der Lehrer, dem ich helfe, trägt viele Bücher.
The teacher whom I help is carrying lots of books.
Die Trainerin, der wir zuhören, erklärt die Übung ruhig.
The coach whom we listen to explains the exercise calmly.
Die Freunde, denen ich vertraue, sagen ehrlich ihre Meinung.
The friends whom I trust give their opinion honestly.
In der mir hilft, der is the subject and mir is dative. In dem ich helfe, ich is the subject and dem is dative. The verb helfen does not make every word in its clause dative.
03
Say why you admire someone
A useful description includes an action, not only a label. These examples link trust and gratitude to things people actually do. Pay attention to the verb at the end, especially with separable zuhören.
Mein Bruder, dem ich für seine Hilfe danke, bleibt immer ruhig.
My brother, whom I thank for his help, always stays calm.
Die Ärztin, der ich vertraue, erklärt alles verständlich.
The doctor whom I trust explains everything clearly.
Die Helfer, denen wir zuhören, haben viel Erfahrung.
The helpers whom we listen to have lots of experience.
Das Vorbild, dem ich nacheifere, ist meine ältere Schwester.
The role model whom I try to emulate is my older sister.
Relative clauses with dative pronouns use the same word order as the earlier nominative and accusative clauses. Keep the commas, place the finite verb last, and choose the pronoun from the noun and the verb's case pattern. Jemandem nacheifern, to try to emulate someone, also takes the dative.
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Check what you remember with 12 short questions.
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