B1-9 · Relative clauses with wo, wohin and was
Special places
Describe favourite places, destinations and the things that make your home town familiar.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Where you feel at home
Lina introduces a few favourite spots in her town. Wo can start a relative clause about a location, especially after dort or a place name. With a place noun, a preposition and pronoun is another useful choice: der Ort, an dem ich lese.
Dort, wo der Fluss eine Kurve macht, steht eine Bank.
There, where the river bends, there is a bench.
In Bremen, wo meine Schwester wohnt, kenne ich viele Straßen.
In Bremen, where my sister lives, I know many streets.
Das Café, wo wir uns treffen, liegt am Markt.
The café where we meet is by the market square.
Dort, wo früher ein Parkplatz war, wachsen jetzt Bäume.
Where there used to be a car park, trees now grow.
Wo asks about or refers to location, not a destination. Its form does not change for gender or case. As in other relative clauses, the finite verb goes at the end.
02
Where you are going
Wohin expresses a destination. Compare dort, wo ich bin with dorthin, wohin ich gehe. The first gives a location, the second a direction. A verb involving movement does not automatically require wohin; the meaning of the whole phrase matters.
Wir gehen dorthin, wohin auch die Kinder laufen.
We go to the place where the children are also running to.
Ich fahre dorthin, wohin meine Freunde fahren.
I travel to the place where my friends are travelling to.
Dort, wo wir spazieren gehen, gibt es einen kleinen See.
Where we go walking, there is a small lake.
Wir gehen dorthin, wohin uns der schmale Weg führt.
We go where the narrow path leads us.
Use wo for being or doing something at a place, and wohin for going to a destination. The pair dorthin, wohin makes that direction explicit. In relative clauses, both words send the finite verb to the end.
03
What matters about a place
Use was after words such as alles, etwas and nichts when they refer to things in general. It can also refer back to a whole statement. Was does not replace every neuter relative pronoun: say das Haus, das ich mag.
Alles, was ich brauche, finde ich in meinem Viertel.
I find everything I need in my neighbourhood.
Etwas, was ich hier besonders mag, ist die Ruhe.
Something I especially like here is the peace and quiet.
Hier gibt es keinen Verkehr, was mich freut.
There is no traffic here, which makes me happy.
Das Haus, das ich besonders mag, steht am Fluss.
The house that I especially like stands by the river.
Compare alles, was ich brauche with das Café, das ich mag. After a specific noun, use the appropriate relative pronoun. After a whole statement, was can add a reaction to what you have just said.
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