Relative clause with genitive (dessen / deren, whose)
Relativsatz mit Genitiv (dessen / deren)
relative pronouns express possession: 'der Mann, dessen Auto …', 'die Frau, deren Kinder …'.
Structure
…, dessen (m./n.) / deren (f./Pl.) + Nomen + Nebensatz
…, dessen (m./n.) / deren (f./pl.) + noun + subordinate clause
Details
- Part of Speech
- Sentence Structure
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
relative pronouns express possession ("whose") and replace a attribute. The form depends on the antecedent:
- masculine / neuter → dessen
- feminine / → deren
The directly after dessen/deren takes no article:
- der Autor, dessen Buch … - the author whose book …
- die Firma, deren Mitarbeiter … - the company whose employees …
- die Kinder, deren Eltern … - the children whose parents …
Example: Das ist der Nachbar, dessen Hund immer bellt. - That is the neighbor whose dog always barks.
Example: Wir besuchten eine Stadt, deren Altstadt sehr berühmt ist. - We visited a city whose old town is very famous.
Common mistake: Making dessen/deren agree with the following instead of the antecedent. The form comes from the antecedent: die Stadt, deren Einwohner … uses deren because Stadt is feminine - even though Einwohner is masculine .
About Relative clause with genitive (dessen / deren, whose)
relative pronouns express possession: 'der Mann, dessen Auto …', 'die Frau, deren Kinder …'.
The relative pronouns 'dessen' and 'deren' link a to its owner. They take their form from the antecedent (masculine/neuter → dessen, feminine/ → deren) and the following noun has no .
Die -Relativpronomen 'dessen' (m./n.) und 'deren' (f./Pl.) drücken Zugehörigkeit aus und ersetzen ein Genitivattribut.
Caution
'dessen/deren' agree with the antecedent's gender/number, NOT with the following noun: 'die Stadt, deren Einwohner' (Stadt = f.).