Relative deen / déi / dat

Relative Clauses with Deen, Déi and Dat

Level 3

A relative clause describes a noun. Start it with deen, déi or dat and put the verb at the end: d'Buch, dat ech liesen (the book that I am reading).

How It Works

1. The forms
The relative pronouns look like the stressed articles of That One: Deen, Déi and Dat. For the subject and the direct object they are:

  • masculine: deen (dee by the n-rule): de Mann, deen do steet
  • feminine: déi: d'Fra, déi ech kennen
  • neuter: dat: d'Buch, dat ech liesen
  • plural: déi: d'Leit, déi hei wunnen

2. Gender comes from the noun
Choose the pronoun by the grammatical gender of the noun, not by who or what it is. D'Meedchen is neuter, so it takes dat: d'Meedchen, dat gëschter gewonnen huet. See Three Noun Genders.

3. Subject or object
Nominative and accusative look the same, so deen can be the subject (de Mann, deen do steet) or the object (de Kuch, dee mir gebak hunn). The role in the relative clause matters, not the role in the main clause. For the dative (deem, där, deenen) and after prepositions, see Relative Pronouns in the Dative.

4. The verb goes to the end
A relative clause is a subordinate clause, so the conjugated verb goes last. See The Verb at the End of Subordinate Clauses.

5. Commas and the n-rule

  • A comma always comes before the relative clause, and another one after it when the main clause continues: D'Buch, dat ech liesen, ass spannend.
  • Deen follows the n-rule: deen do steet but dee mir gebak hunn.
  • With du, add the linking s: d'Buch, dat s de lies. See The S After Conjunctions With Du.

6. Other relative words
For places and times, use wou: d'Stad, wou ech wunnen. After alles, eppes or näischt, use wat. In casual speech you will also hear wou for people and things (d'Leit, wou hei wunnen). Many speakers find this unusual, so use deen, déi and dat in writing.

Examples (6)

  1. De Mann, deen do steet, ass mäin Noper.

    The man who is standing there is my neighbor.

    Mann is masculine, so the pronoun is deen. It keeps its n before d.

  2. D'Fra, déi ech kennen, wunnt zu Esch.

    The woman I know lives in Esch.

    Déi is the object of kennen here.

  3. D'Buch, dat ech liesen, ass ganz spannend.

    The book I'm reading is very exciting.

    Buch is neuter, so the pronoun is dat.

  4. D'Leit, déi hei wunnen, schwätze Lëtzebuergesch.

    The people who live here speak Luxembourgish.

    In the plural, the pronoun is always déi.

  5. Hues du de Kuch gesinn, dee mir gebak hunn?

    Did you see the cake we baked?

    Deen becomes dee before m by the n-rule.

  6. D'Meedchen, dat gëschter gewonnen huet, ass eréischt zéng Joer al.

    The girl who won yesterday is only ten years old.

    Meedchen is a neuter noun, so it takes dat.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing a pronoun that does not match the gender of the noun.

    D'Buch, deen ech liesen, ass spannend.
    D'Buch, dat ech liesen, ass spannend.

    Buch is neuter (d'Buch, dat Buch), so the relative pronoun is dat.

  • Leaving the verb in second place in the relative clause.

    De Mann, deen steet do, ass mäin Noper.
    De Mann, deen do steet, ass mäin Noper.

    A relative clause is a subordinate clause, so the verb steet goes to the end.

  • Keeping the n of deen before a consonant that drops it.

    Hues du de Kuch gesinn, deen mir gebak hunn?
    Hues du de Kuch gesinn, dee mir gebak hunn?

    By the n-rule, deen loses its n before m. It only keeps it before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z.

How It Connects

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Relative deen / déi / datLevel 3Relative Clauses with Deen, Déi and Dat

Learn This First

Before Relative Clauses With Deen, Déi and Dat, learn That One: Deen, Déi and Dat and The Verb at the End of Subordinate Clauses.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

deendéi