Relative Pronouns in the Dative

Level 4

In the dative, the relative pronouns are deem (masculine and neuter), där (feminine) and deenen (plural): de Kolleeg, mat deem ech schaffen (the colleague I work with).

How It Works

1. The forms

masculine: deem: de Frënd, deem ech gehollef hunn
neuter: deem: d'Meedchen, vun deem ech dir erzielt hunn
feminine: där: d'Fra, där ech de Bréif ginn hunn
plural: deenen: d'Leit, mat deenen ech schaffen

They look like the stressed dative forms of deen, déi and dat. Deenen follows the n-rule: deenen ech, but deene mir.

2. When to use the dative

The verb in the relative clause takes a dative object, as hëllefen, ginn (to someone) and gefalen do. See Verbs With a Dative Object.
The pronoun follows a dative preposition such as mat, bei, vun, zu or no.

For the subject or direct object, use deen, déi and dat. After an accusative preposition such as fir, use them too: de Frënd, fir deen ech dat gemaach hunn.

3. The preposition comes first
The preposition moves to the start of the relative clause, directly before the pronoun. It never stays at the end as in English: d'Leit, mat deenen ech schaffen (the people I work with).

4. Gender comes from the noun
D'Meedchen is neuter, so it takes deem, not där. See Three Noun Genders.

5. Whose
You may also meet deem and där before a possessive to say whose: de Mann, deem säin Auto hei steet (the man whose car is parked here). This follows the pattern of dem Papp säin Auto.

As always in a relative clause, the conjugated verb goes to the end and a comma comes before the clause.

Examples (6)

Dat ass de Frënd, deem ech gehollef hunn.
That is the friend I helped.
Hëllefen takes a dative object, and Frënd is masculine: deem.
D'Fra, där ech de Bréif ginn hunn, wunnt nieft eis.
The woman I gave the letter to lives next to us.
The person you give something to is in the dative. Fra is feminine: där.
De Kolleeg, mat deem ech schaffen, ass ganz sympathesch.
The colleague I work with is very nice.
Mat takes the dative, so the masculine form is deem.
D'Leit, mat deenen ech schaffen, kommen aus ville Länner.
The people I work with come from many countries.
Plural after mat: deenen.
Dat ass d'Meedchen, vun deem ech dir erzielt hunn.
That's the girl I told you about.
Meedchen is neuter, so it takes deem.
D'Kanner, deene mir gehollef hunn, waren eis dankbar.
The children we helped were grateful to us.
Deenen loses its n before m.

Common Mistakes

Using the accusative deen after a dative preposition.
De Kolleeg, mat deen ech schaffen, ass sympathesch.
De Kolleeg, mat deem ech schaffen, ass sympathesch.
Mat always takes the dative, so the masculine relative pronoun is deem.
Leaving the preposition at the end, as in English.
D'Leit, déi ech mat schaffen, si sympathesch.
D'Leit, mat deenen ech schaffen, si sympathesch.
The preposition moves to the front of the relative clause, and the pronoun after it is dative: mat deenen.
Choosing the pronoun by natural gender.
D'Meedchen, vun där ech dir erzielt hunn, ass hei.
D'Meedchen, vun deem ech dir erzielt hunn, ass hei.
Meedchen is grammatically neuter, so the dative relative pronoun is deem.

How It Connects

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Relative Pronouns in the DativeLevel 4

Learn This First

Before Relative Pronouns in the Dative, learn Relative Clauses With Deen, Déi and Dat and Prepositions With the Dative.

Words in This Pattern

deemdärdeenen

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