Relative wat

Wat as a Relative Pronoun

Level 4

After alles, näischt, eppes and dat, the relative pronoun is wat: Alles, wat ech weess (everything I know). Wat can also point back to a whole clause.

How It Works

1. After alles, näischt, eppes and dat

  • Alles, wat ech weess, hunn ech vun him geléiert.
  • Dat ass eppes, wat ech net verstinn.
  • Et gëtt näischt, wat mech méi freet. (Nothing makes me happier.)
  • Si mécht dat, wat si wëll. (She does what she wants.)

See All and Everything and Something and Nothing. After dat Éischt (the first thing) and similar phrases, wat is used too: Dat Éischt, wat ech moies maachen, ass Kaffi drénken.

2. Referring to a whole clause
Wat can point back to everything the main clause says. English uses which here:

  • Hie koum ze spéit, wat mech geiergert huet. (He came too late, which annoyed me.)
  • Et huet de ganzen Dag gereent, wat schued war. (It rained all day, which was a pity.)

3. Word order and commas
The conjugated verb goes to the end: eppes, wat ech net verstinn. A comma comes before wat. See The Verb at the End of Subordinate Clauses.

4. With du
Before du or de, write the linking s: Hues du alles, wat s de brauchs? See The S After Conjunctions With Du.

5. After an ordinary noun
After a noun, choose deen, déi or dat by its gender: d'Buch, dat ech liesen. See Relative Clauses With Deen, Déi and Dat.

Examples (6)

  1. Alles, wat ech weess, hunn ech vun him geléiert.

    Everything I know, I learned from him.

    The whole alles clause fills the first place, so hunn comes next.

  2. Dat ass eppes, wat ech net verstinn.

    That's something I don't understand.

  3. Hie koum ze spéit, wat mech geiergert huet.

    He came too late, which annoyed me.

    Wat refers to the whole first clause, not to one word.

  4. Hues du alles, wat s de brauchs?

    Do you have everything you need?

    The linking s before de.

  5. Si mécht dat, wat si wëll.

    She does what she wants.

    Dat, wat means what or the thing that.

  6. Et huet de ganzen Dag gereent, wat schued war.

    It rained all day, which was a pity.

Common Mistakes

  • Using dat after alles.

    Alles, dat ech weess, hunn ech vun him geléiert.
    Alles, wat ech weess, hunn ech vun him geléiert.

    Alles does not name a specific noun, so the relative pronoun is wat.

  • Keeping the verb in second place after wat.

    Dat ass eppes, wat ech verstinn net.
    Dat ass eppes, wat ech net verstinn.

    A relative clause sends the conjugated verb to the end, after net.

  • Using dat to refer back to a whole clause.

    Hie koum ze spéit, dat mech geiergert huet.
    Hie koum ze spéit, wat mech geiergert huet.

    To point back to everything the first clause says, the relative pronoun is wat.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Relative watLevel 4Wat as a Relative Pronoun

Learn This First

Before Wat as a Relative Pronoun, learn Relative Clauses With Deen, Déi and Dat and All and Everything: All and Alles.

Words in This Pattern

watallesnäischteppes