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German Relative Clauses 3 – Exercise
In this exercise, we'll practice all we learned about relative pronouns and relative clauses. From simple examples to really really tough ones.
By: Emanuel|123 Comments| Updated:
September 11, 2026
Hello everyone,
and welcome to the third part of our mini series on relative clauses in German. And today, it’s time to get active and practice what we’ve learned in the big, exhausting
Relative Clauses Work Out
If you haven’t read the articles, or you want to re-check them, you can find them here:
And just so you know… if you’re looking for a normal exercise where you just fill in a few gaps in short sentences, then you’ve come to the wrong place. This quiz is HARD as fur. I mean rock. Or actually like a rock with fur on it. It’s soft on the surface but under it is the cold hard reality of … German.
Now you might be asking:
“Emanuel? Why do we have to do a HARD exercise?”
Which is a good question, so let me explain real quick…
The thing is… the rules themselves are actually not difficult at all. What makes using them challenging, especially in spoken German is that we have to know the gender AND determine which case to use.
And that’s what lots of exercises for relative clauses end up training – finding the gender, getting the case right.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but if we’re honest, filling a few dozen gaps with a relative pronoun won’t really improve our “relative pronoun game”. The fact of the matter is… you just need a certain amount of fluency and comfort with gender and cases and that takes time.
So instead of just doing an exercise of gender and case, I wanted to do something a little more specific for relative clauses and explore the fringes a bit. Yes, we will do easy straightforward sentences. But we’ll also do a lot of tricky examples that might throw you off even if you’re generally okay with the relative stuff.
The goal of this exercise is not that you can use relative clauses perfectly after it. That’s impossible, because of the gender-case stuff. The goal is that you really understand how relative clauses work in German and that you’ve seen and understood how various things are expressed and constructed in German.
Cool. With that said let’s look at what we’ll do today.
Relative Sentences – A Quick Overview
I have made two types of exercise. The first one is Combining Sentences. Here’s how it works. I’ll give you two sentences in German….
Thomas wird rot. Maria hat Thomas geküsst.
The task is to plug the second sentence into the first one by using a relative clause. For that, you first need to identify which element is part of both sentences. In this case, it is Thomas. So we’ll do a relative sentence that refers to Thomas. Thomas is quite masculine, and he is the direct object in the second sentence…. so relative pronoun we need is den. Then, we have to do the word order shuffle and then stick the whole thing into the slot for relative clauses – right after what it is referring to.
Thomas, den Maria geküsst hat, wird rot.
Thomas whom Maria kissed is getting red/blushes.
Note how the entity we replace with the pronoun (in this case Thomas)is NOT right in the beginning of the second sentence. That’ll be the case several times and it might throw you off. Cool. The second part of the exercise is good old Translation
I’ll give you a sentence in English and you’ll have to translate it to German. That’s quite a challenge actually, but if you’re not ready for that yet, I have good news.
I’ve actually made a new setup for my workouts and one of the new features is that you can show a hint. Just click on the little “?” . For the first type of exercise, you’ll get the English translation of the sentences.
Thomas wird rot. Maria hat Thomas geküsst. (question)
Thomas gets red/blushes. Maria kissed Thomas.(hint)
And for the second type of exercise, the hint will give you the German version, with the classic gap for the relative pronoun. So if you just want to do that, no problem :).
The cloth I cleaned my sink with was actually Maria’s Gucci-Top.
Der Lappen, mit ___ ich die Spüle sauber gemacht habe, war eigentlich Maria’s Gucci-Top. (hint)
As usual, the solution is in the audio AND you can show it by clicking the green button. And last but not least, I have added a text field, so you can enter your version before checking the solution. Note that the text field DOESN’T get checked. It’s just so you can directly compare your answer and the solution.
Cool. Now I think we’re all set, so I’d say… let’s go…. Here’s an overview over the relative pronouns, in case you need to peek.
Oh, and even if you’re crying with frustration after, don’t forget to let me know in the comments how you did and if you have questions :).
Relative Sentences – The Exercise
1.
Die Schokolade ist abgelaufen. Mein Chef hat mir die Schokolade geschenkt.
The chocolate has expired. My boss gave me the chocolate as a present.
Die Schokolade, die mir mein Chef geschenkt hat, ist abgelaufen.
2.
Der Schal ist aus Wolle. Maria trägt den Schal heute.
The scarf is made from wool. Maria is wearing the scarf today.
Der Schal, den Maria heute trägt, ist aus Wolle.
3.
Thomas riecht nach Schweiß. Thomas hat seit drei Tagen nicht geduscht.
Thomas is smelling of sweat. Thomas hasn’t showered in three days.
Thomas, der seit drei Tagen nicht geduscht hat, riecht nach Schweiß.
4.
Thomas kauft Deo. Maria hat Thomas gesagt, dass er stinkt.
Thomas is buying deodorant. Maria told Thomas, that he stinks.
Thomas, dem Maria gesagt hat, dass er stinkt, kauft ein Deo.
5.
Maria geht in die Sauna. Maria hatte einen stressigen Arbeitstag.
Maria is going to the sauna. Maria has had an exhausting work day.
Maria, die einen stressigen Arbeitstag hatte, geht in die Sauna.
6.
Ich bin von dem Restaurant enttäuscht. Alle sagen von dem Restaurant, dass es super ist.
I am disappointed in the restaurant. All people say about the restaurant that it’s great.
Ich bin von dem Restaurant enttäuscht, von dem alle sagen, dass es super ist.
7.
Die Bar ist zu. Du hast mir von der Bar erzählt.
The bar is closed. You told me about the bar.
Die Bar, von der du mir erzählt hast, ist zu.
8.
Maria räumt die Wohnung auf. Marias Eltern kommen am Wochenende zu Besuch.
Maria is tiding up her flat. Maria’s parents will come for a visit.
Maria, deren Eltern am Wochenende zu Besuch kommen, räumt die Wohnung auf.
9.
Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir nicht. Ich mag normalerweise Mozarts Musik.
I don’t like the new song of Mozart. I normally like Mozart’s music.
Der neue Song von Mozart, dessen Musik ich normalerweise mag, gefällt mir nicht.
10.
Maria hat mir erzählt, dass der Typ ihr ein Kleid geschenkt hat. Maria hatte neulich ein Date mit dem Typ.Das Kleid passt perfekt. Ich habe Maria gestern in der Bahn getroffen.
Maria told me that the guy gave her a dress as a present. Maria had a date with the guy recently. The dress fits perfectly.
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen habe, hat mir erzählt, dass der Typ, mit dem sie neulich ein Date hatte, ihr ein Kleid geschenkt hat, das perfekt passt.
*** Translation ***
Gender colors: masculine – feminine – neuter
11.
The movieMaria recommended was awesome.
Der Film, _____ Maria empfohlen hat, war großartig.
Der Film, den Maria empfohlen hat, war großartig.
12.
The movie Aquaman, that Maria also had recommended, was abysmal.
Der Film Aquaman, ____ Maria auch empfohlen hatte, war schrecklich.
Der Film Aquaman, den Maria auch empfohlen hatte, war schrecklich.
13.
The catI rescued from the tree yesterday, is in reality a fairy.
Die Katze, ____ ich gestern vom Baum gerettet habe, ist in Wirklichkeit eine Fee.
Die Katze, die ich gestern vom Baum gerettet habe, ist in Wirklichkeit eine Fee.
14.
Thanks to her, I now have the hipster beard I always wanted.
Dank ihr habe ich jetzt den Hipsterbart, ___ ich mir wollte.
Dank ihr habe ich jetzt den Hipsterbart, den ich mir wollte.
15.
Thomas often answers questions nobody asked.
Thomas beantwortet oft Fragen, ____ niemand gestellt hat.
Thomas beantwortet oft Fragen, die niemand gestellt hat.
16.
Is that the baryou’re always telling me about? (erzählen von)
Ist das die Bar, ____ du mir immer erzählst?
Ist das die Bar, von der du mir immer erzählst?
17.
Maria is a woman you can eat pizza with. (example sponsored by Duolingo, thank you Duo)
Maria ist eine Frau,____ man Pizza essen kann.
Maria ist eine Frau, mit der man Pizza essen kann.
18.
That example was an example for an example that doesn’t make sense.
Das beispiel war ein Beispiel für ein Beispiel, ____ keinen Sinn macht.
Das Beispiel war ein Beispiel für ein Beispiel, das keinen Sinn macht.
19.
Is that the guy you met on Tinder? The one , who looks similar to the British prime minister?
Ist das der Typ, ____ du auf Tinder kennengelernt hast? Der, ____ der britischen Premierministerin ähnlich sieht?
Ist das der Typ, den du auf Tinder kennengelernt hast? Der, der der britischen Premierministerin ähnlich sieht?
20.
Ant Man, on whom depends the fate of the universe, prepares with oil for the show down.
Ant Man, von ____ das Schicksal des Universums abhängt, bereitet sich mit Öl auf den Show Down vor.
Ant Man, von dem das Schicksal des Universums abhängt, bereitet sich mit Öl auf den Show Down vor.
21.
German is a language that can give someone who is trying to learn it a headache.
Deutsch ist eine Sprache, ____ jemandem, ____ versucht, sie zu lernen, Kopfschmerzen machen kann.
Deutsch ist eine Sprache, die jemandem, der versucht, sie zu lernen, Kopfschmerzen machen kann.
22.
Yesterday, I met with the woman whose phone I had found.
Gestern habe ich mich mit der Frau getroffen, ____ Telefon ich gefunden hatte.
Gestern habe ich mich mit der Frau getroffen, deren Telefon ich gefunden hatte.
23.
I know an influencerwho has influenza every winter.
Ich kenne einen Influencer, ____ jeden Winter Influenza hat.
Ich kenne einen Influencer, der jeden Winter Influenza hat.
24.
Emanuel is very proud of the pun he just made. (das Wortspiel)
Emanuel ist auf das Wortspiel, ____ er gerade gemacht hat, sehr stolz.
Emanuel ist auf das Wortspiel, das er gerade gemacht hat, sehr stolz.
25.
That was the best espressoI ever had.
Das war der beste Espresso, ____ ich jemals hatte.
Das war der beste Espresso, den ich jemals hatte.
26.
That’s an espresso I will tell my grandkids about.
Das ist ein Espresso, _____ ich meinen Enkeln erzählen werde.
Das ist ein Espresso, von dem ich meinen Enkeln erzählen werde.
27.
This espresso, which was the best coffee I ever had, is part of many exercise sentences.
Dieser Espresso, ____ der beste Espresso war, ____ ich jemals hatte, ist jetzt Teil vieler Übungssätze.
Dieser Espresso, der der beste Espresso war, den ich jemals hatte, ist jetzt Teil vieler Übungssätze.
28.
Today, I lost my new phone, which I had bought only a week ago.
Ich habe heute mein neues Handy, ____ ich mir erst vor einer Woche gekauft hatte, verloren.
Ich habe heute mein neues Handy, das ich mir erst vor einer Woche gekauft hatte, verloren.
29.
Today, I lost the phone I had bought just a week ago.
Ich habe heute das Handy verloren, ____ ich mir erst vor einer Woche gekauft hatte.
Ich habe heute das Handy verloren, das ich mir erst vor einer Woche gekauft hatte.
30.
The shortest example ever made.
Das kürzeste Beispiel, ____ jemals gemacht wurde.
Das kürzeste Beispiel, das jemals gemacht wurde.
31.
That guy I told you about who I met in India is coming to visit.
Der Typ, ____ ich dir erzählt habe, ____ ich in Indien getroffen habe, kommt zu Besuch.
Der Typ von dem ich dir erzählt habe, den ich in Indien getroffen habe, kommt zu Besuch.
***
And, how’d you do? How many did you get correct? And how did you like the exercise? Did you learn something? And which type did you like better? Let me know all your feedback and also all your questions in the comments!! I am super curious to hear from you.
If you failed today, just do it again tomorrow. The goal is that you learn something, not that you ace it :). I hope you had a little bit of fun, have a great week and bis nächstes Mal.
I am coming back to sentence structure again and looking at question 21, the perfectly rule following answer feels extra clunky to me. Would the following work as well? “Deutsch ist eine Sprache, die jemandem, der sie zu lernen versucht, Kopfschmerzen machen kann.”
Yeah, perfectly fine. Maybe even the more elegant version but my hunch is (no data) that most GErmans would use my version because it’s a bit easier to say. Your version requires more awareness :).
annagoebel
In the original sentence, Thomas “kauft Deo” with no article; in the solution, Thomas “kauft ein Deo.” Is the first one incorrect, or is either correct?
I’m not sure this is the case, actually, at least compared to English. I often get corrected here when I omit the article, because it would work in German, but turns out not to work in English.
david1313
I’m probably- or definitely- being dumb, but on my iPhone I don’t see the box for entering answers, whereas I do on when using web version on my Windows PC. Any help gratefully received!
General rule of thumb… if something on a website doesn’t work or is weird then it’s probably either the website’s fault or it’s a compatibility problem between the site and Apple. But it’s NOT gonna be you :)
I forgot to unhide the textfield for mobile in this case. Did that now, so it should show up, but you might have to wait a couple of days till your browser loads the updated design files.
Anonymous
Is there a way you can tell if the relative pronoun is dative or genitive?
Not sure what you’re asking. Do you want to determine which case to use or do you want to determine which case you’re looking at when you see a relative pronoun?
KateMunich
these exercises really help a lot! thank you very much
Cucciadati
Great exercise, more of these, please!
Cucciadati
Why is the verb “verloren” placed differently in 28 and 29? Aren’t they basically the same sentence?
Honestly, not sure anymore what I was going for there (if anything). They’re different sentences in so far as that in English one is a “defining” relative and one is “non-defining” but in German that doesn’t matter and you could use switch word order around. Actually, the version of 29 would be more idiomatic for 28 as well, I’d say.
Lichtersberg
That was a terrific exercise. enjoyed both parts, and found both really useful. Got most of them correct (used a few alternative words here and there), but will do it again – it’s such good practice! Thank you so much!
Exercise 4. Thomas, dem Maria gesagt hat, dass er stinkt, kauft ein Deo. I got the sentence structure correct, but used Der instead of Dem. Please explain why it is Dative? Great exercises!
Actually, “der” would make sense too, if Thomas is the one telling Maria that he is stinky. The only unequivocal indication that it’s MARIA who tells him that is in the English version/hint. So in your head, he told her this, which is a perfectly valid way of reading the question.
– Er sagt ihr (Dative) – Sie sagt ihm (Dative) – Thomas, dem (Dative) Maria sagt…
Hope that helps!
Rosekidsmom
Oh my goodness! I did way better than I thought I would with only minor errors. I would be totally understood by my neighbours if we ever needed to talk about coffee, which I don’t like and never drink. Seriously though, the exercise was perfectly challenging but doable for me! I especially appreciated numbers 28 and 29 because I did 28 like you did 29 and I was relieved to see I really could do it either way. Thank you!
Congratulations for doing so well and thanks for the great feedback, über das ich mich sehr gefreut habe :).
alicilius
Could you explain why in #31 the relative clause is not in plusquamperfekt like in #22? Because I thought when you have an event before an event the first event is in plusquamperfekt and then the next event is in perfekt. Zb: Der Typ von dem ich dir erzählt habe, den ich in Indien getroffenhatte, kommt zu Besuch.
That’s not really a rule (I know courses and books make it seem like it is).
Plusqueperfect is only used if it’s necessary to make the order of events clear.
In 22, it is implied that you already gave back the phone, so you’re not in the “state” of “having found her phone” anymore. If you were to use “gefunden habe”, it wouldn’t be clear when you found the phone and if you gave it back.
In 31. the event of “meeting the guy in India” is over but it’s still the “state of affairs” so there’s no need to use the plusqueperfect. You can use it though, it wouldn’t be wrong and teachers would love it, but in spoken German very few people would use it there.
Hope that helps.
Miguelmor
I love this kind of exercises. Very engaging and challenging. Super useful!
Vielen Dank, Emanuel! I found this exercise very helpful. Questions 1-10 I could handle (taking a lot of time on 10), which really helped my confidence and my sense of feel for how this works when thinking and speaking. The later questions restored my humility :). It has been very useful in helping me identify elements of grammar and vocabulary on which I need to work. I’d love to work similar exercises for other subjects!
Question re #31: “Der Typ, von dem ich dir erzählt habe, den ich in Indien getroffen habe, kommt zu Besuch.” Could that also finish “kommt besuchen” and be grammatically correct and mean essentially the same thing? I’m thinking this is kommen used as a verb of motion so would take the infinitive without zu.
Splendid! The case work will be good. Ich freue mich auf das Üben. Ich freue mich zu üben. i’m comfortable with the cases thinking them through but need to work them a lot to get to the point that the correct construction is instinctive. i’ll be back with more questions on these relative pronouns too. : )
Veen
Wir sind auch sehr stolz auf das Wortspiel, das Emanuel gerade gemacht hat :)
Also I’ve been intuitively deciding whether to split or not, and this is where I differed from you. Would you say it’s okay not to split here?
Help me out… what are you referring to with the question? The sentence as you wrote it is fine. What do you mean by unsplit.
Veen
Deutsch ist eine Sprache, die jemandem, der versucht, sie zu lernen, Kopfschmerzen machen kann, aber trotzdem, die Freude daran macht es wieder wett :)
Ich habe dafür entschiedet, dieser Satz oben für meinen Aufsatzsanfang zu benutzen. Kannst du überprüfen, ob es in Ordnung ist?
1) … aber trotzdem – die Freude daran macht es wett.
oder
2) … aber die Freude daran macht es wett.
Das Problem mit dem “trotzdem” ist die Wortstellung. Es funktioniert in diesem Kontext und diesem “arrangement” nur, wenn du danach eine Zäsur machts.
Und das “wieder” würde ich persönlich rausnehmen, aber das kann Geschmackssache sein.
Ansonsten super Satz… sehr “crafty” :)
Sylvie
Emanuel that exercise was only for Kamikaze or Saolin…I got sick until I finish it all Help…! I’m starting to be persuaded that I will learn german with you..you convience me!! I know it’s late, 2am for us and 1am for you and I am sorry for texting so late, but I just have now finished your “NASA” entry exercise. Emanuel, I haven’t at all answered the question 22, because I understand nothing I’m sorry!! And I burst out laughing with question 23 you have really very good humor!!! It’s very rare, that means you are intelligent! I’m impressed!! With the pronouns I think, I feel fine, I only need a lot of practise..I have the best teacher of the whole world, I have nothing to be afraid about and it seems that you are also a very good person, that you care about the others (as far as I know you from our friend Cari’s videos). Even if I very rarely trust someone, I can say, you are just perfect and wish you a perfect day as well
Wow, I hope the exercise didn’t discourage you :). If there’s anything you’re unsure about, please ask and I’ll try to clear it up. And try the workout again in a week and see how much you recall. Have a terrific day!!
No Emanuel, the exercise was just what it should be, I didn’t expect something less from you. I will do what you are sayng, I will repeat it again next week and tell you in anyway… wish you a very nice day too… :-))
Yisi
I have a question about:
9.Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir nicht. Ich mag normalerweise Mozarts Musik.
I don’t like the new song of Mozart. I usually like Mozart’s music.
I don’t like the new song of Mozart, whose music I usually like.
Der neue Song von Mozart, dessen Musik ich normalerweise mag, gefällt mir nicht.
If I wanted to say I, who usually like Mozart’s music, don’t like his new song.
Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir, der normalerweise sein Musik mag, nicht.
Nice thinking!! I think your version should be correct officially, but I am not sure and idiomatically, I do feel some sort of weird urge to do it this way:
– Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir, der ich normalerweise….
You see, referring to oneself with a relative pronoun is not very common and the fact that I have the Dative role in the main sentence makes it even less intuitive. These phrasings with “der ich” or “die ich” are fairly common in older books, and speeches, but it’s kind of hard to google them, because you have no way to tell Google that the “der/die” also refers to the “ich”
Anyway, it’s definitely not a phrasing someone would naturally use in daily life, but well done! Hope that helps :)
I am sure there are a lot of ways to express an idea.
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen hat, erzählt mir, dass das Kleid ihr der Typ, mit dem sie neulich ein Date hatte, geschenkt hat, passt perfekt.
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen hat, erzählt mir, dass der Typ mit dem sie ein Date hatte, hat ihr ein Kleid geschenkt, das passt ihr perfekt.
The second one above, when translated ,does not sound 100% correct in English. However the German version of it (the second one) , sounds very idiomatic to me compared to the first one.
Which one sounds more idiomatic to German ears? And, are there mistakes in the above sentences?
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen habe, erzählt mir, dass das Kleid, DAS ihr der Typ, mit dem sie neulich ein Date hatte, geschenkt hat, perfekt passt.
Similar mistakes in the second one.
The second one has the fact that he gave her a dress as the main focus, while the first one focuses on the fact that it fits perfectly. So both are okay, depends on what you want to stress. But they’re both defo on the upper end of the “complexity” scale for daily speech :)
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Porque
great exercises
I am coming back to sentence structure again and looking at question 21, the perfectly rule following answer feels extra clunky to me. Would the following work as well?
“Deutsch ist eine Sprache, die jemandem, der sie zu lernen versucht, Kopfschmerzen machen kann.”
Yeah, perfectly fine. Maybe even the more elegant version but my hunch is (no data) that most GErmans would use my version because it’s a bit easier to say. Your version requires more awareness :).
In the original sentence, Thomas “kauft Deo” with no article; in the solution, Thomas “kauft ein Deo.” Is the first one incorrect, or is either correct?
Oh, nice catch. Either one is correct.
– “kauft Deo” just means that the person is getting deodorant as a concept. like “buying milk”.
– “kauft ein Deo” means one “pack” of deodorant.
Thank you! I’m cautious because I think German omits the article a lot less often. Good to know in this case it’s ok!
I’m not sure this is the case, actually, at least compared to English. I often get corrected here when I omit the article, because it would work in German, but turns out not to work in English.
I’m probably- or definitely- being dumb, but on my iPhone I don’t see the box for entering answers, whereas I do on when using web version on my Windows PC. Any help gratefully received!
General rule of thumb… if something on a website doesn’t work or is weird then it’s probably either the website’s fault or it’s a compatibility problem between the site and Apple. But it’s NOT gonna be you :)
I forgot to unhide the textfield for mobile in this case.
Did that now, so it should show up, but you might have to wait a couple of days till your browser loads the updated design files.
Is there a way you can tell if the relative pronoun is dative or genitive?
Not sure what you’re asking. Do you want to determine which case to use or do you want to determine which case you’re looking at when you see a relative pronoun?
these exercises really help a lot! thank you very much
Great exercise, more of these, please!
Why is the verb “verloren” placed differently in 28 and 29? Aren’t they basically the same sentence?
Honestly, not sure anymore what I was going for there (if anything). They’re different sentences in so far as that in English one is a “defining” relative and one is “non-defining” but in German that doesn’t matter and you could use switch word order around. Actually, the version of 29 would be more idiomatic for 28 as well, I’d say.
That was a terrific exercise. enjoyed both parts, and found both really useful. Got most of them correct (used a few alternative words here and there), but will do it again – it’s such good practice! Thank you so much!
Awesome, I’m happy to hear that!!
Exercise 4. Thomas, dem Maria gesagt hat, dass er stinkt, kauft ein Deo. I got the sentence structure correct, but used Der instead of Dem. Please explain why it is Dative? Great exercises!
Actually, “der” would make sense too, if Thomas is the one telling Maria that he is stinky. The only unequivocal indication that it’s MARIA who tells him that is in the English version/hint. So in your head, he told her this, which is a perfectly valid way of reading the question.
– Er sagt ihr (Dative)
– Sie sagt ihm (Dative)
– Thomas, dem (Dative) Maria sagt…
Hope that helps!
Oh my goodness! I did way better than I thought I would with only minor errors. I would be totally understood by my neighbours if we ever needed to talk about coffee, which I don’t like and never drink. Seriously though, the exercise was perfectly challenging but doable for me! I especially appreciated numbers 28 and 29 because I did 28 like you did 29 and I was relieved to see I really could do it either way. Thank you!
Congratulations for doing so well and thanks for the great feedback, über das ich mich sehr gefreut habe :).
Could you explain why in #31 the relative clause is not in plusquamperfekt like in #22? Because I thought when you have an event before an event the first event is in plusquamperfekt and then the next event is in perfekt.
Zb: Der Typ von dem ich dir erzählt habe, den ich in Indien getroffen hatte, kommt zu Besuch.
That’s not really a rule (I know courses and books make it seem like it is).
Plusqueperfect is only used if it’s necessary to make the order of events clear.
In 22, it is implied that you already gave back the phone, so you’re not in the “state” of “having found her phone” anymore. If you were to use “gefunden habe”, it wouldn’t be clear when you found the phone and if you gave it back.
In 31. the event of “meeting the guy in India” is over but it’s still the “state of affairs” so there’s no need to use the plusqueperfect. You can use it though, it wouldn’t be wrong and teachers would love it, but in spoken German very few people would use it there.
Hope that helps.
I love this kind of exercises. Very engaging and challenging. Super useful!
Wow, du bist echt fleißig :)!
Vielen Dank, Emanuel! I found this exercise very helpful. Questions 1-10 I could handle (taking a lot of time on 10), which really helped my confidence and my sense of feel for how this works when thinking and speaking. The later questions restored my humility :). It has been very useful in helping me identify elements of grammar and vocabulary on which I need to work. I’d love to work similar exercises for other subjects!
Question re #31: “Der Typ, von dem ich dir erzählt habe, den ich in Indien getroffen habe, kommt zu Besuch.” Could that also finish “kommt besuchen” and be grammatically correct and mean essentially the same thing? I’m thinking this is kommen used as a verb of motion so would take the infinitive without zu.
You’re right, there’s no “zu” needed, but you would need a direct object.
That would work, sound super native and means the exact same :).
As for the exercise itself… I used the same format for a bunch of case exercises. Not sure if you’ve seen those.
Splendid! The case work will be good. Ich freue mich auf das Üben. Ich freue mich zu üben. i’m comfortable with the cases thinking them through but need to work them a lot to get to the point that the correct construction is instinctive. i’ll be back with more questions on these relative pronouns too. : )
Wir sind auch sehr stolz auf das Wortspiel, das Emanuel gerade gemacht hat :)
Also I’ve been intuitively deciding whether to split or not, and this is where I differed from you. Would you say it’s okay not to split here?
Help me out… what are you referring to with the question?
The sentence as you wrote it is fine. What do you mean by unsplit.
Deutsch ist eine Sprache, die jemandem, der versucht, sie zu lernen, Kopfschmerzen machen kann, aber trotzdem, die Freude daran macht es wieder wett :)
Ich habe dafür entschiedet, dieser Satz oben für meinen Aufsatzsanfang zu benutzen. Kannst du überprüfen, ob es in Ordnung ist?
Fast perfekt.
Aber entweder:
1) … aber trotzdem – die Freude daran macht es wett.
oder
2) … aber die Freude daran macht es wett.
Das Problem mit dem “trotzdem” ist die Wortstellung. Es funktioniert in diesem Kontext und diesem “arrangement” nur, wenn du danach eine Zäsur machts.
Und das “wieder” würde ich persönlich rausnehmen, aber das kann Geschmackssache sein.
Ansonsten super Satz… sehr “crafty” :)
Emanuel that exercise was only for Kamikaze or Saolin…I got sick until I finish it all Help…! I’m starting to be persuaded that I will learn german with you..you convience me!! I know it’s late, 2am for us and 1am for you and I am sorry for texting so late, but I just have now finished your “NASA” entry exercise. Emanuel, I haven’t at all answered the question 22, because I understand nothing I’m sorry!! And I burst out laughing with question 23 you have really very good humor!!! It’s very rare, that means you are intelligent! I’m impressed!! With the pronouns I think, I feel fine, I only need a lot of practise..I have the best teacher of the whole world, I have nothing to be afraid about and it seems that you are also a very good person, that you care about the others (as far as I know you from our friend Cari’s videos). Even if I very rarely trust someone, I can say, you are just perfect and wish you a perfect day as well
Wow, I hope the exercise didn’t discourage you :).
If there’s anything you’re unsure about, please ask and I’ll try to clear it up. And try the workout again in a week and see how much you recall. Have a terrific day!!
I will do what you are saying!! So you too, have a very nice day!! :-)
No Emanuel, the exercise was just what it should be, I didn’t expect something less from you. I will do what you are sayng, I will repeat it again next week and tell you in anyway… wish you a very nice day too… :-))
I have a question about:
9.Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir nicht. Ich mag normalerweise Mozarts Musik.
I don’t like the new song of Mozart, whose music I usually like.
If I wanted to say
I, who usually like Mozart’s music, don’t like his new song.
Would that work?
Nice thinking!!
I think your version should be correct officially, but I am not sure and idiomatically, I do feel some sort of weird urge to do it this way:
– Der neue Song von Mozart gefällt mir, der ich normalerweise….
You see, referring to oneself with a relative pronoun is not very common and the fact that I have the Dative role in the main sentence makes it even less intuitive.
These phrasings with “der ich” or “die ich” are fairly common in older books, and speeches, but it’s kind of hard to google them, because you have no way to tell Google that the “der/die” also refers to the “ich”
Anyway, it’s definitely not a phrasing someone would naturally use in daily life, but well done!
Hope that helps :)
Thanks!
I am sure there are a lot of ways to express an idea.
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen hat, erzählt mir, dass das Kleid ihr der Typ, mit dem sie neulich ein Date hatte, geschenkt hat, passt perfekt.
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen hat, erzählt mir, dass der Typ mit dem sie ein Date hatte, hat ihr ein Kleid geschenkt, das passt ihr perfekt.
The second one above, when translated ,does not sound 100% correct in English. However the German version of it (the second one) , sounds very idiomatic to me compared to the first one.
Which one sounds more idiomatic to German ears? And, are there mistakes in the above sentences?
Thank you:)
There are a couple of mistakes in the first one:
Maria, die ich gestern in der Bahn getroffen habe, erzählt mir, dass das Kleid, DAS ihr der Typ, mit dem sie neulich ein Date hatte, geschenkt hat, perfekt passt.
Similar mistakes in the second one.
The second one has the fact that he gave her a dress as the main focus, while the first one focuses on the fact that it fits perfectly.
So both are okay, depends on what you want to stress.
But they’re both defo on the upper end of the “complexity” scale for daily speech :)