Welcome to Lesson 41 of the Latinum Institute’s German Course for autodidact students. This lesson focuses on the interrogative and relative pronoun “who” - in German: “wer” (interrogative) and “der/die/das” (relative).
Course Index: https://latinum.substack.com/p/index
FAQ: What does “who” mean in German? Answer: In German, “who” translates to “wer” when asking questions, and to “der/die/das” when connecting clauses as a relative pronoun. The interrogative “wer” changes case (wer, wen, wem, wessen), while the relative pronoun follows the declension of the definite article.
In the following 15 examples, you’ll encounter “wer” in various cases and contexts, as well as relative pronouns connecting clauses. This fundamental grammar point is essential for forming questions and complex sentences in German.
Key Takeaways: -
“Wer” is the interrogative pronoun for “who” -
Case changes: wer (nominative), wen (accusative), wem (dative), wessen (genitive) -
Relative pronouns (der/die/das) introduce dependent clauses -
Word order changes in questions and relative clauses
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-
wer [veːɐ̯] - like “vair” with a German ‘v’ (closer to English ‘v’ than ‘w’) -
wen [veːn] - like “vain” without the ‘i’ sound -
wem [veːm] - like “vaim” without the ‘i’ -
wessen [ˈvɛsn̩] - “VESS-en” with stress on first syllable -
der/die/das - standard article pronunciations
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41.1 Wer who ist is das? that
41.2 Wer who kommt comes heute today zur to-the Party? party
41.3 Ich I weiß know nicht, not wer who das that gesagt said hat has
41.4 Der the-one Mann, man der who dort there steht, stands ist is mein my Lehrer teacher
41.5 Wem whom-DAT gehört belongs dieses this Buch? book
41.6 Die the Frau, woman die who ich I gestern yesterday getroffen met habe, have ist is Ärztin doctor-F
41.7 Wen whom-ACC hast have du you eingeladen? invited
41.8 Das the Kind, child das which im in-the Garten garden spielt, plays heißt is-called Anna Anna
41.9 Wessen whose Auto car steht stands vor in-front-of dem the-DAT Haus? house
41.10 Wer who auch also immer ever kommt, comes ist is willkommen welcome
41.11 Die the Leute, people mit with denen whom-DAT-PL ich I arbeite, work sind are sehr very nett nice
41.12 Sag tell mir, me wer who du you bist are
41.13 Der the Student, student dessen whose-GEN Arbeit work ich I korrigiere, correct ist is sehr very fleißig diligent
41.14 Mit with wem whom-DAT gehst go du you ins into-the Kino? cinema
41.15 Wer who zuerst first fertig finished ist, is bekommt gets einen a Preis prize
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41.1 “Who is that?”
41.2 “Who’s coming to the party today?”
41.3 “I don’t know who said that.”
41.4 “The man who is standing there is my teacher.”
41.5 “Whose book is this?” (Literally: “To whom does this book belong?”)
41.6 “The woman whom I met yesterday is a doctor.”
41.7 “Whom did you invite?”
41.8 “The child who is playing in the garden is called Anna.”
41.9 “Whose car is parked in front of the house?”
41.10 “Whoever comes is welcome.”
41.11 “The people with whom I work are very nice.”
41.12 “Tell me who you are.”
41.13 “The student whose work I’m correcting is very diligent.”
41.14 “With whom are you going to the cinema?”
41.15 “Whoever finishes first gets a prize.”
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41.1 Wer ist das?
41.2 Wer kommt heute zur Party?
41.3 Ich weiß nicht, wer das gesagt hat.
41.4 Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Lehrer.
41.5 Wem gehört dieses Buch?
41.6 Die Frau, die ich gestern getroffen habe, ist Ärztin.
41.7 Wen hast du eingeladen?
41.8 Das Kind, das im Garten spielt, heißt Anna.
41.9 Wessen Auto steht vor dem Haus?
41.10 Wer auch immer kommt, ist willkommen.
41.11 Die Leute, mit denen ich arbeite, sind sehr nett.
41.12 Sag mir, wer du bist.
41.13 Der Student, dessen Arbeit ich korrigiere, ist sehr fleißig.
41.14 Mit wem gehst du ins Kino?
41.15 Wer zuerst fertig ist, bekommt einen Preis.
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Grammar Rules for This Passage:
The German interrogative pronoun “wer” (who) declines through four cases: -
Nominative: wer (who - as subject) -
Accusative: wen (whom - as direct object) -
Dative: wem (whom - as indirect object or after certain prepositions) -
Genitive: wessen (whose - showing possession)
Relative Pronouns: German uses the definite articles (der, die, das) as relative pronouns to connect clauses. These must agree in gender and number with their antecedent, but take the case required by their function in the relative clause: -
Masculine: der, den, dem, dessen -
Feminine: die, die, der, deren -
Neuter: das, das, dem, dessen -
Plural: die, die, denen, deren
Word Order: -
In questions with “wer,” the verb comes second: “Wer kommt heute?” -
In relative clauses, the verb goes to the end: “Der Mann, der dort steht...” -
After prepositions, use the appropriate case: “mit wem” (with whom - dative)
Common Mistakes: -
Using “wer” for all cases (must decline: wer, wen, wem, wessen) -
Forgetting verb-final position in relative clauses -
Mixing up relative pronoun gender with antecedent -
Using wrong case after prepositions -
Confusing “wessen” (whose) with “dessen” (relative genitive)
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In German, the distinction between formal and informal address affects how you ask “who” questions. While “wer” itself doesn’t change, the surrounding verbs and pronouns do (Sie vs. du forms).
Register Variations: -
Formal contexts require “Sie” forms: “Wer sind Sie?” (Who are you? - formal) -
Informal uses “du”: “Wer bist du?” (Who are you? - informal) -
Written German tends to use genitive “wessen” more than spoken German
Regional Differences: -
Southern German and Austrian speakers may use “wem sein” instead of “wessen” in colloquial speech -
Swiss German has distinct interrogative forms not used in standard German
Common Expressions: -
“Wer zuletzt lacht, lacht am besten” (He who laughs last, laughs best) -
“Wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen” (In for a penny, in for a pound) -
“Wer weiß?” (Who knows?) -
“Wer’s glaubt, wird selig” (Tell that to the marines)
Reminder: Lesson for English speakers learning German
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From Heinrich Heine’s “Die Lorelei” (1824):
Part F-A: Interleaved Text Ich I weiß know nicht, not was what soll shall es it bedeuten, mean dass that ich I so so traurig sad bin am
Part F-B: The Text from F-A “Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten, dass ich so traurig bin” → “I don’t know what it should mean that I am so sad”
Part F-C: Original Target Language Text of F-A Only Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten, dass ich so traurig bin
Part F-D: Grammar Commentary This famous opening uses “was” (what) in a similar interrogative construction to “wer.” Note the archaic word order “was soll es bedeuten” instead of modern “was es bedeuten soll.” The verb “soll” (should) appears in second position in the dependent clause, which was acceptable in 19th-century poetic German but would require verb-final position in modern prose.
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Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
41.16 „Entschuldigung, excuse-me wer who sind are Sie?” you-FORMAL
41.17 „Ich I bin am Thomas Thomas Schmidt. Schmidt Und and mit with wem whom-DAT habe have ich I das the Vergnügen?” pleasure
41.18 „Maria Maria Weber. Weber Wer who hat has Sie you-FORMAL denn then eingeladen?” invited
41.19 „Der the Gastgeber, host der who dort there drüben over-there steht, stands ist is mein my Kollege” colleague
41.20 „Ach oh so! so Wessen whose Idee idea war was diese this tolle great Party?” party
41.21 „Das that war was die the Idee idea von of Peter, Peter mit with dem whom-DAT ich I zusammen together wohne” live
41.22 „Wer who ist is denn then die the Frau, woman die who gerade just hereinkommt?” enters
41.23 „Das that ist is Anna, Anna deren whose-GEN Mann husband auch also hier here arbeitet” works
41.24 „Wen whom-ACC suchen seek Sie you-FORMAL denn?” then
41.25 „Meinen my Bruder, brother der who irgendwo somewhere hier here sein be muss” must
41.26 „Mit with wem whom-DAT ist is er he denn then gekommen?” come
41.27 „Wer who weiß? knows Er he kommt comes immer always allein” alone
41.28 „Die the Musik, music die which sie they spielen, play ist is fantastisch!” fantastic
41.29 „Ja, yes der the DJ, DJ dessen whose-GEN Musik music du you hörst, hear ist is berühmt” famous
41.30 „Wer whoever tanzen dance möchte, wants kann can nach to unten downstairs gehen” go
Part B: Natural Sentences
41.16 “Excuse me, who are you?”
41.17 “I’m Thomas Schmidt. And with whom do I have the pleasure?”
41.18 “Maria Weber. Who invited you?”
41.19 “The host who’s standing over there is my colleague.”
41.20 “Oh, I see! Whose idea was this great party?”
41.21 “That was Peter’s idea, with whom I live.”
41.22 “Who’s the woman who’s just coming in?”
41.23 “That’s Anna, whose husband also works here.”
41.24 “Whom are you looking for?”
41.25 “My brother, who must be here somewhere.”
41.26 “With whom did he come?”
41.27 “Who knows? He always comes alone.”
41.28 “The music they’re playing is fantastic!”
41.29 “Yes, the DJ whose music you’re hearing is famous.”
41.30 “Whoever wants to dance can go downstairs.”
Part C: Target Language Only
41.16 „Entschuldigung, wer sind Sie?”
41.17 „Ich bin Thomas Schmidt. Und mit wem habe ich das Vergnügen?”
41.18 „Maria Weber. Wer hat Sie denn eingeladen?”
41.19 „Der Gastgeber, der dort drüben steht, ist mein Kollege.”
41.20 „Ach so! Wessen Idee war diese tolle Party?”
41.21 „Das war die Idee von Peter, mit dem ich zusammen wohne.”
41.22 „Wer ist denn die Frau, die gerade hereinkommt?”
41.23 „Das ist Anna, deren Mann auch hier arbeitet.”
41.24 „Wen suchen Sie denn?”
41.25 „Meinen Bruder, der irgendwo hier sein muss.”
41.26 „Mit wem ist er denn gekommen?”
41.27 „Wer weiß? Er kommt immer allein.”
41.28 „Die Musik, die sie spielen, ist fantastisch!”
41.29 „Ja, der DJ, dessen Musik du hörst, ist berühmt.”
41.30 „Wer tanzen möchte, kann nach unten gehen.”
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
This dialogue showcases interrogative and relative pronouns in conversational context. Note the formal “Sie” forms in the opening exchanges (typical when meeting strangers), switching to informal “du” later. The particle “denn” softens questions, making them less abrupt. Relative clauses appear naturally in descriptions of people and things at the party. The final example uses “wer” as “whoever” in a generalized relative clause.
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German “w” is pronounced like English “v”, so “wer” sounds like “vair” not “where.” The “r” at the end of “wer” is typically vocalized in standard German, creating an “uh” sound.
In compound interrogatives: -
“wessen” has stress on the first syllable: WES-sen -
“womit” (with what) combines wo + mit -
“wofür” (what for) combines wo + für
The distinction between “das” (demonstrative) and “dass” (conjunction) is crucial in writing. “Das” can be a relative pronoun, while “dass” introduces subordinate clauses.
German capitalizes all nouns, including those in relative clauses. This helps identify the antecedent of relative pronouns.
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