German · B1 · Everyday language
People We Appreciate in German
Talk with your child about people who help, support and encourage them. Practise German relative clauses with dem, der and denen after verbs that take the dative.
What you'll learn
- Talk about people you appreciate in everyday life.
- Choose dative relative pronouns to match the person or people described.
- Put the conjugated verb at the end of a relative clause.
- Use helfen, danken, glauben and vertrauen with the dative.
German phrases for people we appreciate
Ist das der Junge, dem du beim Projekt geholfen hast?
Is that the boy whom you helped with the project?
Helfen takes the dative, so der Junge becomes dem in the relative clause. Beim means bei dem.
Das Mädchen, dem du vertraust, ist bei uns herzlich willkommen.
The girl whom you trust is welcome to visit us.
Mädchen is grammatically neuter, so use dem, not der. Bei uns herzlich willkommen warmly expresses that she is welcome to come over.
Sind das die Nachbarn, denen wir gestern geholfen haben?
Are those the neighbours whom we helped yesterday?
For a plural noun such as die Nachbarn, the dative relative pronoun is denen.
Der Trainer, dem wir gedankt haben, leitet den Basketballverein.
The coach whom we thanked runs the basketball club.
Danken takes the dative. Leiten means to run or lead an organisation.
Die Lehrerin, der du glaubst, weiß viel über das Weltall.
The teacher whom you believe knows a lot about space.
This version refers to a female teacher. Glauben takes the dative when you say whom you believe.
Die Freunde, denen du vertraust, sollten deine Entscheidungen respektieren.
The friends whom you trust should respect your choices.
Vertrauen takes the dative; plural Freunde requires denen. Sollten expresses should.
Die Nachbarin, der du gedankt hast, hat uns ihre Werkzeuge geliehen.
The neighbour whom you thanked lent us her tools.
Die Nachbarin refers to a female neighbour. The dative relative pronoun is der.
Der Mitschüler, dem du geholfen hast, möchte sich deiner Gruppe anschließen.
The classmate whom you helped wants to join your group.
This version refers to a male classmate. Sich einer Gruppe anschließen means to join a group.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
jemandem helfen
to help someone
Use the dative for the person and bei + dative for the task: jemandem bei einem Projekt helfen.
jemandem danken
to thank someone
Use the dative for the person. Add für + accusative to say what you are thanking them for.
jemandem glauben
to believe someone
This means accepting what someone says as true. It differs from an jemanden glauben, meaning to believe in someone.
jemandem vertrauen
to trust someone
The person you trust is in the dative.
herzlich willkommen sein
to be very welcome
A warm expression to use when someone is welcome in your home.
der Basketballverein
the basketball club
A Verein is an organised club or association.
das Weltall
space; outer space
Use über das Weltall to mean about space.
die Entscheidung
the decision; the choice
Plural: die Entscheidungen.
das Werkzeug
the tool
Plural: die Werkzeuge. Werkzeug can also refer to tools collectively.
Choosing dem, der or denen
A relative clause describes a noun. The noun determines the relative pronoun's gender and number. Its role inside the relative clause determines its case. With helfen, danken, glauben and vertrauen, the person is in the dative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | dem | der Junge, dem du hilfst — the boy whom you help |
| Neuter singular | dem | das Mädchen, dem du vertraust — the girl whom you trust |
| Feminine singular | der | die Lehrerin, der du glaubst — the teacher whom you believe |
| Plural, all genders | denen | die Nachbarn, denen wir danken — the neighbours whom we thank |
Relative-clause word order
Put the relative clause directly after the noun it describes. Begin with the relative pronoun and put the conjugated verb last. Use commas to separate the clause from the main sentence. Unlike English, German cannot leave out the relative pronoun.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present tense | relative pronoun + subject + conjugated verb | Das Mädchen, dem du vertraust, ist willkommen. |
| Perfect tense | relative pronoun + subject + other words + past participle + haben | Sind das die Nachbarn, denen wir gestern geholfen haben? |
| Main sentence continues after the clause | main-clause subject + relative clause + main-clause verb | Die Lehrerin, der du glaubst, weiß viel über das Weltall. |
Four useful dative verbs
Learn each verb with jemandem, meaning someone in the dative. In the perfect tense, all four verbs use haben.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Help | helfen → hat geholfen | Du hast dem Jungen geholfen. — You helped the boy. |
| Thank | danken → hat gedankt | Wir haben der Nachbarin gedankt. — We thanked the neighbour. |
| Believe | glauben → hat geglaubt | Du hast der Lehrerin geglaubt. — You believed the teacher. |
| Trust | vertrauen → hat vertraut | Du hast deinen Freunden vertraut. — You trusted your friends. |
More examples
Wer ist der Junge, dem du geholfen hast?
Who is the boy whom you helped?
A simple question to invite your child to talk about helping someone.
Die Freundin, der ich vertraue, hört mir zu.
The friend whom I trust listens to me.
Freundin is feminine, so the dative relative pronoun is der.
Das sind die Menschen, denen wir danken möchten.
Those are the people whom we would like to thank.
With a modal verb, the infinitive comes before the conjugated modal at the end: danken möchten.