German · B1 · Everyday language
People who receive our help in German
Identify people by saying whom you help, thank, believe or trust. German uses the dative relative pronouns dem, der and denen with these verbs.
What you'll learn
- Choose dem, der or denen to match the person or people described.
- Use dative relative pronouns with helfen, danken, glauben and vertrauen.
- Add details about people who receive help, thanks or trust.
German phrases for people who receive our help
Das ist der Junge, dem ich gestern geholfen habe.
That is the boy whom I helped yesterday.
Helfen takes the dative: der Junge is referred to by dem.
Hier ist das Mädchen, dem wir gedankt haben.
Here is the girl whom we thanked.
Mädchen is grammatically neuter, so use dem, even though it refers to a girl.
Ist das der Nachbar, dem du vertraust?
Is that the neighbour whom you trust?
Vertrauen takes the dative; dem refers to der Nachbar.
Das sind die Kinder, denen unser Lehrer geholfen hat.
Those are the children whom our teacher helped.
Use denen for plural people receiving help.
Die Frau, der ich glaube, ist unsere Hausmeisterin.
The woman whom I believe is our caretaker.
Jemandem glauben means to believe what someone says. Der refers to die Frau. Here, caretaker means someone who looks after a building.
Das Kind, dem du geholfen hast, ist in meiner Klasse.
The child whom you helped is in my class.
Dem refers to the neuter noun das Kind.
Der Mann, dem wir gedankt haben, ist angekommen.
The man whom we thanked has arrived.
Danken takes the dative; dem identifies the man receiving the thanks.
Die Freunde, denen ich vertraue, hören mir zu.
The friends whom I trust listen to me.
Vertrauen takes the dative; use denen for die Freunde.
Hear these phrases and practise them
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Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Junge
boy
Plural: die Jungen.
das Mädchen
girl
Plural: die Mädchen. Grammatically neuter.
der Nachbar
neighbour
Plural: die Nachbarn.
das Kind
child
Plural: die Kinder.
der Lehrer
teacher
Plural: die Lehrer. Refers to a male teacher.
die Frau
woman
Plural: die Frauen.
die Hausmeisterin
caretaker; building superintendent
Plural: die Hausmeisterinnen. Refers to a woman who looks after a building.
die Klasse
class
Plural: die Klassen.
der Mann
man
Plural: die Männer.
der Freund
friend
Plural: die Freunde.
helfen
to help
Use the dative for the person receiving help.
danken
to thank
Use the dative for the person receiving thanks.
glauben
to believe
With a person in the dative: to believe what that person says.
vertrauen
to trust
Use the dative for the person you trust.
Choosing dem, der or denen
The noun being described determines the relative pronoun's gender and number. Its role inside the relative clause determines its case. When it is the person helped, thanked, believed or trusted, use the dative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | dem | der Junge, dem ich helfe |
| Neuter singular | dem | das Mädchen, dem ich danke |
| Feminine singular | der | die Frau, der ich glaube |
| Plural, all genders | denen | die Freunde, denen ich vertraue |
The verb requires the dative
English uses 'whom', 'who' or no pronoun in these descriptions. German needs a dative relative pronoun because helfen, danken, glauben and vertrauen take a dative person. For the plural relative pronoun, use denen, not den.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Help someone | jemandem helfen | Das ist das Kind, dem wir helfen. |
| Thank someone | jemandem danken | Das ist die Frau, der wir danken. |
| Believe someone | jemandem glauben | Das ist der Mann, dem ich glaube. |
| Trust someone | jemandem vertrauen | Das sind die Freunde, denen wir vertrauen. |
More examples
Ist das die Nachbarin, der du geholfen hast?
Is that the female neighbour whom you helped?
Feminine singular uses der with helfen.
Hier sind die Kinder, denen wir glauben.
Here are the children whom we believe.
Denen refers to the children whose words we believe.
Das Mädchen, dem ich vertraue, ist in meiner Klasse.
The girl whom I trust is in my class.
Choose dem because Mädchen is grammatically neuter.
Die Frau, der die Kinder gedankt haben, ist unsere Hausmeisterin.
The woman whom the children thanked is our caretaker.
The children give thanks; the woman receives them, so the relative pronoun is der.