A relative clause adds information about a noun and starts with a pronoun that looks like the definite article: der Mann, der ...; die Frau, die ...; das Kind, das ... The pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun but its case from its job inside the clause (den Mann, den ich kenne), and the verb goes to the very end. A comma always separates the clause from the rest of the sentence.
Examples
- Das ist der Kollege, der neben mir sitzt.
- That is the colleague who sits next to me.
- Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend.
- The book that I am reading is exciting.
- Die Frau, mit der ich spreche, ist meine Chefin.
- The woman I am talking to is my boss.
- Kennst du die Stadt, wo ich geboren bin?
- Do you know the town where I was born?
The mistake to avoid
Forgetting the comma and the verb position: it is 'der Mann, der dort wohnt', never 'der Mann, der wohnt dort'.
Where this fits in
Relativsätze: Menschen und Dinge beschreiben, German B1: Describe people, things and places precisely with relative clauses - der, die, das and their case forms, prepositions in front of the pronoun, and wo and was for places and ideas.