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In formal writing and literature, you will sometimes see the relative pronouns **welcher**, **welche**, and **welches** used instead of *der*, *die*, and *das*. They mean exactly the same thing ("who," "which," or "that") and follow the same rule: the relative clause sends the conjugated verb to the very end.

Writers typically use these forms as a stylistic choice to avoid repetition—for instance, to prevent having the definite article *das* sit right next to the relative pronoun *das*.

Here are their forms for the nominative and accusative cases. Notice that they take similar endings to the standard articles (*-er*, *-e*, *-es*).

| Gender / Plural | Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| **Masculine** | welcher | welchen |
| **Feminine** | welche | welche |
| **Neuter** | welches | welches |
| **Plural** | welche | welche |

### Nominative Relative Clauses

The relative pronoun must match the gender of the noun it refers back to. When the pronoun is the subject of its own clause, use the nominative forms.

For a neuter noun like *das Manuskript*, use **welches**:

{{item:883153}}

For a masculine noun like *der Autor*, use **welcher**:

{{item:883156}}

For a feminine noun like *die Zeile*, use **welche**:

{{item:883165}}

### Accusative Relative Clauses

If the relative pronoun acts as the direct object *inside* the relative clause, it takes the accusative case. Just like with standard articles, only the masculine form changes (from *welcher* to **welchen**).

{{item:883177}}

Feminine and neuter relative pronouns look the same in both cases:

{{item:883175}}

{{item:883182}}

Formal relative pronouns (welcher, welche)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the manuscript	das Manuskript
The manuscript, which is very long, has many errors.	Das Manuskript, welches sehr lang ist, hat viele Fehler.
Since nobody is reading the manuscript, there are many errors.	Da niemand das Manuskript liest, gibt es viele Fehler.
the correction	die Korrektur
The author, who needs the correction, is calling the publisher.	Der Autor, welcher die Korrektur braucht, ruft den Verlag an.
the margin	der Rand
He writes every correction in the margin.	Er schreibt jede Korrektur an den Rand.
The margin, which is very wide, is empty.	Der Rand, welcher sehr breit ist, ist leer.
Do you see the note which is in the margin?	Sehen Sie die Notiz, welche am Rand steht?
the editorial department	das Lektorat
The editorial department, which checks the text, works fast.	Das Lektorat, welches den Text prüft, arbeitet schnell.
Since it is urgent, the editorial department is working on the first of May.	Da es dringend ist, arbeitet das Lektorat am ersten Mai.
the line	die Zeile
We have to delete the line which is wrong.	Wir müssen die Zeile löschen, welche falsch ist.
Every line which you are correcting is perfect.	Jede Zeile, welche du korrigierst, ist perfekt.
the edition	die Auflage
The first edition, which is sold out, was a success.	Die erste Auflage, welche ausverkauft ist, war ein Erfolg.
Are we planning a second edition because everything is sold out?	Planen wir eine zweite Auflage, da alles ausverkauft ist?
the bookstore	die Buchhandlung
The bookstore, which offers the novel, opens on the second of June.	Die Buchhandlung, welche den Roman anbietet, öffnet am zweiten Juni.
the publication	die Publikation
the bestseller	der Bestseller
The publication which is lying in the bookstore is a bestseller.	Die Publikation, welche in der Buchhandlung liegt, ist ein Bestseller.
The book, which we are publishing today, is important.	Das Buch, welches wir heute veröffentlichen, ist wichtig.
The author is correcting the manuscript, which costs a lot of time.	Der Autor korrigiert das Manuskript, welches viel Zeit kostet.
The bestseller, which everyone is reading, is exciting.	Der Bestseller, welchen alle lesen, ist spannend.
Nobody knows if the manuscript will become a bestseller.	Niemand weiß, ob das Manuskript ein Bestseller wird.
the reading	die Lesung
The reading, which is taking place tomorrow, is free of charge.	Die Lesung, welche morgen stattfindet, ist kostenlos.
I am meeting the author at the reading on the third of October.	Ich treffe den Autor bei der Lesung am dritten Oktober.
The publication, which we are publishing today, is a bestseller.	Die Publikation, welche wir heute veröffentlichen, ist ein Bestseller.