Possessive relative clauses
To express "whose" in German, use the genitive relative pronouns dessen and deren. They connect a relative clause to a noun while showing possession.
Just like in English, the relative pronoun is followed immediately by the thing that is owned. Since it is a relative clause, the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end.
The most important rule: the choice of pronoun depends entirely on the gender and number of the owner (the noun in the main clause), NOT the thing being owned.
Masculine and neuter owners: dessen
If the owner is masculine or neuter, use dessen.
| The singer whose voice fascinates me is here. | Der Sänger, dessen Stimme mich fasziniert, ist hier. |
Here, the singer (der Sänger) is masculine, so we use dessen—even though the voice he possesses (die Stimme) is feminine.
The exact same form is used for neuter owners. Das Album is neuter, so it also takes dessen:
| What kind of album is that whose songs fascinate you so much? | Was für ein Album ist das, dessen Lieder dich so faszinieren? |
Feminine and plural owners: deren
If the owner is feminine or plural, use deren.
| Here is the actress whose films are always hits. | Hier ist die Schauspielerin, deren Filme immer Hits sind. |
Because die Schauspielerin is a feminine noun, we use deren.
The same applies when the owner is a plural noun, such as die Mädchen:
| Are those the girls whose idols have such beautiful voices? | Sind das die Mädchen, deren Idole so schöne Stimmen haben? |
Summary
Always look at the owner noun to decide which pronoun to use:
| Owner | Relative Pronoun | English |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine / Neuter | dessen | whose |
| Feminine / Plural | deren | whose |
Let's look at one final example. Die Band is a feminine noun, so it takes deren. The fact that the album (das Album) inside the clause is neuter does not change the pronoun at all:
| The band whose album we are publishing tomorrow is great. | Die Band, deren Album wir morgen veröffentlichen, ist toll. |