Breakdown of Der Dieb, der die Waffe hat, flieht jetzt.
jetzt
now
haben
to have
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Dieb
the thief
die Waffe
the weapon
fliehen
to flee, to escape
Questions & Answers about Der Dieb, der die Waffe hat, flieht jetzt.
Why are there two words 'der' separated by a comma in 'Der Dieb, der...'?
The first Der is simply the article 'The' belonging to Dieb (thief). The second der is a relative pronoun meaning 'who'. It takes the masculine nominative form because it refers back to the masculine noun Der Dieb and acts as the subject of its own mini-sentence (the relative clause).
Why is the verb hat placed right before the second comma?
The phrase der die Waffe hat is a relative clause. In German, relative clauses are subordinate clauses, which means they must push their conjugated verb (in this case, hat) to the very end of that specific clause.
Why does the main verb flieht come immediately after the second comma?
The core of the main sentence is simply Der Dieb flieht jetzt (The thief is fleeing now). The relative clause is just an inserted thought that interrupts it. Once the relative clause ends, the main sentence resumes with its verb flieht in the standard second position, right after the expanded subject.
Is die Waffe in the nominative or accusative case here?
It is in the accusative case. Inside the relative clause, the relative pronoun der is the subject doing the action, and the weapon is the direct object being held. Because Waffe is a feminine noun, its accusative article die looks exactly the same as its nominative article.
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