Breakdown of Die Szene, die sie spielen, ist langweilig.
sein
to be
spielen
to play
sie
they
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Szene
the scene
langweilig
boring
Questions & Answers about Die Szene, die sie spielen, ist langweilig.
Why is the relative pronoun die considered accusative here?
The relative pronoun die refers back to the feminine noun Die Szene. Inside the relative clause (die sie spielen), the subject doing the action is sie (they). The scene is the direct object being played, which puts it in the accusative case. For feminine nouns, the accusative relative pronoun is exactly the same as the nominative: die.
How can we tell that sie means "they" and not "she"?
The secret is the verb ending! The verb is spielen, which has the plural -en ending. If the sentence meant "the scene that she is playing," the verb would take the singular -t ending: die sie spielt.
Why is the verb spielen at the end of the middle section?
The phrase die sie spielen is a relative clause, which is a type of subordinate clause. In German, subordinate clauses always kick their conjugated verb to the very end of the clause, right before the comma.
Why does the verb ist come immediately after the second comma?
In a standard German main clause, the verb must be in position 2. The entire subject phrase, including its attached relative clause (Die Szene, die sie spielen), acts as one big block taking up position 1. Therefore, the main verb ist must immediately follow it to take position 2.
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