Breakdown of Ich habe den Autor, den du langweilig findest, gestern getroffen.
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
haben
to have
finden
to find
treffen
to meet
gestern
yesterday
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Autor
the author
langweilig
boring
Questions & Answers about Ich habe den Autor, den du langweilig findest, gestern getroffen.
Why are there two den's right next to each other (den Autor, den...)?
The first den is just the word for 'the'. It is in the accusative case because the author is the direct object of the main sentence (you met him). The second den is a relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'whom'. It gets its gender (masculine) from Autor, but it gets its case (accusative) from its own part of the sentence, because the author is the object that you find boring. It is just a coincidence that they both happen to be den here!
Why is the relative clause right in the middle of the sentence instead of at the end?
In German, a relative clause usually comes immediately after the noun it describes. Since it describes the author (den Autor), it gets inserted right after that noun, pausing the main sentence (Ich habe den Autor ... gestern getroffen).
Why is the verb findest at the end of its section (...den du langweilig findest)?
A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause. In German, subordinate clauses always push their conjugated verb (in this case, findest) to the very end of that specific clause, right before the comma.
Does the inserted clause change where the past tense verb getroffen goes?
No! The main sentence is still Ich habe ... getroffen (I have met). The rule that the past participle (getroffen) goes at the very end of the whole sentence still applies. It just has to wait patiently until the relative clause and the word gestern (yesterday) are completely finished.
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