Breakdown of Ich freue mich auf den Roman, den du schreibst.
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
schreiben
to write
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Roman
the novel
Questions & Answers about Ich freue mich auf den Roman, den du schreibst.
Why is the relative pronoun den instead of der?
The relative pronoun gets its gender from the noun it refers to (der Roman, which is masculine) but its case from its role in the new clause. In the relative clause den du schreibst, the novel is the direct object being written, so it takes the accusative masculine form: den.
Why does schreibst go at the very end?
The phrase den du schreibst is a relative clause. In German, relative clauses act like subordinate clauses, which means they always push the conjugated verb (schreibst) to the very end of that clause.
Why use auf here? Doesn't that usually mean "on"?
While auf often means "on," the verb sich freuen (to be happy / to look forward to) has a fixed pairing with the preposition auf when talking about a future event. It is a set phrase you just have to memorize, much like "looking forward to" in English.
What is the word mich doing in this sentence?
The verb for "to look forward to" is sich freuen auf, which is a reflexive verb. Because the subject is Ich (I), you must include the matching reflexive pronoun mich (myself). Literally, you are saying "I look myself forward to..."
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