Breakdown of Die Dokumente, die wir für den Stammbaum brauchen, sind alt.
sein
to be
wir
we
brauchen
to need
alt
old
für
for
das Dokument
the document
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Stammbaum
the family tree
Questions & Answers about Die Dokumente, die wir für den Stammbaum brauchen, sind alt.
Why is the relative pronoun die used here?
It refers back to the plural noun Die Dokumente. Inside the relative clause, it acts as the direct object because the documents are the things that we need (brauchen), making it accusative. For plural words, the relative pronoun is die in both the nominative (subject) and accusative (direct object) cases.
Why is the verb brauchen at the very end of the middle section?
The phrase , die wir für den Stammbaum brauchen, is a relative clause. Relative clauses always send their conjugated verb (brauchen) to the very end of that clause, right before the closing comma.
Why is it den Stammbaum instead of der Stammbaum?
The preposition für (for) always requires the accusative case. Because Stammbaum (family tree) is a masculine noun, its word for "the" changes from der to den.
Why does the word sind come right after the second comma?
The core of the sentence is simply Die Dokumente sind alt (The documents are old). The relative clause is just inserted into the middle of that main sentence to describe the documents. Once the relative clause finishes, the main sentence picks up right where it left off with its verb (sind).
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