Breakdown of Er ist ein Spezialist, von dem ich viel lerne.
ich
I
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
lernen
to learn
viel
much / a lot
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Spezialist
the specialist
Questions & Answers about Er ist ein Spezialist, von dem ich viel lerne.
Why do we use dem here instead of der or den?
dem is a relative pronoun pointing back to Spezialist, which is a masculine noun (der Spezialist). Because it directly follows the preposition von, which always requires the dative case, we must use the dative masculine relative pronoun: dem.
Could I put von at the end of the sentence, like 'a specialist who I learn a lot from'?
No, German does not allow prepositions to dangle at the end of a sentence like English sometimes does. The preposition must stay firmly attached to the relative pronoun it affects. This creates the fixed block , von dem (from whom) right at the start of your relative clause.
Why is lerne at the very end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence (, von dem ich viel lerne) is a relative clause. Relative clauses are a type of subordinate clause, and in German, subordinate clauses always push the conjugated verb (lerne) to the very end.
I learned that we drop the word ein for professions, like Er ist Arzt. Why do we use ein Spezialist here?
You have a great memory! We usually drop the article for professions and roles. However, the rule changes if you describe the profession further. Because we are adding an entire relative clause explaining exactly what kind of specialist he is, we have to put ein back into the sentence.
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