Breakdown of Es wäre gut, eine kompetente Agentur zu haben, der dieses Projekt gefällt.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
es
it
gut
good / well
haben
to have
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
gefallen
to please
das Projekt
the project
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Agentur
the agency
kompetent
competent
Questions & Answers about Es wäre gut, eine kompetente Agentur zu haben, der dieses Projekt gefällt.
Why is the relative pronoun der used when die Agentur is a feminine noun?
A relative pronoun gets its gender from the noun it refers to (die Agentur, feminine), but its case comes from its job in its own clause. The verb gefallen requires the dative case for the person or thing doing the liking. The feminine dative relative pronoun is der.
What is the subject of the relative clause: the agency or the project?
The subject is dieses Projekt (this project). The German verb gefallen literally means "to be pleasing to". So the clause translates to "to whom this project is pleasing." The project does the pleasing (subject), and the agency receives it in the dative case (der).
Why do we say eine kompetente Agentur zu haben instead of just haben?
This is an infinitive clause. Just like in English where we say "It would be good to have", German uses zu plus the infinitive verb (zu haben) to link the action to the introductory phrase Es wäre gut.
Why use wäre instead of ist at the beginning of the sentence?
wäre means "would be" (the hypothetical form of sein). The speaker is expressing a wish or an ideal scenario, not stating a current fact, so they use the hypothetical form instead of the regular present tense ist (is).
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