Breakdown of Der Spezialist, dem ich vertraue, gibt eine Empfehlung.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
geben
to give
vertrauen
to trust
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Spezialist
the specialist
dem
whom / which (dative relative pronoun)
die Empfehlung
the recommendation
Questions & Answers about Der Spezialist, dem ich vertraue, gibt eine Empfehlung.
Why is the relative pronoun dem instead of den?
In English, you trust someone as a direct object. But in German, the verb vertrauen (to trust) is a "dative verb." It always requires its object to be in the dative case. Because Spezialist is a masculine noun, the relative pronoun has to be the masculine dative dem.
Why are there two verbs right next to each other (vertraue, gibt)?
The main sentence is Der Spezialist gibt eine Empfehlung. The relative clause (, dem ich vertraue,) interrupts it to describe the specialist. Relative clauses push their verb (vertraue) to the very end. Once the relative clause finishes, the main clause picks up exactly where it left off with its own verb (gibt).
Why doesn't gibt go to the end of the sentence too?
gibt is the conjugated verb of the main clause, so it follows the normal "verb second" rule. The entire subject block (Der Spezialist, dem ich vertraue) counts as the first position in the sentence, so the verb gibt must immediately follow it in position 2.
How can I remember the gender of Spezialist?
It uses the masculine article Der. As a helpful rule, German nouns describing professions or people that end in -ist (like Polizist or Tourist) are always masculine. If it were a female specialist, it would be die Spezialistin, and the relative pronoun would change to the feminine dative der.
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