Learn German: Hier ist die Schauspielerin, deren Filme immer Hits sind. - Here is the actress whose films are always hits.

Hier ist die Schauspielerin, deren Filme immer Hits sind.

Here is the actress whose films are always hits.

Breakdown of Hier ist die Schauspielerin, deren Filme immer Hits sind.

Questions & Answers about Hier ist die Schauspielerin, deren Filme immer Hits sind.

Why do we use deren here instead of dessen?

The word deren translates to "whose". We use it here because it refers back to die Schauspielerin, which is a feminine noun. If we were talking about a male actor (der Schauspieler), we would use dessen.

Does deren match Schauspielerin (the owner) or Filme (the thing owned)?

It matches the owner! A genitive relative pronoun like deren gets its gender and number from the noun it refers back to in the main clause (die Schauspielerin). It does not change its ending to match the thing being owned (die Filme), which is different from how standard possessive words like ihre work.

Why is the verb sind at the very end of the sentence?

The comma introduces a relative clause, which acts as a subordinate clause. In German, subordinate clauses always kick the conjugated verb to the very end of the sentence.

Why does Hit take an -s for its plural (Hits) instead of a typical German ending?

Hit is an English loanword used commonly in German. When German borrows words from English, they usually form their plural by simply adding an -s, so der Hit becomes die Hits.