Breakdown of Die Band, deren Hit wir gerade hören, ist schrecklich. Trotzdem kaufen alle das Album.
sein
to be
kaufen
to buy
wir
we
alle
all, everyone
hören
to hear / to listen
gerade
just / just now
die Band
the band
schrecklich
terrible, awful
trotzdem
nevertheless
deren
whose (f/pl)
der Hit
the hit
das Album
the album
Questions & Answers about Die Band, deren Hit wir gerade hören, ist schrecklich. Trotzdem kaufen alle das Album.
Why do we use deren here instead of dessen?
The relative pronoun refers back to the "possessor". Since die Band is feminine, we use the feminine genitive pronoun deren (whose). If we were talking about a masculine or neuter noun, like der Sänger (the singer), we would use dessen.
Hit is a masculine noun. Doesn't the relative pronoun need to match it?
No, this is a very common trap! The genitive relative pronoun (deren or dessen) only matches the gender and number of the possessor (die Band). The possessed thing (Hit) determines the case of its own part of the sentence, but it doesn't change the word deren itself.
What case is Hit in this relative clause?
It is in the accusative case because it's the direct object of the verb hören (we are hearing the hit). You don't see an article changing here, but if you added an adjective, it would need the accusative ending: deren neuen Hit (whose new hit).
Why does the verb kaufen come right after Trotzdem?
Trotzdem (nevertheless) is an adverb. When an adverb starts a sentence, it takes up position 1. Because the conjugated verb must always come second in a regular German main clause, kaufen is forced into position 2, right before the subject alle.
What is the purpose of gerade in the relative clause?
German doesn't have an "-ing" verb form to show that something is happening right at this moment. Adding gerade (just/currently) to the present tense verb hören expresses the continuous English idea of "we are listening to right now."
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