Breakdown of Das Personal, das hier arbeitet, ist fantastisch.
sein
to be
hier
here
arbeiten
to work
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Personal
the staff
fantastisch
fantastic
Questions & Answers about Das Personal, das hier arbeitet, ist fantastisch.
Why are there two das's right next to each other separated by a comma?
The first das is the definite article "the" for das Personal. The second das is a relative pronoun meaning "that" or "who". In German, relative pronouns usually look exactly like definite articles. Because it refers back to the neuter singular noun das Personal, the relative pronoun must also be das.
In English we often say "The staff are fantastic." Why does German use the singular ist (and arbeitet)?
Das Personal is a collective noun. Even though it refers to a group of people, it is grammatically treated as a single unit. Therefore, it always takes singular verbs in German.
Why is the verb arbeitet pushed to the end of its phrase?
The phrase das hier arbeitet is a relative clause, which is a type of subordinate clause that gives extra information about a noun. In German, the conjugated verb in any subordinate clause must be placed at the very end of that clause.
Are the commas around das hier arbeitet strictly necessary?
Yes! In English, commas around "that works here" are usually left out because it's essential to identifying the staff. In German, however, you must always use commas to separate a relative clause from the main sentence, regardless of whether it's essential information or not.
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