Breakdown of Das Land, woher das Lehnwort stammt, ist der Ursprung.
sein
to be
woher
where from
das Land
the country
stammen
to originate
das Lehnwort
the loanword
der Ursprung
the origin (source, beginning)
Questions & Answers about Das Land, woher das Lehnwort stammt, ist der Ursprung.
Why do we use woher instead of just wo in this relative clause?
woher means "from where" and indicates an origin. The verb stammen (to originate/come from) inherently requires a source, so you must use the directional woher instead of the stationary wo (where). English splits this into "where... from", but German keeps woher together right at the start of the relative clause.
Could I say aus dem instead of woher?
Yes! You could also say Das Land, aus dem das Lehnwort stammt. Both mean "from which" or "where... from". woher is a very common alternative that is slightly simpler because you do not have to worry about matching the gender and case of the relative pronoun.
Can you split woher apart in a sentence like this?
In casual spoken German, you might hear people split it, putting wo at the start of the clause and attaching her to the verb at the end (making it wo das Lehnwort herstammt). However, keeping woher combined at the beginning is the standard rule for proper written German.
Why is the verb ist placed immediately after the comma?
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb must be in position 2. The entire chunk Das Land, woher das Lehnwort stammt counts as a single block occupying position 1 because the relative clause is just describing the subject (Das Land). Once that subject block is finished, the main verb ist must immediately follow.
What is the root of the word Lehnwort?
It literally translates to "loanword" (a word borrowed from another language, like 'kindergarten' in English). It comes from the verb leihen, which means "to lend" or "to borrow".
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