Breakdown of Der Türsteher entscheidet, wen er hereinlässt.
er
he
wen
whom (accusative)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
entscheiden
to decide
hereinlassen
to let in
der Türsteher
the bouncer
Questions & Answers about Der Türsteher entscheidet, wen er hereinlässt.
Why do we use wen here instead of wer?
wen is the accusative form of wer (who). In the second part of the sentence, the bouncer (er) is the subject doing the action, and the person being let in is the direct object. Since the verb hereinlassen takes an accusative direct object, we must use wen (whom).
Why is there no noun right before wen for it to refer back to?
This is a special structure called a free (or headless) relative clause, which is what this lesson focuses on. Instead of pointing back to a specific noun like 'the man' (der Mann), the pronoun wen stands completely on its own. It acts as a placeholder meaning 'whoever' or 'the people whom.'
Why is hereinlässt at the very end as a single word? Isn't it a separable verb?
Yes, hereinlassen is a separable verb. However, the word wen introduces a subordinate clause. You might remember from earlier lessons that in subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb is always pushed to the very end. When a separable verb gets pushed to the end of a clause like this, its prefix and main verb are written together as one unbroken word.
Could I just say reinlässt instead of hereinlässt?
Absolutely. In everyday spoken German, direction words like herein are very frequently shortened to just rein. You will often hear people say Der Türsteher entscheidet, wen er reinlässt. The word hereinlässt is just the full, slightly more formal written version.
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