Breakdown of Wer den Türsteher ignoriert, hat ein Problem.
ein
a, an (eine)
haben
to have
das Problem
the problem
wer
who
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
ignorieren
to ignore
der Türsteher
the bouncer
Questions & Answers about Wer den Türsteher ignoriert, hat ein Problem.
Why does the sentence start with Wer? Isn't that a question word meaning "who"?
It is usually a question word, but here it acts as a free relative pronoun meaning "whoever" or "anyone who". It creates a relative clause that doesn't describe a specific noun mentioned earlier. Instead, the whole clause (Wer den Türsteher ignoriert) acts as the subject of the entire sentence.
How do we know to use Wer and not Wen or Wem here?
The pronoun takes its case from its specific role inside the relative clause. Here, "whoever" is doing the ignoring, making it the subject of the verb ignoriert. Subjects always take the nominative case, which is Wer.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb hat immediately after the comma?
This is due to the German V2 rule, where the conjugated verb in a main clause must take the second position. The entire first clause (Wer den Türsteher ignoriert) counts as one single block in position one. To keep the main verb in position two, hat must come right after the comma.
Why is it den Türsteher instead of der Türsteher?
The bouncer is the person being ignored, which makes him the direct object of the action. Because Türsteher is a masculine noun, its article changes to the accusative den.
Learn Wer den Türsteher ignoriert, hat ein Problem and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free