Breakdown of Wo ist die Säge, mit der ich das Holz sägen soll?
ich
I
sein
to be
wo
where
mit
with
sollen
should / ought to
das Holz
the wood
die Säge
the saw
sägen
to saw
Questions & Answers about Wo ist die Säge, mit der ich das Holz sägen soll?
Why is the relative pronoun der used to refer back to die Säge?
Even though die Säge is feminine, the relative pronoun comes right after the preposition mit, which always forces the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine relative pronoun changes from die to der.
Why do both sägen and soll go at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase starting with , mit der is a relative clause. In German subordinate clauses (like relative clauses), the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end. Here, the conjugated verb is the modal soll, so it sits at the end, right after the infinitive verb sägen.
Why does the German sentence use soll instead of sollte for 'should'?
English often uses 'should' for both gentle advice and assigned tasks. In German, sollte is used for advice or hypotheticals, while the present tense soll is used when you are tasked, expected, or instructed to do something. The speaker is asking what they are literally instructed to do right now.
Is there a connection between the words die Säge and sägen?
Yes! Just like in English ('the saw' vs 'to saw'), the noun for the tool and the verb for the action share the exact same root. Notice how the noun die Säge is capitalized, but the verb sägen is lowercase.
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