Breakdown of Ein Verwandter von mir wohnt hier.
hier
here
wohnen
to live
mir
me / to me (dative)
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
der/die Verwandte
the relative
Questions & Answers about Ein Verwandter von mir wohnt hier.
Why does Verwandter end in -er if it is a noun?
Verwandter is a nominalized adjective, meaning it is an adjective acting as a noun. Because of this, it still takes normal adjective endings. Since it follows the indefinite article ein in the masculine nominative case, it takes the strong ending -er.
How would this change if I wanted to say 'the relative' instead of 'a relative'?
It would change to der Verwandte. Because it follows the rules of adjective declension, using the definite article der means the word takes the weak ending -e in the nominative case.
How do I say 'a female relative' using this word?
You would say eine Verwandte. The root adjective is the same, but you apply the feminine adjective ending -e after the article eine.
Can I say mein Verwandter instead of ein Verwandter von mir?
Yes, mein Verwandter (my relative) is perfectly correct. The phrase ein Verwandter von mir is simply the direct equivalent of the English 'a relative of mine', using the preposition von followed by the dative pronoun mir.
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