Breakdown of Der Komiker hat den Witz vergessen, worüber das Publikum laut gelacht hat.
lachen
to laugh
haben
to have
vergessen
to forget
laut
loud, loudly
das Publikum
the audience
worüber
what about
der Komiker
the comedian
der Witz
the joke
Questions & Answers about Der Komiker hat den Witz vergessen, worüber das Publikum laut gelacht hat.
Why does this sentence use worüber instead of über den?
In German, a wo-compound like worüber is used as a relative pronoun when it refers back to the entire preceding situation or action, rather than a specific noun. Here, worüber means the audience laughed at the fact that he forgot the joke! If they had laughed at the joke itself, you would use über den to match the masculine noun Witz.
What dictates the über part of worüber?
The choice of preposition always depends on the verb in the relative clause. The verb lachen (to laugh) requires the preposition über when you are laughing about something. Therefore, to say 'about which' in reference to a whole clause, you combine wo plus the linking consonant r plus über to get worüber.
Why is the conjugated verb hat placed at the very end of the second clause?
The clause starting with worüber is a continuative relative clause, which functions as a subordinate clause. In all German subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb (here, the auxiliary hat) must be placed at the very end of the sentence.
Both halves of the sentence use the Perfekt tense (hat vergessen and gelacht hat). Why not use the Präteritum (simple past)?
While written stories often use the Präteritum, the Perfekt is the standard tense for past events in spoken conversational German. Even though the English translation uses the simple past ('forgot', 'laughed'), translating this to everyday spoken German naturally uses the Perfekt.
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