Breakdown of Das Manuskript, welches sehr lang ist, hat viele Fehler.
sein
to be
sehr
very
haben
to have
viel
much / a lot
der Fehler
the mistake
lang
long
welcher
which (welcher, welche, welches, welchen, welchem...)
das Manuskript
the manuscript
Questions & Answers about Das Manuskript, welches sehr lang ist, hat viele Fehler.
Why use welches instead of das in this sentence?
welches is a stylistic alternative to das used primarily in written or formal German. It means exactly the same thing, but writers often use forms of welcher to sound more elevated or to avoid repeating der, die, or das too many times in a single sentence or paragraph.
Why does the relative pronoun take the exact form welches here?
Like all relative pronouns, it must match the gender and number of the noun it points back to (das Manuskript, which is neuter singular). Because it acts as the subject of its own relative clause, it must be in the nominative case. The neuter nominative form of this pronoun is welches.
Why is the verb hat placed immediately after the comma?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must be in the second position. The entire phrase Das Manuskript, welches sehr lang ist acts as one giant subject block occupying position 1. Therefore, the main verb hat must come immediately after it to take position 2.
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