Breakdown of Hier ist der Kakao, den das Siegel garantiert.
sein
to be
hier
here
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
garantieren
to guarantee
das Siegel
the label
der Kakao
the cocoa
Questions & Answers about Hier ist der Kakao, den das Siegel garantiert.
Why is the relative pronoun den in the accusative case when der Kakao is in the nominative?
A relative pronoun gets its gender and number from the noun it describes (masculine singular for der Kakao), but its case depends on its grammatical job inside the relative clause. Here, the cocoa is the direct object that the label is guaranteeing, so it must be accusative (den).
In this context, what exactly does das Siegel refer to?
Although das Siegel originally means a traditional wax seal, in modern contexts like food packaging it means a certification mark, quality label, or seal of approval (such as a Fairtrade or organic logo).
Is the word order in the relative clause strict, or could we write , das Siegel den garantiert?
The word order is strictly fixed here. A relative pronoun like den must always be the very first element in its relative clause, immediately following the comma, even if it is the direct object. The subject (das Siegel) follows it, and the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end.
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