Breakdown of Die Tante warnte die Königin und deren Erben.
und
and
die Tante
the aunt
die Königin
the queen
warnen
to warn
deren
their (referring back to something just mentioned)
der Erbe
the heir
Questions & Answers about Die Tante warnte die Königin und deren Erben.
Why use deren instead of ihren for "her"?
If the sentence used ihren, it would be ambiguous: it could mean the aunt warned her own heir, or the queen's heir. By using the demonstrative pronoun deren, it specifically points back to the most recently mentioned noun, confirming it is the queen's heir.
How do we choose between deren and dessen?
The choice depends on the gender and number of the possessor. Since the possessor here is die Königin (feminine singular), we use deren. If the possessor were masculine or neuter, we would use dessen.
The translation says "heir" in the singular, so why is the word Erben with an "-n" at the end?
The word der Erbe (the heir) is a weak masculine noun, meaning it follows the n-declension rules. It adds an -n in all cases except the nominative singular. Since the heir is receiving the action of being warned, it is in the accusative case.
What case is used for the people being warned in this sentence?
The verb warnen takes a direct object in the accusative case. Therefore, both die Königin and deren Erben are in the accusative.
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