Die Schwester bedroht die Königin und deren Herrschaft.
The sister threatens the queen and her reign.
Breakdown of Die Schwester bedroht die Königin und deren Herrschaft.
und
and
die Schwester
the sister
die Königin
the queen
bedrohen
to threaten
deren
their (referring back to something just mentioned)
die Herrschaft
the reign
Questions & Answers about Die Schwester bedroht die Königin und deren Herrschaft.
Why is deren used here instead of ihre?
Using ihre (ihre Herrschaft) would be ambiguous. Because both die Schwester and die Königin are feminine, ihre could mean either the sister's reign or the queen's reign. By using the demonstrative possessive deren, you explicitly refer back to the last mentioned noun (die Königin), making it entirely clear that it is the queen's reign being threatened.
Would the ending of deren change if the threatened thing was masculine, like der Thron (the throne)?
No. Unlike standard possessive pronouns (like ihr, ihre, ihren), the words dessen and deren do not take adjective endings to match the noun that follows them. Their form is locked based strictly on the gender and number of the owner. Since the owner (die Königin) is feminine, it stays deren regardless of what is owned.
Wait, doesn't the verb for 'to threaten' usually take the dative case?
You are likely thinking of the related verb drohen, which does take the dative (e.g., Die Schwester droht der Königin). However, bedrohen (meaning to pose a severe danger to, or to menace) is a transitive verb, meaning it always takes a direct object in the accusative case.
What case is the phrase deren Herrschaft in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case. The conjunction und links the two objects of the sentence (die Königin and deren Herrschaft). Since the verb bedrohen requires the accusative, both halves of that linked phrase are accusative.
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