Breakdown of Die Schokolade, die ich kaufe, kommt aus dem Supermarkt.
kommen
to come
ich
I
kaufen
to buy
aus
from
die Schokolade
the chocolate
die
that
der Supermarkt
the supermarket
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Questions & Answers about Die Schokolade, die ich kaufe, kommt aus dem Supermarkt.
Why are there two die in the sentence and what does each one do?
The first die is the definite article for Schokolade (feminine singular, nominative) and tells us we’re talking about the chocolate. The second die is a relative pronoun referring back to Schokolade. It’s also feminine singular nominative because it’s the subject of the relative clause die ich kaufe (“that I buy”).
How do I know that the relative pronoun die is in the nominative rather than the accusative?
You look at its role in the relative clause die ich kaufe. In that clause, die is the one doing the action “buy.” Since it’s the subject of kaufe, it must be nominative. If it were the object (“whom/which I buy”), it would be accusative (die would still look the same here, but in masculine/neuter it would change: den/das).
Why is kommt in second position, but kaufe at the end?
German main clauses are “verb-second,” so kommt (the finite verb) follows the first constituent (Die Schokolade, die ich kaufe,). Relative clauses are subordinate clauses, and German subordinate clauses are “verb-final,” so the finite verb kaufe goes to the very end of die ich kaufe.
Why do we say aus dem Supermarkt instead of aus den Supermarkt or aus das Supermarkt?
The preposition aus always takes the dative case. Supermarkt is masculine, so the dative singular form is dem Supermarkt.
- Nominative: der Supermarkt
- Dative: dem Supermarkt
What is the purpose of the commas around die ich kaufe?
In German, every relative clause must be set off by commas at both its beginning and its end. Here, die ich kaufe is a restrictive relative clause, so you enclose it in commas to show it modifies Schokolade.
Could I use welche instead of die as the relative pronoun?
Yes, welche (‘which’) can replace die grammatically (Die Schokolade, welche ich kaufe…), but it’s more formal and less common in everyday German. Native speakers nearly always use the simple relative pronouns der, die, or das.
Can I drop the relative pronoun altogether, like in English (“The chocolate I buy comes…”)?
No. Unlike English, German requires the relative pronoun to introduce the relative clause. You must say die ich kaufe, not just ich kaufe.
Could I move the relative clause to the end, saying Die Schokolade kommt aus dem Supermarkt, die ich kaufe?
No. In German, a relative clause must directly follow the noun it modifies. Placing it elsewhere breaks the connection and is ungrammatical. The structure Noun + relative clause + rest of main clause is fixed.