Breakdown of Die Antwort unseres Chefs ist die klarste, die wir heute gehört haben.
sein
to be
wir
we
heute
today
haben
to have
unser
our
hören
to hear
die
that
der Chef
the boss
die Antwort
the answer
klar
clear
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Questions & Answers about Die Antwort unseres Chefs ist die klarste, die wir heute gehört haben.
What does the genitive phrase unseres Chefs indicate and why is it in the genitive?
It expresses possession (“our boss’s”). In German, possession is often shown by the genitive case. The possessive pronoun unser takes the genitive ending -es (because Chef is masculine), and the noun Chef itself adds -s in the genitive: unseres Chefs.
Why are there two instances of die in the phrase “ist die klarste, die wir heute gehört haben”?
The first die is the definite article modifying klarste (“the clearest”). The second die is a relative pronoun referring back to die Antwort (feminine singular). Feminine singular forms of the article and the relative pronoun happen to look identical.
How is the superlative adjective klarste formed, and why does it end with -e?
You form the superlative by adding -st to the adjective stem (klar → klarst-). In attributive position with a definite article, adjectives take the weak ending for feminine singular: klarst + e = klarste, giving die klarste.
Could we use a predicate superlative like am klarsten instead of die klarste?
Yes. The predicate superlative is am + adjective + -en: am klarsten. You could say
Die Antwort unseres Chefs ist am klarsten.
But if you want to follow it with a relative clause (“… die wir heute gehört haben”), you need an attributive form (die klarste) to attach the clause to the noun phrase.
Why do the verbs gehört and haben appear at the end of the relative clause?
In German subordinate clauses (including relative clauses), the finite verb and any participles or auxiliaries come at the very end. Here gehört (past participle) and haben (auxiliary) form a verb cluster at the clause’s end.
Is the placement of the time adverb heute fixed in the relative clause?
The usual order in subordinate clauses is subject → time (heute) → other elements → verb cluster. So wir (subject) → heute (time) → gehört haben (verb cluster). You could move heute for emphasis (“die wir gehört haben heute”), but the given placement is the most natural.
Why is there a comma before the second die?
German grammar requires a comma before any subordinate clause, including relative clauses. The comma marks the boundary between the main clause and the clause introduced by the relative pronoun die.
Could we replace the relative pronoun die with welche, and would that change the meaning?
Yes, you can use welche:
… ist die klarste, welche wir heute gehört haben.
It’s grammatically correct, but using die is far more common in everyday German; welche sounds more formal or literary.