Die Blumen, deren Duft angenehm ist, stehen im Zimmer.

to be

Breakdown of Die Blumen, deren Duft angenehm ist, stehen im Zimmer.

• in: in
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• stehen: to stand

Questions & Answers about Die Blumen, deren Duft angenehm ist, stehen im Zimmer.

What is the function of deren in this sentence?

deren is the genitive relative pronoun linking the main clause to the subordinate clause. It corresponds to whose in English. Here it tells us that the Duft (scent) belongs to die Blumen (the flowers).

Why is the relative pronoun in the genitive case and not in nominative, accusative, or dative?

Because the clause expresses possession: the scent belongs to the flowers. In German, possession is shown by the genitive case. Hence we use deren Duft to mean “the flowers’ scent.”

How can I tell that deren refers back to die Blumen and not to another noun like Zimmer?

Two clues:

1. Word order – the relative clause immediately follows die Blumen, so it modifies that noun.
2. Agreement – die Blumen is plural, and the only plural genitive relative pronoun is deren.

Could I use dessen instead of deren here?

No. Dessen is the genitive relative pronoun for masculine and neuter singular antecedents. Since Blumen is plural (die Blumen), you must use deren, the genitive form for all plurals (and feminine singular).