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Questions & Answers about Meine Mutter war gestern besorgt, was ich gut verstehe.
What is the function of was in this sentence?
Here was is a relative pronoun meaning which, referring back to the entire preceding clause (Meine Mutter war gestern besorgt). It forms a sentential relative clause: …, was ich gut verstehe = …, which I understand well.
Why is it was and not das?
When a relative clause refers to a whole statement (not a specific neuter noun), German uses was, not das.
- Correct: Er hat abgesagt, was schade ist.
- With a specific neuter noun you’d use das or welches: Das Problem, das/ welches ich gut verstehe.
Could I use dass instead of was?
Not in the same structure. Dass introduces a content clause governed by a verb (e.g., ich weiß, dass…). Your sentence doesn’t have a governing verb for a dass-clause. If you want a dass version, rephrase: Ich verstehe gut, dass meine Mutter gestern besorgt war.
Is the comma before was required?
Yes. German requires a comma before subordinate clauses, including relative clauses like was ich gut verstehe.
Why is the verb at the end in was ich gut verstehe?
Because it’s a subordinate clause. In German subordinate clauses, the finite verb goes to the end: … was ich gut verstehe (not … was ich gut verstehe in main-clause order).
Can I say was ich gut verstehen kann instead of was ich gut verstehe?
Yes. Both are correct. With kann, you emphasize ability: which I can well understand. Without kann, it’s simply which I understand well. Many speakers slightly prefer the version with kann in everyday speech.
Is there a more neutral or very natural alternative?
Two very natural options:
- Ich verstehe gut, warum meine Mutter gestern besorgt war.
- Meine Mutter war gestern besorgt. Das kann ich gut verstehen.
What case is was here?
Accusative. Inside the clause ich is the subject and was is the direct object of verstehen.
Why is ich lowercase?
In German, ich is never capitalized in the middle of a sentence. Only nouns are capitalized systematically.
Why war and not ist gewesen?
Both are possible past tenses. War (preterite) is concise and perfectly natural here. Ist besorgt gewesen (perfect) is grammatical but sounds heavier and is less common in this context. Most would say war.
Could I say Meine Mutter wurde gestern besorgt to mean “became worried”?
It’s unusual and potentially confusing because besorgen is also a verb (“to get, procure”). To express becoming worried, prefer:
- Meine Mutter wurde gestern unruhig.
- Meine Mutter machte sich gestern Sorgen.
- Meine Mutter geriet gestern in Sorge.
Does besorgt need a preposition like um?
Not necessarily. Besorgt can stand alone (“worried/concerned”). To specify the object, use:
- besorgt um + Akk.: Meine Mutter ist um mich besorgt.
- wegen + Gen./Dat.: Meine Mutter ist wegen der Prüfung besorgt.
Can I move gestern to the front?
Yes, but keep verb-second word order in the main clause:
- Gestern war meine Mutter besorgt, was ich gut verstehe.
Why is besorgt uninflected here, but I’ve seen die besorgte Mutter?
Predicative adjectives after sein/werden/bleiben don’t take endings: Meine Mutter war besorgt.
Attributive adjectives before a noun do: die besorgte Mutter (nominative singular feminine).