Free relatives and sentence reference
Refer to unspecified people, things and whole propositions with appropriate relative structures.
The rule
A free relative can stand without a preceding head noun. Distinguish reference to a person, a thing or a whole statement before choosing wer, was or a wo-compound.
wer …, der … · was … · alles, was … · …, worüber …
A free relative has no ordinary preceding head noun: wer hier arbeitet, kennt die Regeln.
wer, wen and wem reflect the relative clause’s internal role; a following correlate takes its own case independently.
Use was after indefinite neuter expressions such as alles and etwas, and to refer to an entire previous proposition.
Core forms and structures
Use this table as a reference, then retrieve the forms without looking.
| Form | Function | German example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wer | wer is the free-relative subject and therefore nominative. | Wer hier arbeitet, kennt die Regeln. | Whoever works here knows the rules. |
| Wem | helfen governs dative wem inside the relative clause. | Wem wir helfen, der bedankt sich. | Whoever we help thanks us. |
| was | Indefinite neuter alles is followed by relative was. | Alles, was du brauchst, liegt hier. | Everything you need is here. |
| was | was refers to the whole previous proposition. | Sie hat bestanden, was uns freut. | She has passed, which makes us happy. |
| was | Indefinite neuter etwas permits relative was. | Das ist etwas, was mich überrascht. | That is something that surprises me. |
German examples with English meanings
Wer hier arbeitet, kennt die Regeln.
Whoever works here knows the rules.
wer is the free-relative subject and therefore nominative.
Wem wir helfen, der bedankt sich.
Whoever we help thanks us.
helfen governs dative wem inside the relative clause.
Alles, was du brauchst, liegt hier.
Everything you need is here.
Indefinite neuter alles is followed by relative was.
Sie hat bestanden, was uns freut.
She has passed, which makes us happy.
was refers to the whole previous proposition.
Das ist etwas, was mich überrascht.
That is something that surprises me.
Indefinite neuter etwas permits relative was.
Wen er einlädt, den begrüßt er persönlich.
Whoever he invites, he welcomes personally.
Sie kam zu spät, worüber er sich ärgerte.
She came late, which annoyed him.
Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend.
The book that I am reading is exciting.
Wer viel übt, wird sicherer.
Whoever practises a lot becomes more confident.
Er half uns, wofür wir ihm danken.
He helped us, for which we thank him.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Wer er einlädt, den begrüßt er persönlich.
Correct: Wen er einlädt, den begrüßt er persönlich.
einladen governs accusative wen inside the relative clause.
Incorrect: Sie kam zu spät, über wer er sich ärgerte.
Correct: Sie kam zu spät, worüber er sich ärgerte.
sich ärgern über a proposition permits worüber.
Incorrect: Das Buch, wer ich lese, ist spannend.
Correct: Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend.
The ordinary noun Buch takes gender-matched relative das.
Incorrect: Wem viel übt, wird sicherer.
Correct: Wer viel übt, wird sicherer.
The free-relative subject is nominative wer.
Incorrect: Er half uns, für wer wir ihm danken.
Correct: Er half uns, wofür wir ihm danken.
danken für a preceding proposition permits wofür.
Details and useful distinctions
wo-compounds can refer to prepositional relations involving things or propositions, not indiscriminately to people.
An ordinary neuter noun normally takes das rather than was in the relative clause: das Buch, das ich lese.
Practise this grammar
Identify the antecedent type and separately determine the case required inside each clause.
Open Free relatives and sentence reference exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.