Personal pronouns are used after prepositions
when referring to people. However, when you
need to refer to a thing, a compound using da-
(or dar- if the preposition begins with
a vowel) plus the preposition is used.
auf dem Tisch (on the table)
becomes darauf (on it)
in der Tasche (in the pocket)
becomes darin (in it)
vor der Schule (in front of the
school) becomes davor (in front of it)
hinter den Häusern (behind the
houses) becomes dahinter (behind them)
zwischen dem Haus und der Schule
(between the house and the school) becomes dazwischen
(between them)
Da(r) Compounds
| daraus |
out of it/them |
|
dagegen |
against it/them |
|
darüber |
over it/them |
| damit |
with it/them |
|
darin |
in it/them |
|
darunter |
underneath it/them |
| davon |
from it/them |
|
daran |
in it/them |
|
daneben |
next to it/them |
| dazu |
to it/them |
|
darauf |
on top of it/them |
|
dazwischen |
between it/them |
| dadurch |
through it/them |
|
dahinter |
behind it/them |
|
dabei |
on me/you |
| dafür |
for it/them |
|
davor |
in front of it/them |
|
darum |
that's why |
Note: Dabei and darum are
idioms. Hast du Geld dabei? Do
you have any money on you? Darum hast du
kein Glück. That's why you have no luck.
Not all prepositions + pronouns can be replaced
by the da(r) compounds. Ohne, ausser, and
seit can never form a da(r) compound, and here are
others that cannot:
| ohnedies |
without it |
|
|
stattdessen |
instead |
| bis dahin |
until then |
|
|
trotzdem |
nevertheless |
| ausserdem |
besides |
|
|
währenddessen |
in the meanwhile |
| seit dem |
since |
|
|
deswegen |
for that reason |
There are also corresponding questions word that
use wo(r)- as the prefix. Wo(r) can
be substituted in all of the above da(r) compounds.
When asking about people, use a preposition
and wen/wem, and use a preposition and the corresponding
personal pronoun to answer.
| Worüber sprechen Sie? |
|
Ich spreche darüber. |
| What are you talking about? |
|
I'm talking about it. |
| Woran denkst du? |
|
Ich denke daran. |
| What are you thinking about? |
|
I'm thinking about it. |
| Mit wem gehst du ins Theater? |
|
Mit ihr! |
| Who are you going to the Theater with? |
|
With her! |
Wo compounds can also be used as shortcuts
for the relative pronouns because you do not need
to the know the gender or case to form the relative
pronoun. This shortcut can only be used with
things and not people.
Die Uhr, mit der er reist, hat
viel gekostet. = Die Uhr, womit er reist,
hat viel gekostet.
The watch, with which he travels, cost a lot.
Die Stadt, in der wir wohnen,
hat ein großes Konzerthaus. = Die Stadt, worin
wir wohnen, hat ein großes Konzerthaus.
The city, in which we live, has a large concert
hall.
