(c) An indefinite neuter adjective, e.g. das Schlimmste ‘the worst thing’, das Erste ‘the
first thing’, das Neue ‘the new (thing)’:Ist das wirklich das Beste, was er bieten kann?
Is that really the best he can offer?(d) The whole of a preceding clause:
Sie behauptet, sie habe das Haus um neun Uhr verlassen, was nicht
stimmen kann.
She claims to have left the house at nine, which cannot be true.10.6 Relative clauses can also be introduced by indefinite relative pronouns that refer to
the idea contained in the whole of the preceding clause (rather than a particular
word). These forms are a compound of wo + preposition such as wodurch,
womit, wovon. Note that when the preposition begins with a vowel, r is inserted:
woraus, worin, worüber. Once again the finite verb is placed at the end of the
clause:
Es waren nur acht Leute da, woraus man schließen kann, dass die
Kollegen wenig Interesse an diesem Thema haben.
There were only eight people there, from which one can conclude that
colleagues have little interest in the subject.
An dieser Stelle ist die Straßenbeleuchtung besonders schlecht,
worüber sich schon viele beklagt haben.
The street lighting is especially bad at this spot, something many people
have complained about.11 Order of adverbials
For functions using several adverbial expressions, see e.g.^81 (p. 286).
11.1 The normal word order in a sentence with several adverbs is time–manner–place:
Sie hat gestern (TIME) in der Kirche (PLACE) gesungen.
She sang in church yesterday.
Ich fahre manchmal (TIME) mit dem Fahrrad (MANNER) zur Arbeit
(PLACE).
I sometimes go to work on my bike.NOTE Adverbs of attitude are placed before all other adverbs:
Du fährst doch (ATTITUDE) nicht jeden Tag (TIME) mit dem Fahrrad
(MANNER) zur Arbeit (PLACE), oder?
You don’t go to work on your bike every day, do you?11.2 Unless it is placed in initial position, the adverb follows all pronouns:
Meine Frau schenkte mir zu Weihnachten diesen Pulli.
My wife gave me this jumper for Christmas.
Meine Frau schenkte ihn mir zu Weihnachten.
My wife gave me it for Christmas.11
WORD ORDER