Your guide to German EMBEDDED Relative Clauses | B1 Level

Not every relative clause waits patiently at the end of the sentence — sometimes it interrupts, sitting right in the middle of your main clause, and that's what German calls an eingeschobene Relativsatz (embedded relative clause). After a quick review of how relative clauses work in general, this lesson shows you exactly how to build one that's embedded, step by step.

Quick Review: What Is a Relative Clause?

A relative clause adds extra information about a noun using a relative pronoun (der, die, das, den, dem, deren, dessen...). The pronoun's gender and number come from the noun it refers to, but its case depends on the pronoun's own role inside the relative clause. Like all subordinate clauses, the verb goes to the end: Der Mann, der dort steht, ist mein Nachbar. (The man who is standing there is my neighbor.)

What Makes a Relative Clause "Embedded"?

At A2 level, you usually meet relative clauses placed at the very end of the sentence, right after the noun they describe — because that noun happens to be the last element of the main clause. But when the noun being described sits in the middle of the main clause, with more main-clause content still to come, the relative clause gets inserted directly after that noun instead, splitting the main clause into two halves. That's an embedded relative clause: Der Mann, der dort steht, hat mir geholfen. (The man who is standing there helped me.)

How to Build an Embedded Relative Clause, Step by Step

1. Find the noun in the middle of your main clause that you want to describe.
2. Open the relative clause right after that noun with a comma and the correct relative pronoun.
3. Finish the relative clause with its verb at the end, then close it with another comma.
4. Continue with the rest of the main clause — its finite verb already occupies position 2 of the overall sentence, so you simply pick up where the main clause left off.

More Example Sentences

Die Frau, die ich gestern getroffen habe, arbeitet bei meiner Firma. (The woman I met yesterday works at my company.)
Das Buch, das auf dem Tisch liegt, gehört meiner Schwester. (The book that's lying on the table belongs to my sister.)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an embedded relative clause in German?

A relative clause inserted in the middle of a main clause, right after the noun it describes, rather than tacked on at the end of the sentence.

How is an embedded relative clause different from a regular one?

The grammar is identical — same pronoun rules, same verb-final word order. The only difference is position: it interrupts the main clause instead of following it.

How do you choose the correct relative pronoun?

Gender and number come from the noun it refers to (the antecedent); case comes from the pronoun's own role inside the relative clause.

Does the embedded clause change the main clause's word order?

No. The main clause's finite verb still sits in position 2 of the main clause — the embedded clause is simply inserted with commas without disturbing that rule.

Do you need commas around an embedded relative clause?

Yes — German always sets off a relative clause with commas on both sides, whether it's embedded in the middle of a sentence or placed at the end.

Longer, more natural sentence structures like this one get real focus in our B1 German course.