8.6: Question Words as Relative Pronouns

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Just as in English, question words such as wo, was, and wie sometimes function as unspecific relative pronouns, and in this case they do not signal a question. Recognize how word order signals to you that this is a relative clause and not a question:

Sie ist sich unsicher, was sie bestellen wird.
She is not sure what she will order.

Ich weiß, wo Franz Kafka geboren ist.
I know where Franz Kafka was born.

These express a less specific kind of relationship between the two phrases than a relative pronoun does. Compare the second example above with:

Ich sah das Haus, in dem Franz Kafka geboren ist.
I saw the house in which Franz Kafka was born.

A famous example of this kind of question-word usage is in the first line of a Goethe poem: Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn, …

You may find the Review Units 5-8 exercise more valuable now or as a later review opportunity.