das vs. dass

Usage of »das«

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We use das as a definite article with neutral nouns. We can translate das as the in English.

Example:

Das Geld reicht nie bis Monatsende.The money never lasts until the end of the month.

Other words that refer to the noun, can also be written between the noun and das (e. g. adjectives).

Example:

Das dicke Portemonnaie passt nicht in die Tasche.The fat wallet doesn’t fit in the pocket.

Das mit schweren Münzen gefüllte Portemonnaie kann ich nicht zumachen.I can’t close the wallet which is filled with heavy coins.

Relative pronoun

In relative clauses, das is used as a relative pronoun to replace a neutral noun from a main clause. As a relative pronoun we can translate das to that/which in English.

Example:

Das Geld, das Peter von seinen Eltern bekommt, reicht nie bis Monatsende.The money that Peter receives from his parents never lasts until the end of the month.

The relative clause usually follows a noun directly (see above example), however, this is not always the case.

Example:

Es ist das Hemd angekommen, das Peter sich bestellt hatte.The shirt that Peter ordered has arrived.

Prepositions can also be written before das in relative clauses.

Example:

Peter braucht ein Einkommen, auf das er sich verlassen kann.Peter needs an income on which he can rely.

Demonstrative pronouns

As a demonstrative pronoun das emphasizes and/or indicates somebody or something. It can also replace a noun or a part of a sentence. As a demonstrative pronoun we translate das to this/that in English.

Example:

Das ist Peters Geldbörse.That is Peter’s wallet.

das indicates a thing

Das kann sich Peter einfach nicht erklären.Peter cannot explain that.

das replaces „das Geld reicht nie bis Monatsende“

Usage of »dass«

• We use dass to introduce dependent clauses. The dependent clause often relates to a verb from the main clause such as: sagen, wissen, sehen, fühlen…

Example:

Peter sieht, dass die Geldbörse fast leer ist. Peter sees that the wallet is almost empty.

In German, the dependent clause can be placed before the main clause (this is not common in English).

Example:

Dass die Geldbörse fast leer ist, hat Peter schon bemerkt.That the wallet is almost empty, Peter had already noticed.

• The dependent clause with dass can also refer to specific nouns in the main clause.

Example:

Die Tatsache, dass das Geld verschwindet, gibt Peter zu denken.The fact that the money disappears gives Peter something to think about.

Die Eltern geben Peter etwas Geld unter der Bedingung, dass er sparsamer lebt.HIs parents give Peter some money on the condition that he lives more thriftily.

• In addition, dass can also be part of a compound conjunction: als dass, statt dass, kaum dass, außer dass, ohne dass, sodass/so dass.

  Example:

  Dabei leistet er sich doch nichts, außer dass er ab und zu mit seinen Freunden ausgeht.In fact he doesn’t allow himself to spend a lot of money, except that he goes out every now and then with his friends.

  Sparen erfordert zu viel Disziplin, als dass es mir gelingen könnte.Saving requires too much discipline for me to succeed.

  Peter geht ins Kasino, ohne dass seine Eltern davon erfahren.Peter goes to the casino without his parents knowing about it.

»dass« or »das« after commas

A dependent clause can be introduced by both dass as a conjunction and das as a relative pronoun. That’s why it is particularly difficult to choose the correct spelling at the beginning of a dependent clause or after a comma.