Demonstratives

Question 1

Der (that)

Answer 1

When used as a determiner (eg that sausage) it has the same written forms as definite article
Eg ich möchte ein Stück von der Wurst

When used as a pronoun it declines like the definite article apart from the Genitiv and the Dativ Plural.
Diese Seife ist besser als die, die ich gebrauche

‘Der’ is often used instead of third person pronoun
Eg ist der Teller kaputt? Ja den hat Astrid fallen lassen. (Rather than ihn)

The genitive ‘der’ can be used as a possessive pronoun to avoid ambiguity
Eg sie was die Tochter des Schriftsteller Thomas Mann und dessen viertes Kind (rather than sein)

Das can also be used as an emphatic form of es
Das sind meine Bücher (rather than es)

Question 2

Dieser (this/that)

Answer 2

The declension of dieser is the same whether it is used as a determiner or pronoun

As a determiner, dieser occurs in both spoken and written German but as a pronoun it is mainly used in writing
Diese Erklärung ist unbefriedigend

Unlike English ‘this’, dieser can refer to objects that are not near and can therefore correspond more to ‘that’

Question 3

Jener (that)

Answer 3

Jener declines like dieser

Jener is largely restricted to formal written German to:

Contrast with dieser
Herr Schröder wollte nicht dieses verkaufen, Bild sondern jenes

refer to something distant but well known

With a following relative clause
Deshalb hat er auch eine Menge Anhänger unter jenen, die Comedy mögen.

Question 4

Derjenige (that)

Answer 4

Both parts of derjenige decline

It is used as an emphatic demonstrative with a following restrictive clause (which/who)

Wir wollen diejenigen Schüler herausfinden, die musikalisch begabt sind

Question 5

Derselbe (the same)

Answer 5

Both parts decline (as with derjenige)

Er besucht dieselbe Schule wie dein Bruder

Formally, derselbe should refer to exactly the same item and ‘Der gleiche’ should refer to ‘one which is similar’ but this often ignored in spoken

Question 6

Solch and equivalents of ‘such’

Answer 6

Solch occurs in a number of forms:
Inflected solcher (declines like dieser apart from masc/nominative gen)
Der Vorzug solchen Spieles

Endingless solch, used with an indefinite article
Solch ein Unsinn

Solch- used as an adjective after a determiner
Ein solches Buch

The most common usage is ‘ein solcher’ in the singular and inflected solche in the plural
Einen solchen Wagen würde ich nie kaufen
Solche großen Hause

‚So’ is often used for ‘such a’ when an adjective is used with a singular
Ein so grosses Haus
In plural inflected solcher can also be used
So grosse Häuser

For pronouns, solche is used for plural and so einer for singular
Ich habe solche oft gesehen
So eines kann ich mir nicht leisten

Derartig is a common, more emphatic alternative to solche- and is used with ein in singular or with no article in singular/plural
Er fuhr mit einer derartigen Geschwingkeit