A relative pronoun is the word that refers back to a noun or a name which has just been mentioned in the sentence. The most common relative pronouns are som and der.
| Pigen, som hedder Susanne, bor i Nygade. | The girl, whose name is Susanne, lives in Nygade. |
| Pigen, der hedder Susanne, bor i Nygade. | The girl, whose name is Susanne, lives in Nygade. |
Som and der refer back to the girl. When som or der is the subject in a sentence, it does not matter whether we use som or der. If the relative pronoun is the object, we have to use som.
| Han spiste maden, som jeg gav ham. | He ate the food that I gave him. |
Comparison:
In English the relative pronoun differs depending on whether it refers to persons or things.
Peter, who comes from England,...
The book which I read...