1.Question word first, verb second
A W-question asks for a piece of information that is missing, not for ja or nein. It begins with a question word, and the finite verb follows immediately in second position, just as in a statement. The subject comes after the verb.
Wo wohnst du?
The question word stands in the place of the unknown information:
| Statement | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Du wohnst in Berlin. | Wo wohnst du? | In Berlin. |
| Anna kommt morgen. | Wann kommt Anna? | Morgen. |
Pattern: question word + finite verb + subject + the rest +
?
Most question words begin with w, which gives the group its name. The A1 set:
| wer | was | wo | wohin | woher | wann | wie | warum |
2.What each question word asks for
The question word fixes what kind of answer is expected.
| Question word | Asks for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wer | a person | Wer kommt? – Anna. |
| was | a thing or an action | Was kaufst du? – Brot. |
| wo | a location | Wo wohnst du? – In Bonn. |
| wohin | a direction, a destination | Wohin gehst du? – Nach Hause. |
| woher | an origin | Woher kommst du? – Aus Spanien. |
| wann | a point in time | Wann kommst du? – Morgen. |
| wie | manner, condition, description | Wie geht es dir? – Gut. |
| warum | a reason | Warum lernst du Deutsch? – Ich arbeite in Berlin. |
3.wo, wohin and woher
German uses three different words for questions about place, where English uses «where» for all of them. wo asks where something is (no movement), wohin asks where someone is going («where to»), and woher asks where someone or something comes from («where from»).
The verb usually matches the question word: wohnen, arbeiten and sein go with wo, gehen and fahren with wohin, and kommen with woher.
4.wer and was
wer (who) and was (what) often stand for the subject of the sentence. In that case no second subject follows, and the verb comes directly after the question word. wer always takes the singular form of the verb, even if several people are meant in the answer.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| Anna kommt heute. | Wer kommt heute? |
| Anna und Paul kommen heute. | Wer kommt heute? |
| Das ist eine Lampe. | Was ist das? |
was also asks about the object of an action. Then a subject follows the verb as usual.
5.wie and its combinations
wie has several simple uses. It asks for condition (Wie geht es dir?), for manner (Wie lernst du Deutsch?), for names (Wie heißt du?), and for a quality when combined with an adjective or another word.
| Wie heißt du? | Wie geht es Ihnen? | Wie alt bist du? | Wie ist das Wetter? |
wie viel asks about an amount that cannot be counted one by one (money, time), and wie viele asks about a number of countable things.
Wie viel kostet das Brot?
Wie viele Kinder hast du?
6.warum
warum asks for a reason. The question itself follows the usual pattern. The answer is often a plain statement or a phrase. In answers with weil (because), the verb moves to the end of that clause — a different sentence type from the W-question itself.
Warum lernst du Deutsch? – Ich arbeite in Berlin.
Warum bist du müde? – Ich arbeite viel.
7.Verbs still agree with the subject
The word order is fixed, but the verb ending depends on the subject.
| Subject | Question |
|---|---|
| ich | Wo wohne ich? |
| du | Wo wohnst du? |
| er / sie / es | Wo wohnt er? |
| wir | Wo wohnen wir? |
| ihr | Wo wohnt ihr? |
| sie (plural) / Sie | Wo wohnen sie? / Wo wohnen Sie? |
The same holds for the irregular verbs sein and haben.
The subject can be a pronoun or a noun phrase. The pattern stays the same:
Wo arbeitet dein Bruder?
Wann beginnt der Deutschkurs?
8.W-questions and yes/no questions
The two question types differ in the first position. A yes/no question starts with the verb and expects ja or nein. A W-question starts with the question word and expects information.
| Type | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | verb + subject + … ? | Wohnst du in Berlin? |
| W-question | question word + verb + subject + … ? | Wo wohnst du? |
A direct W-question ends with ?. In speech the voice usually falls at the end, unlike in yes/no questions.
9.Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Wo du wohnst? | Wo wohnst du? | The verb comes right after the question word. |
| Wohnst wo du? | Wo wohnst du? | The question word stands first. |
| Wo wohnen du? | Wo wohnst du? | The verb must agree with du. |
| Wer kommt Anna heute? | Wer kommt heute? | wer is already the subject. |
| Wo kommst du? (asking for origin) | Woher kommst du? | wo asks for location, woher for origin. |
10.Building a W-question from a statement
Starting from Du wohnst in Köln., a question about the place is built in four steps:
- Decide which information is unknown and choose the question word: place →
wo. - Find the finite verb:
wohnst. - Put the question word first and the verb right after it:
Wo wohnst … - Place the subject after the verb and add the question mark.
Wo wohnst du?