In both English and German, there is a variety of ways to form questions. In German questions that concern the action of a verb and in some English questions, the verb precedes the subject:
verb + subject
Ist + Martin zu Hause?
Is Martin at home?
But if the question concerns the action of a verb, English most often uses the auxiliary to do to form the question. For example:
verb + subject
Sprechen + Sie Deutsch?
Do you speak German?
verb + subject
Kaufte + er einen Mantel?
Did he buy a coat?
With the verb to be and sometimes with the verb to have, however, the aux-iliary to do is not needed in English. Instead, as in German, the question begins with the verb:
Ist sie wieder krank? Is she sick again?
Waren sie in München? Were they in Munich?
Haben Sie keinen Pass? Have you no passport?
If the verb to have is transitive, a question can be formed either with the aux-iliary verb to do or without it. However, the form that uses to do is more common in modern English:
Hast du genug Geld? Do you have enough money? or Have you enough money?
Hatten sie kein Handy? Didn’t they have a cell phone? or Had they no cell phone?
If the verb to have is the auxiliary of a perfect tense, the auxiliary verb to do cannot be used in the formation of a question:
Hat er sein Heft gefunden? Has he found his notebook?
Hatte Sonja ihre Tasche verloren? Had Sonja lost her purse?
verb + subject
Ist + Martin zu Hause?
Is Martin at home?
But if the question concerns the action of a verb, English most often uses the auxiliary to do to form the question. For example:
verb + subject
Sprechen + Sie Deutsch?
Do you speak German?
verb + subject
Kaufte + er einen Mantel?
Did he buy a coat?
With the verb to be and sometimes with the verb to have, however, the aux-iliary to do is not needed in English. Instead, as in German, the question begins with the verb:
Ist sie wieder krank? Is she sick again?
Waren sie in München? Were they in Munich?
Haben Sie keinen Pass? Have you no passport?
If the verb to have is transitive, a question can be formed either with the aux-iliary verb to do or without it. However, the form that uses to do is more common in modern English:
Hast du genug Geld? Do you have enough money? or Have you enough money?
Hatten sie kein Handy? Didn’t they have a cell phone? or Had they no cell phone?
If the verb to have is the auxiliary of a perfect tense, the auxiliary verb to do cannot be used in the formation of a question:
Hat er sein Heft gefunden? Has he found his notebook?
Hatte Sonja ihre Tasche verloren? Had Sonja lost her purse?
The auxiliary to do is used in English questions only in the present and past tenses with the exception, of course, of to be and to have as illustrated in the previous examples. The English future tense also avoids using to do in a question. Other auxiliaries, such as certain modal auxiliaries, also avoid it:
Wirst du auch mitkommen? Will you come along, too?
Kannst du mir helfen? Can you help me?
If the English modal requires the particle word to in order to complete its meaning, use to do to form a question. To be able to is an exception to this rule, because the verb to be is involved:
to be able to Are you able to breathe all right?
to have to Does he have to shout like that?
to need to Did the dogs need to be fed?
The point being made here is that it is important to realize that you cannot translate English questions directly into German. You have to look at the structure of the English sentence and modify for the German approach to forming questions for the action of a verb: the verb precedes the subject in a German question:
verb + subject → eine Frage
Let’s look at a few examples:
Statement: Er singt sehr gut. He sings very well.
Question: Singt er sehr gut? Does he sing very well?
Statement: Sie ging nach Hause. She went home.
Question: Ging sie nach Hause? Did she go home?
The same word order is required when a modal is used in the sentence
Statement: Du musst so oft rauchen.
Question: Musst du so oft rauchen?
You have to smoke so often. Do you have to smoke so often?
If the sentence is in the present perfect tense, the auxiliary verb precedes the subject.
Statement: Der Mann ist gestorben. The man has died.
Question: Ist der Mann gestorben? Has the man died?
In a future tense sentence, the auxiliary werden precedes the subject:
Statement: Wir werden mit ihm reisen. We will travel with him.
Question: Werden wir mit ihm reisen? Will we travel with him?
Interrogative words
Interrogative words are used to pose a question about a specific element in a sentence: who, what, when, where, how, and so on. For the most part, German and English interrogative words are used in much the same way.
Wer
The interrogative wer (who) inquires into the person or persons mentioned in a statement. But wer is a singular pronoun and requires a singular conjugation of the verb, even when it inquires into a plural subject. For example:
Tina wohnt jetzt in Bremen. Tina lives in Bremen now.
Wer wohnt jetzt in Bremen? Who lives in Bremen now?
Meine Eltern waren im Harz. My parents were in the Harz Mountains.
Wer war im Harz? Who was in the Harz Mountains?
If wer inquires into the direct object of a sentence or the object of an accusative preposition, the pronoun becomes wen (whom, who). If it inquires into an object in the dative case, the pro-noun becomes wem (whom, who). And if it replaces a possessive adjective or a genitive case noun showing possession, the form wessen (whose) is used. Let’s look at some example sentences.
The case of the interrogative pronoun wer, wen, wem, or wessen is determined by the case of the noun or pronoun it replaces: nominative, accusative, dative, or possessive. In the following example, the nominative subject is replaced by the nominative wer in a question:
Statement: Der Lehrer ist noch nicht da. The teacher isn’t here yet.
Question: Wer ist noch nicht da? Who isn’t here yet?
In the next example, the accusative noun is replaced by the accusative wen in a question:
Statement: Sie kennt den Lehrer. She knows the teacher.
Question: Wen kennt sie? Whom does she know?
If the accusative noun is introduced by an accusative preposition, that preposition will intro-duce wen:
Statement: Er wartet auf den Lehrer. He’s waiting for the teacher.
Question: Auf wen wartet er? For whom is he waiting?
If the dative case is required to replace an indirect object or a noun introduced by a dative preposition, the interrogative wem will be used:
Statement: Sie gab es dem Lehrer. She gave it to the teacher.
Question: Wem gab sie es? To whom did she give it?
Statement:Du sprachst mit dem Lehrer. You spoke with the teacher.
Question: Mit wem sprachst du? With whom did you speak?
And if the noun is in the genitive case showing possession, or there is a possessive pronoun showing possession, the possessive wessen is required:
Statement: Der Sohn des Lehrers ist krank. The teacher’s son is sick.
Question: Wessen Sohn ist krank? Whose son is sick?
Was
The interrogative was (what) inquires into an object or group of objects in a sentence. It replaces the subject of the sentence or an accusative object. Its dative form is wem. Like wer, was is a sin-gular pronoun.
The possessive form wessen is used to replace a possessive adjective or a genitive case noun showing possession.
Even if the noun or pronoun replaced by was is a plural, the verb in the question will have a singular conjugation:
Statement: Diese Bücher sind alt. These books are old.
Question: Was ist alt? What is old?
When replacing a direct object, the pronoun was is again used:
Statement: Er kauft eine neue Uhr. He buys a new clock.
Question: Was kauft er? What does he buy?
German sometimes uses an indirect object with non-human animates, a structure that would sound strange in English. To illustrate that point consider the following sentence and the question that follows:
Statement: Der Schäfer scherte den Schafen die Wolle.
The shepherd sheared the wool from the sheep.
Question:Wem scherte der Schäfer die Wolle?From what did the shepherd shear the wool?
The case of the interrogative pronoun wer, wen, wem, or wessen is determined by the case of the noun or pronoun it replaces: nominative, accusative, dative, or possessive. In the following example, the nominative subject is replaced by the nominative wer in a question:
Statement: Der Lehrer ist noch nicht da. The teacher isn’t here yet.
Question: Wer ist noch nicht da? Who isn’t here yet?
In the next example, the accusative noun is replaced by the accusative wen in a question:
Statement: Sie kennt den Lehrer. She knows the teacher.
Question: Wen kennt sie? Whom does she know?
If the accusative noun is introduced by an accusative preposition, that preposition will intro-duce wen:
Statement: Er wartet auf den Lehrer. He’s waiting for the teacher.
Question: Auf wen wartet er? For whom is he waiting?
If the dative case is required to replace an indirect object or a noun introduced by a dative preposition, the interrogative wem will be used:
Statement: Sie gab es dem Lehrer. She gave it to the teacher.
Question: Wem gab sie es? To whom did she give it?
Statement:Du sprachst mit dem Lehrer. You spoke with the teacher.
Question: Mit wem sprachst du? With whom did you speak?
And if the noun is in the genitive case showing possession, or there is a possessive pronoun showing possession, the possessive wessen is required:
Statement: Der Sohn des Lehrers ist krank. The teacher’s son is sick.
Question: Wessen Sohn ist krank? Whose son is sick?
Was
The interrogative was (what) inquires into an object or group of objects in a sentence. It replaces the subject of the sentence or an accusative object. Its dative form is wem. Like wer, was is a sin-gular pronoun.
The possessive form wessen is used to replace a possessive adjective or a genitive case noun showing possession.
Even if the noun or pronoun replaced by was is a plural, the verb in the question will have a singular conjugation:
Statement: Diese Bücher sind alt. These books are old.
Question: Was ist alt? What is old?
When replacing a direct object, the pronoun was is again used:
Statement: Er kauft eine neue Uhr. He buys a new clock.
Question: Was kauft er? What does he buy?
German sometimes uses an indirect object with non-human animates, a structure that would sound strange in English. To illustrate that point consider the following sentence and the question that follows:
Statement: Der Schäfer scherte den Schafen die Wolle.
The shepherd sheared the wool from the sheep.
Question:Wem scherte der Schäfer die Wolle?From what did the shepherd shear the wool?
The possessive wessen replaces the genitive case noun or possessive adjective in a question.
Statement: Wir verkaufen die Wolle des Schafs. We sell the sheep’s wool.
Question: Wessen Wolle verkaufen wir? Whose wool do we sell?
Prepositional adverbs
If an inanimate noun follows an accusative or dative preposition and you wish to replace that noun with a pronoun, a prepositional adverb is formed. In a statement, a prepositional adverb begins with da(r)- and ends with the preposition. In a question, it begins with wo(r)- and ends with the preposition. The -r is added before a preposition that begins with a vowel. For example:
Prepositional phrase: im Klassenzimmer in the classroom
Prepositional adverb: darin, worin in it, in what
Prepositional phrase: vor der Tür in front of the door
Prepositional adverb: davor, wovor in front of it, in front of what
Prepositional phrase: an der Wand at the wall
Prepositional adverb: daran, woran at it, at what
There is a tendency to use um was and to avoid using a prepositional adverb when saying around what. Let’s look at some example questions that include prepositional adverbs:
Worin sitzen sie? What are they sitting in?
Worüber spricht Karl? What is Karl talking about?
Worauf warte ich? What am I waiting for?
If the preposition in, zu, or nach is used to mean to a place, its interrogative form will be wohin (where to, whither). Do not form a prepositional adverb:
Wohin ging er? Where did he go?
Wohin laufen sie? Where are they running (to)?
Wohin reist sie? Where is she traveling (to)?
If the prepositions von and aus are used to mean from a place, their interrogative form will be woher (from where, whence). Do not form a prepositional adverb:
Er kommt von der Arbeit. He’s coming from work.
Woher kommt er? Where is he coming from?
Die Wanderer kamen aus dem Wald. The hikers came out of the woods.
Woher kamen die Wanderer? Where did the hikers come from?
Only werand was are declined and used as pronouns. Other interrogative words are adverbial or are substitutes for modifiers. Some of the most commonly used ones are:
Worüber spricht Karl? What is Karl talking about?
Worauf warte ich? What am I waiting for?
If the preposition in, zu, or nach is used to mean to a place, its interrogative form will be wohin (where to, whither). Do not form a prepositional adverb:
Wohin ging er? Where did he go?
Wohin laufen sie? Where are they running (to)?
Wohin reist sie? Where is she traveling (to)?
If the prepositions von and aus are used to mean from a place, their interrogative form will be woher (from where, whence). Do not form a prepositional adverb:
Er kommt von der Arbeit. He’s coming from work.
Woher kommt er? Where is he coming from?
Die Wanderer kamen aus dem Wald. The hikers came out of the woods.
Woher kamen die Wanderer? Where did the hikers come from?
Only werand was are declined and used as pronouns. Other interrogative words are adverbial or are substitutes for modifiers. Some of the most commonly used ones are:
wann when
was für what kind of (plural)
was für ein what kind of a (singular)
welcher which
wie how
wie viel(e) how much, many
wo where (location)
The interrogative phrase was für (ein) can be used with singular or plural nouns. Use was für ein with singular nouns and was für with plural nouns. For example:
Was für eine Katze hast du? What kind of a cat do you have?
Was für Haustiere hast du? What kind of pets do you have?
Let’s look at some sentences that illustrate these interrogatives:
Statement: Der Zug kommt in zehn Minuten. The train comes in ten minutes.
Question: Wann kommt der Zug? When does the train come?
Warum is used to ask a question about an entire clause that begins with because:
Statement: Er spricht so laut, weil er taub ist. He speaks so loudly because he’s deaf.
Question: Warum spricht er so laut? Why does he speak so loudly?
When using was für ein, the case of the article ein is determined by the usage of the noun it modifies and not by the preposition für that precedes ein:
Statement: Sie hat einen Rennwagen. She has a racing car.
Question: Was für einen Wagen hat sie? What kind of a car does she have?
Warum is used to ask a question about an entire clause that begins with because:
Statement: Er spricht so laut, weil er taub ist. He speaks so loudly because he’s deaf.
Question: Warum spricht er so laut? Why does he speak so loudly?
When using was für ein, the case of the article ein is determined by the usage of the noun it modifies and not by the preposition für that precedes ein:
Statement: Sie hat einen Rennwagen. She has a racing car.
Question: Was für einen Wagen hat sie? What kind of a car does she have?
Ein Lehrbuch liegt auf dem Tisch. A textbook is lying on the table.Was für ein Buch liegt auf dem Tisch? What kind of book is lying on the table?
Use welcher to ask about the distinction between two people or things:
Statement: Der neue Student ist klug. The new student is smart.
Question: Welcher Student ist klug? Which student is smart?
Wie is generally used to ask how in a question, but it also occurs in commonly used idio matic expressions such as in the following example:
Use welcher to ask about the distinction between two people or things:
Statement: Der neue Student ist klug. The new student is smart.
Question: Welcher Student ist klug? Which student is smart?
Wie is generally used to ask how in a question, but it also occurs in commonly used idio matic expressions such as in the following example:
Statement: Der Junge heißt Karl.
Question: Wie heißt der Junge?
Normally, wie viel is used with singular nouns (how much) and wie viele with plural nouns (how many). (However, wie viel is also often used in place of wie viele.)
Statement: Er hat zwei Hefte. He has two notebooks.
Question: Wie viele Hefte hat er? How many notebooks does he have?
The interrogative wo inquires into location and should not be confused with wohin, which inquires into direction or motion:
Statement: Sie arbeiten im Garten. They’re working in the garden.
Question: Wo arbeiten sie? Where are they working?
In addition, there is a variety of other interrogative phrases formed with wie. For example:
wie alt how old
wie groß how big
wie oft how often
wie schnell how fast
wie weit how far
um wie viel Uhr at what time
Let’s look at some sentences that illustrate the use of these interrogatives:
Statement: Karin ist vier Jahre alt. Karin is four years old.
Question: Wie alt ist Karin? How old is Karin?
Statement: Das Zimmer hat zehn The room is ten meters Quadratmeter. square.
Question: Wie groß ist das Zimmer? How big is the room?
Statement: Er geht alle vier Tage in die He goes to the city every Stadt. four days.
Question: Wie oft geht er in die Stadt? How often does he go to the city?
In general, interrogative words are followed by the regular word order for a question:
interrogative word + verb + subject + ?
Wann + kommt + der Zug + ?
When is the train arriving?